In a mature OEM sales organization, the unique skill sets of territory management and dealer development demand distinct roles; by specializing, we not only maximize talent but also foster stronger relationships that drive long-term success.
Two Positions or Just One?
I believe in most mature OEM sales organizations there should be unique positions for territory management and dealer development, the two separate tasks should not be the responsibility of one person. The territory manager’s job is to support and grow the mature dealers by educating, equipping and motivating them. The dealer development manager’s job is to identify, recruit and sign new dealers. Both jobs need focus and require a specific skillset. It is rare to find an individual that can do both jobs efficiently.
Skillsets and Personality
The dealer development manager needs the skillset of a hunter. The territory manager needs the skillset of a farmer. The hunter is in the moment, focused and loves the chase. They efficiently evaluate prospects, gain contact and win over support. They are practiced in their pitch and the telling of the OEM story. They convey professionalism and excitement. The hunter needs to be comfortable with repeated rejection and have the perseverance to continue. After the close, it’s not necessarily bad that the hunter gets bored and wants to move onto the next chase.
The farmer gets joy out of planting seeds, nurturing, caring and growing their dealers and territories. They are patient, detail oriented and plan everything in the long term. They build their reputation day by day and strong relationships last years. They are seen by their dealers as a colleague and friend. They bring long-term value to their dealers and their territory will grow steadily at a sure, predictable pace. It is possible for an individual that at first may seem unimpressive to be an outstanding territory manager. They are empathetic and consistent and over the long term they become an enormous resource to their dealers.
Use of Resources
When you have a territory manager who is great at educating, equipping and motivating dealers, it is a waste of time and money to have them visiting empty markets and talking to non-producing prospects. When you have a dealer development manager that is awesome at presenting and reeling in new prospects, it is a waste of time and money to have them visiting mature dealers that have already bought into the OEM. You have people that are very good at certain tasks, keep them doing those things as much as possible.
Over-Qualified
If you have a team member that gives a great first impression, is polished in their presentation skills, great at networking and also is detail oriented, long-term minded and a great trainer, someone is going to make them a district or national sales manager. Hopefully it is you! Like I mentioned, it is rare you will find the ideal skillset and personality of both positions in the same person. When you do, they are probably able to contribute to the bigger picture more than they can contribute in one individual territory. You don’t need to avoid hiring these people, but just know that the territory position is likely a rung in their ladder up. Depending on your business needs at the time, a candidate with all the right stuff for both positions should be put in the territory management spot. They will learn more there that will be used in their future work.
A note on transitions…Special care needs to be taken when transitioning rock-stars out of territory roles. The gain from one or two awesome years in a territory can be lost with a poor transition. A transition from “the best rep we ever had” to a brand new to the business territory manager can cause some whiplash and ill will from dealers. The exiting team member should help in the transfer and be available in the short term for dealer support.
Exceptions to Separating the Roles
There are two circumstances when I think it’s a good idea to have the territory manager also do dealer development. The first is when new dealer acquisition is priority number one. This happens early in the product life or at time of reinvestment or reloading. At this time, the long-term vision of the farmer is helpful to look at the whole map. They can appeal in these times to new dealers because they will be able to communicate the future and the vision. Also, rapidly adding partners can cause conflicts and the farmer will be best at seeing these early and heading them off.
The second occasion when I think the two tasks can be one is when the geographic territories are small enough to be traveled day to day by car. Again, the farmer will be better at recognizing potential conflicts in tight territories. They also will not be pulled out of their producing markets to go check out potential new partners. Their new dealer prospecting can be done as part of their regular support trips.
Summary
Hopefully this helps you decide to separate your dealer development from your territory management. The good news is that by specializing you can field the right people and probably even reduce needed staff and increase success. When you hire and train a territory manager to just manage the territory, you can get the right candidate, they will need less supervision and encouragement and they can probably handle a much bigger territory. In a mature environment you probably need one dealer development manager for every two or three territories. Separate and win.
