Spring Cleaning and Distributor Clutter

My grandmother was the Spring Clean Queen.  About this time every year, she began a process that lasted several weeks. She started with her carefully curated and revised list from the previous year, a habit she had maintained for over 50 years of housekeeping.  Since I was Grandma’s favorite, I knew precisely where she kept the list.  When I was eight years old, I thought about adding my younger siblings’ names to a couple of tasks.  Two things kept me from doing this – fear and common sense.

 

At the time, I did not appreciate Grandma’s plan, but as the years passed, I realized it was a great tool for maintaining clutter and keeping her small house crystal clean, especially for impromptu visitors.

 

I decided to apply the concept to distribution, as well as to my workspace.  Here are some distributor-centric fundamentals to consider:

 

Declutter the office:

·         One distributor we know holds an annual declutter day.  One Friday is devoted to throwing away the accumulation of old catalogs, brochures, and unused junk in the office spaces and conference rooms.  Prizes are given for the best before and after pictures of workspaces.  They brag about the overflowing dumpster brought in for the week and rightfully so!

·         Annual “clean out the literature room” day.  After going through hundreds of literature rooms I can say we, as an industry, typically have some darn cluttered literature rooms. 

·         Grab your leadership team and walk around the outside of your building.  Winter may have wreaked havoc with the landscaping and there may be hidden piles of Starbucks cups and assorted trash.  Set a time for refreshing the curb appeal of your building.

·         Do the outside lights work?  You probably didn’t notice the ones flickering or the one in the loading dock area with a broken wire.  Determine what needs attention and get it fixed, even if you must hire someone.

 

Spring cleaning applies to computer systems, too.

·         When was the last time you cleaned up your CRM data?  There are distributors out there who never update their data.  One distributor told us they decided to clean things up when they discovered a couple of their active contacts had died four years ago, and many more had left their employers for the beaches of Florida.

·         Email systems need cleaning too.  If you have leftovers in your inbox from 2014, now might be a good time to toss some of them.  Use folders or labels to organize them.  Remember to use this system with all new items to avoid this issue later. 

 

Spring cleaning – People Style.

·         Do you have any overdue performance reviews?  It happens, but it’s time to get back on track.  Get them done now AND put a date in your calendar for the next set.

·         Do you use self-direct training where employees work at their own pace?  Now is a good time to check their progress.

·         Have you examined the CRM system lately?  Have some of your employees grown lax on logging activities or opportunities?

·         Gap Analysis often reveals information salespeople can use to better understand their accounts.  If getting this information requires some report generation, now is the time to set a goal for getting first-quarter information into your seller’s hands and minds.

 

Business Process Cleanup.

·         Review customer pricing agreements.  Are any of them expired?  This could translate into margin and profit erosion. 

·         Review marketing programs from manufacturers.  Are you following through with your commitments?

·         Schedule second-quarter planning reviews with key suppliers. 

·         Attack those piles of defective products waiting to be returned to their respective manufacturers that everyone has avoided!

 

Do you have something that belongs on this list? 
I didn’t add this to the list, but my personal battle is finding the top of my desk.  While I view the organized chaos as proof of being busy, it often makes it difficult to focus.  This will be fixed.

 

What tips do you have to refresh your workspace this spring?  Drop us an email with your ideas or before/after pics for a chance to win a copy of my book, The New Sales Guy Project.