Field Force Excellence - The future of field organization

The field organizations in the sales area are known to be one of the most expensive marketing instruments in the company. Hardly any other organization is therefore examined more critically in terms of costs, efficiency and effectiveness than the field force. The company management is constantly faced with the question of whether the "return on investment" is still right given the existing size? The Corona crisis is exacerbating this entrepreneurial challenge.

Importance and goals of Field Force Excellence

• Field Force Excellence is a key factor in business success and in ensuring business profitability. The goal is to maximize sales productivity.
• Sales productivity is the ratio between the efficiency (input) and the effectiveness (output) of the field force. This means optimizing all sales measures in terms of efficiency and effectiveness, taking effectiveness, speed and sustainability into account.

Efficiency and effectiveness in the field: The most common weaknesses

Analyzes and studies with regard to the productivity and performance of the field organization show the following key weaknesses in particular:

• Missing potential-oriented customer segmentation and poor integration with visit control
• Little use of field service visits
• Disproportionate share of unproductive travel times and high administrative organizational effort
• Incorrect targets and deficits in the sales processes (including system support)
• Traditional role profile of the field service and partially lacking qualification level

1. Customer segmentation and visit control

The selection of the food retail stores for personal support by the AD must be based primarily on the sales potential and the possibility of influencing the outlet.

How important are the following criteria for you when selecting the retail outlets that are looked after by your sales force?

2. Benefits of the field service visit

25% to 50% of the visits are without concrete added value for the trade. The sales force should focus more on identifying growth opportunities for retailers. This includes best-practice solutions for product range, placement and sales support to exploit potential buyers in the category.

Question 1: What percentage of sales force visits do you consider unnecessary? (Mentions in %)

Question 2: Why are the AD visits redundant? (Mentions in %; basis: respondents who consider some of the AD visits to be superfluous)

3. Travel time in the field - hybrid selling as a future model

A high proportion of travel time without real added value is at the expense of productivity in sales. Online customer visits and the use of digital communication channels can significantly increase the support capacity in the field. Hybrid sales models are on the rise!

4. Targets for field organization and sales processes

The increase in performance in sales depends to a large extent on the correct target specifications for the field organization and the optimization of sales control, including up-to-date system support.

How do you rate the following measures to optimize the performance of field sales and to secure business development in the next 2 years?

5. Field Crew Role Profile

Many sales representatives are still traditional salespeople! The skills of the AD employees with regard to advice and marketing support at the POS will become a key competitive factor in the next few years. This also increases the requirement profile for the field service considerably.

From your point of view, what significance will the following tasks of the field team have in terms of looking after the points of sale at the POS in the next 2 years?

Levers to increase efficiency and effectiveness

The levers for success of each field force are to be analyzed and evaluated using selected performance criteria. The "fit" for the sales channel and the product group as well as the differentiation from the competition is decisive.

Levers to increase field force performance and strategic options for action

In order to increase efficiency and effectiveness in the field force, various levers must be analyzed. If optimization potential has been identified on several levers, it is necessary to check where the greatest lever for increasing performance lies and which concrete measures should be taken.

Our experience is your success!

The partners of Bavaria Consulting have more than 20 years of project experience in the field of Field Force Excellence.

Our expertise is cross-industry - food, beverage and pharmaceuticals.