Selling To and Through Dealers:
An Ag Field Manager Program
(3 Day Workshop with 4 Week Follow-Through)

The ONLY Sales Program Specifically Developed for Ag Field Managers

Field Managers face some unique challenges. While being sales people first, they are also ambassadors for their companies. They must develop excellent relationships with their dealers, provide them with valuable resources and also get them to sell.

Assertive management of this relationship is essential. This is often hampered by their inability to control the relationship. A number of factors contribute to undermine their effectiveness. These include their own fears about self-promotion and how the dealer views them.

Suppliers want their field personnel to be effective and train them well in their technology. Often, though, they neglect to arm them with some vital 'soft' skills.

Working side-by-side with field managers and their dealers, Frank Lee developed a keen appreciation of the difficulties they face daily. He has counseled many field managers on how to improve their relationships with their dealers.

From this hands-on experience, he developed a training program specifically for field managers. He designed it to help them manage their own fears about the relationship while, at the same time, helping them to understand their dealers better. The result is a field manager who assertively and effectively manages the dealer relationship. This results in a win-win situation and a deeper appreciation of the field manager by the dealer.

Ag Field Manager Program

The full program consists of 3 days of training.

DAY 1 - The Fear-Free Workshop

All participants take the Call Reluctance Test before the workshop.

The workshop shows them the specific fears behind the avoidance behaviors some of them habitually engage in. It provides counter-measures based on their individual test reports to eliminate these fears.

By understanding their own call reluctances, they will understand those of their dealers. This enables them to better manage their relationships. They learn the difference between aggression and assertion and how assertive management of their dealer relationships can benefit themselves as well as their dealers. They also understand the reason for their relationship.

They develop greater self-confidence.

DAY 2 - Sales Training

Because Territory Managers often act as Sales Managers for the sales people in dealerships they service, they must have excellent selling skills in certain key areas. Because they must practice these selling skills on their dealerships, they must also master certain sales techniques. This workshop concentrates on the key aspects of selling as they apply to the Territory Manager.

• The 2 questions all professional sales people must ask.
• The value of successful selling behaviors.
• The 4 levels of selling and how to reach the 4th level.
• Closing a sale and getting commitment.
• Objections - especially the price objection.
• Consultative selling.
• Magic presentations.

DAY 3 - Selling To and Through Dealers

Among other things, this workshop builds on the previous workshops and covers:

• What exactly is your relationship with the dealer? (The answer may be a surprise!)
• Creating and maintaining an assertive relationship
• Why should a dealer sell your products? Looking at things through his eyes.
• What are the most valuable parts of your relationship from his perspective?
• Why motivation in a dealership often does not work and what the alternatives are.
• The issues facing most dealers (even those wanting to work with you), how these get in the way and how to help them resolve these issues.
• Training in dealerships - what is needed and how to get them to do it.
• How to get your dealers to sell more of your products.

Follow-Through

Once a week for 4 weeks, field managers send behavioral report forms to Sales Academy. These are designed to keep the field manager on track with the learning and ensure specific problems are addressed.

Follow-Up Workshop (1 Day - Optional)

The follow-up Workshop is presented 3 months after the first workshops. This is a highly customized workshop designed to build on the initial training while, at the same time, addressing even more specific problem areas. Field Managers will have had 3 months to practice the skills from the first workshops. This workshop reinforces those skills. As in all workshops designed by Sales Academy, this is specific for the group. It may take the form of a clinic. Some pre-work is required.

The Company Receives The Following:

• Individual Call Reluctance Test Report and Management Report on each Field Manager
• Call Reluctance Group Report on all Field Managers
• Unlimited telephone consultations with the Division Manager or Vice President of Sales
• Additional sales from dealerships.