Medical Device Sales Science at Work – The Field Sales Evaluation
Reading time: 4 – 6 minutes
In the last post “50% of sales success is showing up”, the concept of sales as a science was discussed. If you can motivate a sales person to show up more often and more consistently, then how can you influence him/her to be more productive and effective with the customer?
The Field Sales Evaluation is one sales management tool that can help make sales people more productive. It is easy to do. It is constructive in its approach to the manager and the sales person. There are many more tools. But this is what will be discussed today. This tool is an important part of closing the loop in sales management and leadership. To help make this clear I have created a basic Field_Sales_Eval_Form in MS Word. Feel free to download it and modify it for your use.
A Field Sales Evaluation occurs when the sales manager (or person serving this role) works in the field with the sales person.
My past experience with small and medium sized medical device companies is that the sales representatives don’t get enough management support IN THE FIELD. Managers get so tied up in the office that they almost forget the sales reps exist until it is the end of the month, end of the quarter end of the end of the fiscal year. At the same time, most good sales representatives will admit that they would like management to experience what they do in the field and meet the customers. Furthermore, most good sales reps will by happy to hear constructive feedback and ideas to help them achieve higher sales. Working in the field with a sales rep is a small investment that can pay great dividends. With some minor alterations this can work with distributors and distributor representatives as well.
The process:
- The manager notifies the sales representative well in advance of the fieldwork.
- The manager sends the sales representative the Field Sales Evaluation form with instructions.
- The sales representative completes the Fieldwork Goals and Targeted Accounts and returns the form to the manager.
- The Fieldwork takes place and the Field Sales Evaluation Form is completed by the manager and representative together.
- The manager should always ask the rep what he/she thinks went right and what needs improvement first. Then the manager can agree and offer more observations.
- Both sign the form and agree to use it as a baseline for further work and discussions.
As you read of the impact of a properly executed Field Sales Evaluation, consider the positive psychological effect on the sales representative. This is sales science at work.
A properly executed Field Sales Evaluation visit will result in:
- For the Sales Representative:
- Improved productivity in advance of the visit because as the rep thinks about the upcoming visit and how he/she might perform, this more alert sales mentality is transferred to current sales calls.
- Improved productivity via better pre-call planning and account targeting as the rep concentrates harder on preparing for the visit of the manager.
- Improved productivity via higher rate of decision makers seen. The rep will try harder in the presence of the manager.
- Higher sales as the rep puts more focus on the sales process prior to the arrival of the manager and in the presence of a manager.
- Learning from the manager regarding product benefits, sales technique, etc.
- All of the above will impact sales activity by the representative for weeks to come if not longer
- For the Manager:
- Improved relationship with the sales rep.
- A better understanding of the competition.
- A better understanding of the product improvements and sales tools needed by the sales representatives.
- Creation of a baseline for the next field work with the rep or a follow-up conversation.
It is not uncommon in smaller companies to have the sales people reporting to a non-sales executive like the President or COO. Sometimes these executives feel like they don’t have anything to offer the sales representatives in terms of guidance and shy away from fieldwork and sales evaluations. Non-sales executives can successfully implement the process described above and be very effective.
What would you add to the Field Sales Evaluation process?
If you aren’t doing anything like this at your company, start implementing it today.
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