SALES CLINIC.

Q It is normal practice with our sales force to start the day in the office. We can talk to staff members, including the sales manager, handle mail and telephone calls, plan the rest of the day and make appointments before hitting the road. However, some of our younger sales people are not showing up and that seems to irritate our sales manager. He thinks they are sleeping in. When I questioned some of them about it they claimed they were seeing customers and prospects and found that to be better use of their time. Do you have an opinion? (HCB Michigan)

A Yes, I sure do. But before I tell you what it is, I'd like to talk to your sales manager. Instead of getting irritated with those who don't show up each morning in your office, why don't you track the order performance of those who come into the office and those who don't. That would give you facts to support one way of starting the day versus another.

Yes, the number of calls you make does affect the number of orders you write. By starting early you will make more calls each day. During the day you will have some downtime -- reception room waiting looms largest. You can use downtime on your cellular phone to make future appointments -- later in the day, tomorrow, next week or whenever. You can also call your office for messages.

Another reason to start the day early is that you may be one of the few sellers out there. Your competitors are in their sales offices. You are writing orders and your competitors are not.

What Makes Winners Win is the title of a book by C.W. Hitzemann. One chapter is about how to increase your number of sales calls without damage to the quality of the calls. You can get the book from PGI Press, 888-345-5426.

Readers are invited to submit questions, problems or comments to Harry Gordon c/o Agri Marketing, Sales Clinic, 11701 Borman Drive, Suite 100, St. Louis, MO 63146, or FAX to 314/569-1083.