Estimated reading time: 4 minutes

It's Only Common Sense: The Ride-Along

Editor's Note: To listen to Dan's weekly column, as you've always done in the past, click here. For the written transcript, keep reading...One of the most important aspects of being a sales manager is the ride-along. Riding along with your salespeople is the one time you get to go one-on-one with them. The one time you get to find out how she's really doing. The one time you get to walk in his shoes and see what things are like with customers in his territory.

For the salesperson this is time for him to spend with you--to have you all to himself for a few days. All those hours of windshield time together can prove very rewarding, if you plan accordingly. The key here is to plan ahead: Make sure you know what you want to get out of this time, what you want to discover about your salesperson, and what you want your salesperson to learn during this time.

Working directly with your salesperson for a few days provides a magnificent opportunity to observe, evaluate, communicate, and motivate. Use this time wisely--don't wing it.

Here are five tips to make your windshield time valuable:

1. Plan ahead. Give your salesperson plenty of advanced warning of exactly when you will be working with him. If you’re a sales manager with a crew of five to 10 salespeople, I would advise you to plan your entire year in advance. Realistically speaking, if you have eight or 10 salespeople you're only going to be able to spend about a week (maybe two, tops) with each of them so it would behoove you to plan this time well in advance.The more advance warning you give a salesperson the more productive your time with him will be.
2. Let the salesperson know who you'd like to see. I suggest that you plan on meeting with a wide array of customers, from the longtime, well-established customers you already know, to the newer ones, and--probably the most critical--the brand-new ones. Have your salesperson throw in a couple of cold calls as well, but be very clear about exactly who you want to see. Remember, we’re talking about a routine ride-along here, not a visit based on going into the territory to close a large order or to put out a raging customer service fire. These visits are very different.
3. Communicate with your salesperson. This may be the only time you have the chance to talk so talk for heavens’ sake. Focus on communicating. Find out from her how things are going. Ask him about the customers and how they are doing. Get to know the nuances of his territory. Try to get a feeling for any problems that might be looming. Take the time to get to know her better: This is a great time to find out what her dreams and aspirations are. This is all valuable information you can use in your future management strategy for this particular person. Remember, this person is on her own most of the time. She might only get back to the company once or twice a year, so the company is a just a bunch of voices on the phone. You are the one live connection she has to the company, so understand that and take full advantage. This is a great time to fill him in on how things are going with the company. Let him know about any future plans or any changes in strategy or company direction. Make him feel like he is truly part of the company.
4. Spend as much time as you can motivating the salesperson. If she is doing a great job, let her know. Let her know her performance has been recognized and is appreciated. If the salesperson is having a hard time, work with him, advise him, and help him to find a way to do a better job. If he's having such a hard time that he's on thin ice, let him know. Not in a mean way, but in a productive way. Find out what the problem is and work with him to devise a plan that will raise his performance level and save his job, all the time being firm about where he's headed if things do not change in the near future.
5. After each customer meeting, provide an evaluation of how the call went and how your salesperson did. If he did a great job, let him know in detail what you liked and why. If he faltered, let him know that as well. The point is to provide valuable and instant feedback at all times. This is why you are there--to manage.

And number six (yes, there's one more):Leave the salesperson better off than when you arrived. Make sure that when you leave she has a very clear picture of what's going on at the company, what things (good or bad) are happening, how she's doing, what she needs to do in the future, and where she stands with the company.

Finally, follow up when you return to the office. Write the salesperson a summary of the ride-along, relay your observations, list the actions you discussed and agreed to, and create a plan for the future to make sure that everything gets done in a timely manner.

Stay focused on making sure you're doing everything you can to help your salesperson be great at what he does. Invest the time and effort required to make him the successful salesperson you company needs and he will become just that. You'll be helping him, helping your company, and helping yourself as well. It’s only common sense.