Gift Rep Sandy

Posts Tagged ‘Sales Trips’

One of the first questions a potential vendor will ask you when I are opening discussions on sales repping is “what territory do you cover?”   Just like choosing a category, you will need to look at what territorial region you would like to cover. Obviously, the first choice of territory would include the state and region where you live.  (And if you want to move, this is a good business to start, when you arrive at your new location!)

Selling to stores in your hometown, is a two-edged sword, especially in the beginning.  Because buyers often will already know you, the need for introductions etc. is unnecessary.  A familiar face can go a long way in helping to “break the ice” in recruiting a new customers.  HOWEVER, because they may already know you as THEIR customer, or a member of their church, or parent of one of their children’s friends, you may need time and hard work to portray yourself as their sales rep!  Which is another reason to move if you plan to start this type of business. (I’m kidding!)

As you widen your territory, servicing all the customers in your state or at least your part of the state is a good option.  Travel time, which cuts into sales time, along with the cost of fuel, vehicle wear and tear, and meals, means you should put plenty of thought into territory.  If you chose a territory that is too large, you may spend more time traveling to and from the sales region then you may actually spend on selling. (Actually, some of my routes, including profitable routes, are like this.)

Ideally, the best territory to service is less than a half day’s travel time, with some sales stops. That way, you can commute from home, and avoid the cost of overnight travel. Next best, is a territory within one full day’s travel time by car or van. So you might consider 300 miles as the maximum distance from home, if you sell in a rural area, and substantially less distance in urban areas.

Your travel model will often be a circuitous route, selling along one route to a town of some size. Stay overnight, sell around the more urban area the next day. Stay overnight. Then you can sell another day or two where you are at, but by the last day of the week, you will probably sell along a different highway route, back to home. Sometimes, you might stay in different towns every night during a week, but that is something to avoid if possible, unless the route is so lucrative, the logistics and expense are worth the effort. (And one of my routes is like that!)

Whether you are selling close by and returning home each night, or with overnight trips, you will typically need to plan routes that travel different highways to and from, whenever possible, to provide optimal coverage of your area.

Some reps specialize in a limited number of fairly exclusive lines, and sell to larger accounts, so will travel a lot further, even 1000 miles or more, making fewer stops, with longer presentation time at each stop. Each business model offers benefits and challenges, of course.