RUN WITH THE Big dogS™ newsletter
 Volume 3, issue 24

What can farming communities teach us about managing salesmen?...John

Management idea

Are you doing your new sales rep a favor by extending his draw if he hasn't been able to reach quota?  Farming communities don't subsidize neophytes when they face a challenge, they pitch in to help them get their first crop planted and harvested.

In one of our planning meetings we were discussing the best way to handle new sales reps that weren't on track to make a sustainable wage. We considered extending the salesman's recoverable draw for a few more months, but recognized the negative impact of putting him even deeper in debt. The alternative of extending a non-recoverable draw wasn't much better.  Not only would the company lose the expected sales volume but have the added expense of the non-recoverable draw.

The client drew inspiration from a story of how a farming community helped a young couple in deep trouble half way through the growing season.  Instead of raising funds to enable them to survive until the next season, they pitched in and assisted the couple in catching up. Working side by side they coached them, adding their expertise and backs to get the crop planted, fertilized, etc.  By harvest time the failing couple harvested enough crop to make it through the winter - and had enough momentum to carry them through subsequent years on their own.

The client identified how much it would have cost to subsidize the rep and allocated about the same dollars in management and marketing support.  This hand up rather than a hand out enabled both the rep and company to achieve their sales goals.