This was a great moment in locating the key to low performance among this staff and it would not have been possible unless that manager spent considerable time observing. The answers are often right under your nose, but you have to get out on the floor to find them. This process is not limited to non-house call stores. Few sales managers or owners can remember the last time they went to a customer's home with a designer. Unfortunately, it's usually a case of out of site, out of mind .
Designers can go for months doing things that result in lost customers.
This is often to the total bewilderment of sales managers who may view these individuals as excellent salespeople on the floor. The fact is, you can't understand what these people are doing in client's homes unless you get out there and do it with them. In virtually every other industry that conducts outside sales calls, managers regularly accompany their people on calls. Immediately following each call they have curbside meetings in which the manager and salesperson discuss what happened. Because we don't view our house call designers as outside salespeople, we typically don't participate in this process.