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Chapter 15 - Managing Your Time and Territory
CHAPTER 15
MANAGING YOUR TIME AND TERRITORY
I. The Value of Time
II. The Self Management Process
III. Setting Goals
A. Need for Goals
B. Nature of Goals
D. Setting Sales Goals
IV. Allocating Resources
A. Resources to be Allocated
B. Where to Allocate Resources
C. Account Classification and Resource Allocation
1. ABC Analysis
V. Implementing the Time Management Strategy
A. Daily Activity Planning
1. Guidelines
B. Planning Process
1. Using the Computer for Planning
2. Need for Flexibility
D. Handling Paperwork and Reports
1. Using the Computer to Handle Paperwork
VI. Evaluating Performance
A. Postcall Analysis
Chapter 15 - Managing Your Time and Territory
Teaching Suggestions
1. Goal-setting
The discussion on goals can begin with asking students their goals. What is their goal for this
class (tell them it is okay to set getting a B as a goal, as long as the goal fits in a framework which
you will discuss-this will encourage them to be more candid)? For school in general? How does
that relate to their long-term life objectives? While sales goals can be classified as performance,
A discussion concerning the characteristics of goals is also appropriate. Good goals are:
1. Specific. Vague goals make it difficult to develop plans because the objective isn’t clear. A
lack of specificity also makes the goal more like a “suggestion” than an end-point.
2. Measurable. You have to know when you have reached a goal.
2. Have students refer to Exhibit 15-3. Change the monthly commission goals, commission levels,
or productivity estimates and goals to various numbers and work through the changes in activity
goals. Another method is to ask a student what s/he wants to earn in a year after graduation, then
use the other numbers from the Exhibit to work out the activity they must perform.
3. Market analysis is a little hard to understand. The key difference between account analysis and
market analysis is that in market analysis, the rep is looking for larger patterns, for market
segments. You may want to begin with a discussion of account analysis using the Sales Call
Allocation Grid (Exhibit 15-5). It is one thing to analyze and develop a completely tailored
Chapter 15 - Managing Your Time and Territory
4. The first Thinking It Through is a good introduction to the Activity Planning Process. The
5. If we were to analyze a salesperson’s job time wise, it would fall into four categories:
1. Planning and preparation
2. Travel and waiting
The greatest improvements in time management are made in planning and preparation, such as in
account classification, call scheduling, and preparation of the sales presentation. It isn’t that the
rep can gain more by planning less (or using less time to plan), the rep gains by doing a better job
proper amount of time to each activity. Effective time use includes using time allocated.
Here are some tips for improving the use of time:
Planning and preparation
1. Use account analysis to space frequency of calls on potential, not convenience. Using
ABC analysis, for example, will reduce the number of calls on low priority accounts.
2. Know where you are going, and why. Recall the need for call goals and make sure those
goals are set for each call.
3. Schedule time as far in advance as possible. Use a tickler feature on a computerized
Chapter 15 - Managing Your Time and Territory
Travel and Waiting
1. Route or zone calls to reduce travel time.
2. Make appointments to assure the interview and reduce waiting time.
Selling
1. See the right person, the one who can make a decision.
2. Prepare carefully. Be sure of your purpose and what you can accomplish.
3. Avoid call-backs. Over-prepare the paperwork so you’ll be ready for any contingency.
4. Send literature in advance to reduce presentation time.
Non-Selling Activities
1. Keep office routine to a minimum. Do paperwork outside of prime selling time.
improve customer service.
6. If you didn’t use the first Thinking It Through to set up the discussion, use it now to wrap up.
You can also ask someone to reflect on the Selling Yourself quote from Paul Lushin, noted sales
Chapter 15 - Managing Your Time and Territory
Suggested Answers to Ethics Problems
1. A sales manager schedules all sales training and sales meetings on the weekend so the
salespeople lose no selling time. Is this ethical? Does your answer depend on how they get paid –
straight salary, salary plus commission, or straight commission?
Students tend to reject this practice out of hand as they want their weekends. Many salespeople,
though, work on Saturdays to clean up paperwork. They choose, on their own, to spend as much
2. One company’s culture is “flashy,” meaning salespeople are expected to wear expensive
suits, expensive jewelry and watches, and drive expensive cars. Assume you are about to
graduate and go to work for this company. Consider this culture and relate it to your goals—how
might this culture influence your goals? Is that influence healthy? Why or why not?
Suggested Answers to Questions and Problems
1. Re-read the Opening Profile (Mike Rocker), From the Buyer's Seat (Sales According to Woody
Allen), and Building Partnerships (Urgent vs. Important). What themes run through all three
essays?
One theme is the importance of choosing how to spend time wisely. Just showing up isn’t just
2. Lydia Pearce, Susan Flaviano, and many other salespeople work out of their home. Pearce and
Flaviano both recognize how tempting it is to work longer and to put off paperwork until the
weekends because it is so convenient. What problems might succumbing to such temptation
cause? What safeguards can they put into place?
The obvious temptation is to spend too much time working, and then ignoring one’s own health
(either emotional or physical or both), family and friends. Some safeguards include creating an
3. Compare and contrast the special problems of self-management for Mike Rocker (this chapter's
opening profile) and John Tanner (he was profiled in Chapter 14. Both work in health care sales
but one travels the western half of the US and works out of his home, the other manages a
territory consisting of one small city and works out of the office.
Chapter 15 - Managing Your Time and Territory
Mike spends time traveling by air to see far-flung accounts. His time management challenges
John works out of an office. When he’s at work, he’s working. Mike, however, works from home.
When is he really at work and when is he at home? The temptation to sneak to the fridge for
another bite of last night’s pie, water the yard, and so forth can eat into his selling time.
