"Your territory is at plan. Good month."
That can be true, and still miss the most important thing happening in the territory.
A total is an average of many stories. A key hospital can be slipping while a few small accounts grow. The number looks fine. The problem is already there.
Pareto's principle applies here: a few accounts drive most of a territory's result. So in my monthly reviews, I start with those and not with the total.
Four things I look at with the rep:
- The few that matter. Which doctors and accounts actually drive this territory?
- Trend by account. Is each one growing, flat or slipping?
- Calls versus potential. Are the highest-potential doctors the ones seen most often?
- The next step. One agreed action for each account that is slipping.
How it is run matters as much as what is on the screen.
- The rep brings the account view. I ask the questions.
- We start with what is going well.
- A slipping account is something we explore together, not a charge against the rep. Often the reason is access, stock or a competitor, not effort.
“Totals tell you how the month went. Accounts tell you why.”
Lesson 8 of 13 in Step 2: Targets, forecasts and numbers, with the full guide and a checklist for this week.