A majority of Billboard Insider readers think an out of home sales manager shouldn’t have any accounts.
Some readers said there are exceptions…
An out of home sales manager has keep some accounts so you don’t forget what it’s like to deal with customers.
An out of home executive saysI am voting no, but I really mean that a sales manager should not carry a large number of accounts. As sales manager, I do not get paid commission. But I handle more in accounts than what my salary and maxed out bonuses are. If I were an AE with the book of business that that I carry, I would make about 35k more a year. I think that there are certain accounts a SM should carry. Maybe a couple accounts that have expressed interest of being handled by management.
Or just enough that if the need to add a new rep arises, that the SM has enough accounts to hire that individual. I think it’s wise for a SM to carry a small book of accounts just so that they don’t forget what it’s like to deal with customers. Often times managers seem to forget what it is actually like to deal with a customer. But I cannot say this enough, a SMALL book of business is ok.
Another out of home exec says keep some national accounts but leave hometown customers to your sales team
At times sales managers get pulled in all directions, and although they have some great accounts at times, they may not see the urge to upsell the customer, leaving lost revenue on the floor. They should take care of the national sales, and leave the hometown customers to the sales team.
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As someone that did the charting and location planning for years outside of sales, the problem is that when a sales manager has so many accounts, they tend to take the good billboard locations, leaving scraps to the AEs and leaving less valuable locations to sell. Ideally there should be a limit, with good locations still available. I remember junior AEs not having a chance of getting up there because they only had low-quality locations after the good stuff was sold.
Great article Dave. Like the voting part.
Let’s talk book , the article the other day the guy was too vague.
We like to keep tabs on our overall book ( signed contracts) not just A/R since that is 4 week billing .
Currently, we have about 800k for a plant with 180 faces/slots , wondering how this compares to other plants