Steps to take for proper planning and analysis
Experienced, well-established distribution account managers can usually go about their business from day to day and be successful with limited planning. After all, customer loyalty, great suppliers and superb support from their company put them in an excellent starting position every day. You might say they start the race in pole position.
But, it’s a long race and starting on the pole does not guarantee a podium finish. What separates the very good from the best? Sales skills count. So does having access to an outstanding range of products customers want and need at competitive prices. Add in exceptional suppliers and you have a great mix.
Yet there is still one ingredient missing, and that’s the subject of this column – good old-fashioned planning and analysis.
While planning may seem to be the least glamourous element of the life of the experienced sale professional, in my opinion it’s what separates the great from the near great. With over 250,000 products to pick from and a well-established customer base, it’s easy to fall into the “Make a few calls today, check in with my key customers, remind folks of a promo or two and see what happens” mentality. If showing up for work is half the battle is true, this is not the worst approach you could use. At least it gets you out in front of opportunities every day and in conversation with your customers and prospects.
But what happens when you thoughtfully plan your activities every week and track which products and services make a difference for your customers and which help you increase your revenue, margin and earnings? In my experience, the very best account managers leave little to chance and start each day with a clear vision of what they will do, and how they will manage their business for the greatest return on their time, their most valuable resource.
Let’s take a look at some simple ways to analyze and plan your activities that provide you with some structure without consuming tons of time. After all, one of the most common excuses I hear for not planning is “I just don’t have the time. I’m too busy putting out fires.” Did you ever stop to think that at least some of the fires stem from lack of planning?
Step 1: Set your objective realistically and stick to it
If you dare to give planning a shot, you need to develop a firm objective. You need to know the end game before you can plan to achieve it.
As a straw man, let’s start with an objective I hear from many professional account managers: Their goal is to be first or second in their regional sales ranking every month and quarter. And their longer-term goal is to be recognized at their annual sales meeting as a top performer. Your near-term goal should span at least a month or quarter, and your longer term objective should cover the business period.
Step 2: Once you set your objective, evaluate your territory as a portfolio manager
Understand your customers’ challenges and pain. Is it time management, spend management, running a POL, keeping up with regulatory requirements, or competition from retail convenience clinics and free-standing urgent care centers? Knowing what your customers are up against provides the base case for understanding which suppliers, products and services you can offer for the greatest benefit to them – and you and your company.
Make a list of the key issues faced by your customers and thoughtfully consider the options to help them with your key suppliers, your manager, trusted colleagues and home office support team. In my experience, having customer spend and gap reports can go a long way to help the professional account manager understand the product and service breadth their customers need. It may vary by group size or by specialty, but there are common threads. Pediatricians tend to have the same needs, as do most other practice specialties. I have found that thinking about the needs of my ideal customer by specialty helps you narrow your focus and target the right products and services.
As you consider product opportunities, take the time to understand and promote products that naturally complement each other. Remind your customers who have spend gaps which products and services customers just like them use to manage their practice and business. We all know what to sell in respiratory season: prevention, protection, testing and treatment are the three pillars of products and services our customers need. What about back-to-school season? How about chronic care opportunities? Do you have a plan for each type of opportunity and know which customers are most likely to need the products and services you and your company offer?
Every professional account manager knows which products you have that are best in class. Be sure to highlight them as you describe your service offering. It is important to gain and use feedback and support from your key suppliers as you go about planning, especially as your company provides you with new products and promotions. How does COVID-19 testing fit into respiratory season? Will there be changes in how physician practices see patients this year? If so, how can you help with workflow, patient safety and rapid, effective diagnosis and treatment?
Step 3: Integrate corporate communication, promotions and focus into your daily routine
Is your company driving diabetes and cardiovascular disease awareness and prevention? Is your current corporate focus intended to help your customers thrive in new market conditions created by COVID-19, PAMA and MACRA? How do your key suppliers fit into the mix? What are their promotions and how do they benefit your customers?
Step 4: Putting it all together
You have all the skills, outstanding suppliers and products, great customer loyalty and work for a great distributor. Add in a little planning to your daily routine and see what happens. My prediction: you will experience fewer fire drills, have more satisfied customers and increase your revenues, margin and earnings.