SALES FORCES AND STORES, WILL THERE BE A BEFORE AND AFTER…
If, for some time, the relationship between store personnel and field sales forces could be marked by questions, Covid-19 has changed the situation.
It’s no secret that there has always been a certain amount of questioning on the part of the distribution network employees towards the brand representatives. It was complicated for them to carry out their mission 100% serenely in order to value their added value.
If for some people this was due to the fact that the store staff had the impression that the field salesmen wanted to either just survey or even teach them their job or to cheat them, we have a different opinion.
It seems that this indifference is rather the result of two phenomena: workload and lack of understanding.
The workload of store personnel who feel they have no time to devote to external actors who disrupt their daily lives, combined with a lack of understanding of the validity of the sales force’s mission.
Deconfinement, a step forward!
After the Covid19 crisis that we went through and the recovery of the business, we are seeing a significant change in the relationship.
Store employees, whoever they may be, have not remained unscathed.
Either, the staff of the food distribution, that we can never thank enough, have suffered the full force of the crisis in a very stressful way to maintain the activity despite the risks and manage the disproportionate behaviors of the buyers.
Or, for the others, to have remained confined for nearly 2 months to be prepared to be immediately operational at the end of the crisis.
In both cases, the return of the sales force was a breath of fresh air.
Eager to get back to work, the people on the ground have redoubled their efforts to help the stores in order to ensure the recovery. A strong comeback was accompanied by the unfailing involvement of the brands’ employees, who immediately appreciated the efficiency of the joint work.
This return to activity has highlighted a very strong link between the distribution networks and the field sales force, a link that everyone wants to perpetuate.
