Managing Manufacturers' Reps

BigBuck Corporation has been using manufacturers' rep groups for 15 years. It has been both a blessing and a curse. The company saves on expenses, payroll taxes and sales management, but they also lose control, direction and the ability to accurately project sales. "How can we take a more direct role in their sales efforts? What can I do to convince them they need more coverage in certain areas?" asks Mr. BigBucks.

First we'll map all existing customers. Next, we'll map all available prospects. Finally, we'll map each rep group's territory boundary AND the location of each rep within the group. As some reps will likely work out of their home and in different cities, this plays an important part in determining coverage of weak spots.

We now ask the mapping system to draw a radius around each rep's base of operations. This radius should reflect a workable territory size for the number of accounts in the area. For example, a territory with 400 accounts many have an effective travel radius of only 50 miles. However, a territory with 60 accounts may have a radius of 300 miles. The radius distance is a combination of the number of accounts to see calculated against the number of miles, driveable or otherwise, that each rep can handle effectively.

It makes no sense to assign a Philadelphia rep to handle Cincinnati. He will simply not drive to Cincinnati more than once a year if at all! However, if our map shows a large concentration of prospects in Ohio, then we have a good case to present to our rep group that they NEED a rep stationed in Ohio.