Words from a sales representative. AB InBev: "The role of sales representative taught me how to listen, adapt, and convince"

The profession of area sales manager is a cornerstone of large-scale retail. At 22 years old, Taina De Demo discovered the inner workings of field commerce and this (somewhat) unique job within a global giant: AB InBev. As an area sales manager, she traveled to convenience stores in southwestern Paris. A formative, demanding journey, but above all, one that revealed the key role played by sales forces in retail. Here is a look back at a concrete experience involving autonomy, commercial responsibilities, and digital tools.

An accelerated immersion into the world of beer

Like many young professionals, Taina took her first steps in the area sales manager profession during her studies. By joining AB InBev, the global leader in brewing, she quickly became familiar with a portfolio of iconic brands: Corona, Leffe, Stella Artois, Budweiser…

“It was by joining this brewing group that I discovered the role of area sales manager,” she explains.

Area sales manager, a fast-paced job

The days fly by, and no two are alike. Store visits, travel, client discussions, merchandising actions: the role requires meticulous organization.

“I had to visit about 7 stores a day, out of a hundred or so in my area. Each visit was an opportunity to understand the point of sale, propose concrete actions, and strengthen our visibility.”

Each day starts with opening her CRM tool (Sidely Pro), which structures her routes and helps her prepare for her visits: checking visit history, observing shelves, identifying stockouts, and discussing with department managers to propose the right actions.

“At each store, I look at my previous form to remind myself of the shelf situation and the prior exchanges with my contact. Then, I complete a new assessment to note which products are missing, out of stock, and what could be ordered. I also look at any potential product shelf adjustments that need to be made.”

The afternoon is often dedicated to managing the follow-ups from the visits: emails, order tracking, anticipating the next routes. “After visiting all my stores for the day, I dedicate my time to effectively preparing for my next visits by sending certain emails, following up on fridge and/or product orders.,” Taina concludes.

Area sales manager, a lonely profession

But behind this commercial dynamic, there is also a downside: loneliness in the field. A reality that Taina does not shy away from: “I liked the solitary side of the job less; being alone when facing certain situations can lead to a drop in motivation or a lack of confidence for me.”

Spending your days traveling, far from colleagues and headquarters, without regular interactions with a team, can quickly take a toll. And while some find a form of freedom in it, others, like Taina, highlight how this loneliness can sometimes sap motivation, or even affect performance. “Even though you meet a lot of customers, it is always easier when someone is going through the same situations as you with customers because you feel more supported and guided.“

This feeling of isolation is widely shared in the profession, with 9.3% of area sales managers considering daily loneliness too heavy a burden. To keep her spirits up, Taina relied on a valuable tip: building connections with other area sales managers. Regular calls, eating meals together, sharing experiences on situations encountered... a precious form of mutual support to face sometimes long days.

“The company gathered the new hires for an entire week for training. This allowed us to get to know each other better and stay in touch during our field visits. So, I regularly ate with my colleagues and chatted with them on the phone to support and help each other when we ran into issues with certain stores.”

A relationship-focused and collaborative job

Being an area sales manager is, above all, about working in a field-based role centered on human relations and autonomy. An equilibrium confirmed by our first study on area sales managers, in which 89.5% of area sales managers cite autonomy in their work as the biggest advantage, followed by organizational freedom (61.6%) and the richness of interpersonal relationships (59.8%). A reality Taina confirms without hesitation: “In my opinion, the most pleasant part of this job is customer contact, meeting different types of profiles at each store.”

Every visit is an opportunity to build a connection, listen, and understand. “After observing everything, I talk with the store manager or the beverage section manager to understand their needs, introduce them to new products, and place orders with them. The goal here is to highlight our products and achieve a certain presence rate for these products in local convenience stores.”

This proactive stance and ability to adapt and listen is at the heart of the profession. This is what allows for building a long-term relationship of trust and best meeting customer needs. In fact, it is this human connection and advisory role that Taina enjoys most: “It’s a very educational job because you have to know how to listen to your contact and adapt to their needs by finding solutions that work for both parties. It teaches us to argue, to be a source of ideas while remaining friendly. I really liked this aspect because it teaches us to interact intelligently with others, and to realize the actual needs of store managers by being on the ground, which is not necessarily the case when working at a company's headquarters.”

