In short, Buzz has come face to face with the harsh realities of selling to large corporations in the 1990s, and he's having a difficult time adjusting to them. Buzz sells technical products and systems. He is accustomed to selling products to small plants. Because of the many mergers and acquisitions that have taken place over the last few years, there are fewer small plants and more large corporate buyers in his territory today. Buzz is intimidated by these younger buyers, who seem to flaunt their class rings and are comfortable in meetings that simply lead to more meetings.
Large accounts consume large chunks of available time.
This is a serious problem for independent reps and distributors, because they have to achieve a minimum coverage on many customers for several different principals. Just as individual market niches require unique strategies, large companies demand special selling techniques, support, and products. It is vital that the salesperson have the skills and credibility to handle the accounts assigned them. If they can't do the job or continuously need help, the manufacturer should consider additional training or support or changing representation. For an Ohio rep firm that sells to the food industry, the solution was to assign sales coverage by account, according to the reps' selling abilities, rather than by geographic territory.