Mr. Rakesh, a high-performing field sales agent in an FMCG company, consistently manages to complete his assigned client list in a very short time. However, the challenge lies in the fact that he is the only one able to do so, while his fellow field representatives struggle to keep up. When Rakesh’s manager reviewed his report, he realized that Rakesh always followed a specific order during his visits. Expecting the same level of performance from all field representatives is unrealistic. This is where a Sales Beat Plan, also known as PJP (Pre Journey Plan), becomes necessary.

What is PJP in Sales?

A Pre-Journey Plan, also known as a Permanent Journey Plan, is a predefined route for a sales agent that is structured on a daily basis. For instance, suppose your sales agent is assigned to territory A, which includes a mix of 20 dealers and retailers. With a PJP in place, the sales agent doesn’t need to remember all 20 clients; they can simply follow the predetermined order of visits.

By adhering to this predefined order, your agent is less likely to miss any clients during their visits. This means that if a store is facing a stock outage, your field representative can promptly replenish the inventory. Additionally, this beat plan format ensures that both order and payment collection processes are streamlined. Furthermore, your representatives can gain a comprehensive understanding of market dynamics, including which clients need to be prioritized for visits and the optimal timing based on store types, categories, and segments.

Why is PJP important for companies with field sales agents?

Beat planning, also known as PJP (Pre-Journey Plan), plays a crucial role in crafting effective sales and distribution strategies, offering the following benefits:

1. Optimized Resource Allocation

PJP eliminates the possibility of overlapping sales routes for field sales reps. With clear predefined journey plans, each field rep can focus on their unique designated outlets, thereby maximizing business generation, which is the ultimate organizational goal.

2. Identification of Sales Issues

A PJP establishes expectations regarding the routes sales reps will follow and the targeted clients they must reach. This serves as a metric to identify missed opportunities and the reasons behind them, prompting the need for reassessment in those areas.

3. No More Repeating Past Mistakes

Analyzing past beat routes helps in avoiding resource underutilization, reducing the length of beats, and eliminating route overlapping, ensuring optimized beat planning strategies.

4. Higher Productivity on Field

A well-designed PJP ensures maximum efficiency from field sales executives while minimizing travel and time costs. This leads to improved employee productivity, sales performance, and customer satisfaction.