"Distributor Selling Skills"

Being a distributor sales representative can offer a very rewarding career path. But, success is not automatic. It takes a lot of dedication, knowledge and hard work.

Unlike many sales training programs that just concentrate on personal selling skills, this territory sales training program concentrates on the quality of sales, and the business maturity of the sales rep.

Since most wholesale distributors are shipping too many small orders that can drive the operating expenses through the roof, educating sales reps to the definition of a profitable sale is critical to the company's success, and to maximize personal income from the territory.

Sample topics from the "Distributor Selling Skills" territory sales training workshop include:

• Time management, and the sales rep's personal P&L statement.
• Territory management. In particular, laying the sales territory out in a logical business manner to minimize drive time, maximize productive selling time, and enhance route profitability.
• Cold calling skills, not only to make the process more comfortable for the sales rep, but, to increase route productivity, and for senior sales reps to upgrade the quality of their account base.
• If applicable, selling a "one stop shop" prime vendor relationship.
• Developing a bag full of planning tools to professionally manage the territory and to monitor the performance and profitability of an account.
• Teaching the sales reps to manage the lines per invoice, average drop size, gross profit dollars per stop, and the direct contribution to pretax by average order size.
• Addressing and building the "sludge" accounts.
• Increasing commissions per hour.
• Designing effective and creative sales calls to develop long-term relationships to increase penetration.
• Gaining an intimate understanding of the end user's business, to insulate yourself from price only sellers.
• Selling alternatives to price.
• Understanding how a wholesale distributor works, and how the four profit centers interrelate to enhance pretax performance.

If we sell more of the product, we ought to be able to buy it better. As a bonus, included are purchasing and marketing issues that help us do that.

Participants should include not only the sales reps and sales managers, but other key department heads and the general management team.

Background on this course

This program is either used in support of direct consulting projects, or it's just a really good territory sales training workshop. It's appropriate for any industry, as it doesn't differentiate what's in the boxes, just what needs to be done with the boxes.

In this workshop, many of the fundamental blocking and tackling issues that are needed to build and manage a successful territory in today's complex selling environment are covered in detail.

When overhauling the sales function in a distressed company, if requested by the client, I can also work with the reps and sales managers in the field, to help implement the material, and to fine tune their skills.

Continually evolving, this material is as fresh as the last client I worked with, and it is as comprehensive to the needs of a rep as I can possible make it.

Though available as a two day program, it's usually presented in it's one day format on Fridays or Saturdays, to minimize the impact on the company's operations.

I always plan to arrive the afternoon prior to the session, to spend time with the management team to customize the content. This prework is included in the workshop fee.

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Management consulting, time and territory management training, territory sales training, sales management training, purchasing and marketing training, and broker and sales agent training, in the wholesale distribution, foodservice distribution, and manufacturing communities