4. Shakespeare wrote, “To thine own self be true. “ How would you apply this statement to your
planning and developing activities?
You need to understand yourself well enough to know what types of time traps you allow
5. What factors are important for classifying customers? Why?
The following factors would be important for classifying customers.
a. Past sales, total for the product category and for your product
b. Share of business from the customer (are you getting all of their business or just part of it?)
c. Level of satisfaction-a satisfied customer may need less service
d. Sales potential relative to call rate-how much can be gained by increasing sales effort, lost by
decreasing effort
e. Location of accounts
How would these factors change depending on the industry?
6. Distinguish between routing and scheduling and between routing and zoning. Explain how
routing and scheduling can interact to complicate the planning of an efficient day’s work.
Salespeople can only call on buyers when buyers want to see them. Scheduling involves setting
Chapter 15 - Managing Your Time and Territory
7. How might a pharmaceutical salesperson increase the number of calls made per day?
A financial services representative selling pension plans to companies?
Similar to the pharmaceutical rep, a financial services rep calling on companies could do a lot of
A financial services representative selling retirement plans to consumers?
Direct mail and telephone will certainly help, but this rep is also more likely to use seminars as a
A representative who sells golf clubs to retailers and pro shops?
This is one example where you can make a point of the effectiveness of trade shows. The major
8. One sales manager said “Sales is a numbers game. To make more sales, make more calls.”
Should sales managers encourage salespeople to continually increase the number of calls made
each week? Explain your answer. Read From the Buyer’s Seat 15.1. How does this essay relate to
your answer?
Of course not. Sales managers should be just as interested in the quality of sales calls. The
9. One recruiter told a class that students are used to getting feedback on how they are doing every
couple of months, but salespeople do not get a “final grade” until a year has gone by. He claims
that students have a hard time making that adjustment when they enter the work world. What do
salespeople do to know where they stand at any given time?
Chapter 15 - Managing Your Time and Territory
Professional salespeople keep records of their activity, and how each call came out so they know
how many prospects they have, who will buy when, and how many of each type of sales call
needs to be made in order to succeed.
What do you do now that helps you know where you stand in your classes? Why is such
knowledge important?
One thing I’ve noticed in working with students on academic probation is that they do not keep
10. How would you use the sales effort allocation grid to determine a prospecting plan? Be specific
and number each step of the process you would use.
The steps are these:
1. Plot all current accounts on the grid.
2. Examine the grid for patterns – are there types of companies with whom you have a strong
11. All semester so far, you've been selling Netsuite in practice role plays. List three benefits that
Netsuite provides salespeople in self-management and three benefits for sales managers in
supporting the sales team's time and territory management efforts.
Students will come up with varying answers but here’s a few.
Salespeople:
1. Reminders keep salespeople from missing important calls or tasks.
Sales managers:
1. Can look into a rep’s pipeline and provide support, either by directing activity or by offering
tips on how to sell to specific accounts
Chapter 15 - Managing Your Time and Territory
Suggested Answers to Case Problems
Case 15-1: MicroDyne
Questions:
1. Assess the new MicroDyne account in terms of the sales effort allocation grid.
Overall, the strength of position is unknown, but the opportunity is great. The question is who
will be in charge of the account on the MicroDyne side – Jack or the Dynamic Tool management
team? Also unknown is how well Target did for Micro before the merger. If you are doing this
2. Assume the call is not from Jack but from the former Dynamic Tool CFO. She tells you that she is
the new CFO, and they will be reviewing all vendors. You ask about Jack’s responsibility and job
title, and she laughs. “I know what you’re thinking. But don’t worry. You’ve done a great job for
us. We just want to consolidate all purchases so we know we’re getting the best deal.” How
should Bill respond? What should he do?
Many mergers and acquisitions are supposed to cut overhead by consolidating operations. Sounds
like that is what she is trying to do. Was it truly a merger or an acquisition, and if an acquisition,
was any new debt taken on? These questions are important to understand if pricing pressure is
Case 15-2: Tri-Qual Systems
Questions:
1. Where would you place these accounts on the sales effort allocation grid? Justify your responses.
Some students will fail to recognize the potential of ACH – they’ll say with the exclusive
Chapter 15 - Managing Your Time and Territory
2. What is your sales strategy for each one? What is the order of priority?
The order of priority will vary from student to student but ACH and the Orchard are likely the top
priorities because of their potential. However, one could argue that the Orchard’s bid process
3. If you were to look for new companies to work with, use the information from these descriptions
and design the perfect prospect.
ROLE PLAY EXERCISE
National Barns
You are the Chief Information Officer for National Barns, a company with 24 salespeople, 3 sales
managers, and a VP of sales. The company manages commercial real estate. The NetSuite salesperson has
called on you every other week for the past two years, and frankly, it is annoying. When the sales call is
made, greet the sales rep like a friend. Ask “What’s up?” and if the answer is something like “Not much,”
Maguire Manufacturing
You are the VP of sales for Maguire, and the company is growing rapidly. Currently, you have 48
salespeople (more than the book says because you grew since then), and you will be adding two more by
the end of the quarter.
Chapter 15 - Managing Your Time and Territory
Grafton Gifts
You are the VP of marketing. There are 120 salespeople reporting through a sales management team of 15
sales managers and 2 regional sales vice presidents to the executive VP of sales, your counterpart. They
call on some 40,000 retail locations around the US, Canada, and Mexico.
EXERCISE 15-1
Keep a time diary for 1 week. Record at every meal and bedtime what you did and for how long. You
may find it easier if you keep a small notebook with you at all times. At the end of the week, divide your
activities into categories, then determine how much time you spent in each category. How could you use
this to plan your time? Did you use the information to plan? What activities took longer than you thought
they would? Why did they take longer?