But beyond the customer relationship, the job also relies on solidarity among peers. Although everyone operates within their own sector, they face the same daily difficulties and challenges, reinforcing the team spirit. “Among area sales managers, we always tried to help each other by sharing as many of our tips as possible or talking about our experiences. This strengthened team cohesion, especially since we are often alone during the field day, so it makes more sense to support one another.“

This atmosphere of mutual support, far from erasing individual targets, actually helps to achieve them collectively. Competition exists, but it is perceived as a lever for progress, creating a supportive framework rather than an obstacle. “The goal wasn’t to be better than the others but rather to progress together. We compared our results and target achievements during our meetings, which allowed us to see where we stood compared to others. It’s a healthy form of competition that acts more like a source of motivation to stay at the same level as others and move forward collectively.”

Digital tools boosting field efficiency

In her daily routine as an area sales manager, Taina quickly got into the habit of starting each day with a ritual: opening her field CRM tool. More than just a simple tool, Sidely Pro quickly became her operational ally. “The CRM allowed me to organize my routes, check my previous assessments, and remind myself of past exchanges. It was a true co-pilot.”

Thanks to the interactive map, she visualizes all the points of sale to visit, optimizes her routes, avoids unnecessary detours, and structures her visits. “The features I found most useful were scheduling via an interactive map on the Sidely tool. This allowed me to visualize all the stores, organize my rounds, and optimize my routes.”

A valuable time-saver in a sector with about a hundred stores. “Having a digital tool at my disposal allowed me to save a huge amount of time on my travel. The tool enabled me to prepare and optimize my routes in advance, making my travel much more efficient.”

Optimization doesn’t stop at logistics, of course. The CRM also allows her to prepare for each visit in advance by checking the history, previous surveys, and stated needs. In the field, she also relies on the tool to enter information (product presence, out-of-stocks, order recommendations, etc.) through structured and intuitive surveys. “Filling out all my forms via this tool is quite simple, it significantly speeds up the assessment because you just have to check off whether the products are present or not.” Everything is digitized, visual, and fast. Once in the aisle, she checks boxes, takes photos, and writes notes. ““We could visualize the products thanks to the integrated photos and then simply check off if they were present on the shelf or not.“ And above all, she pitches to the shelf managers.

Taina thus tracks her performance indicators in real-time, identifies priority stores using advanced filters, and adapts her actions accordingly. “It’s also very useful for tracking performance, I can visualize my progress toward my targets in real-time, and thanks to advanced filters, I can also identify priority stores to visit in just one click.”

Another appreciated feature: the automatic generation of barcodes to present to store managers, enabling them to trigger an immediate order, without a paper sales plan. ”Managers could therefore scan and order immediately, even when I didn't have a paper sales plan on hand.”

The strategic role of CRM in progression

Over the weeks, the CRM tool becomes much more than a schedule or a logbook. It becomes a lever for steering and skill development. Thanks to real-time synchronization, her manager can track her results, give her constructive feedback, and adjust her targets. “My line manager's feedback helped me progress faster. The CRM makes all of that possible.”

This individualized tracking strengthens guidance, even from a distance, and allows for adjusting practices or priorities without waiting.

Taina does regret one point, however: the lack of cross-functional sharing between area sales managers. An obstacle that the team managed to bypass by highlighting cross-performances during team meetings.

What makes the difference: the tool… but also the attitude

For Taina, a good SFA CRM tool rests on three pillars: simplicity, speed, and reliability. It must be designed for field sales reps: mobile, intuitive, with few bugs, and usable even with an unstable connection.

“Features must also be easily accessible and updated from the phone since we spend most of our time in the field.”

What makes the difference, according to her, is not just the tool. It is the ability to use it intelligently: preparing visits, synchronizing assessments, adapting one's pitch, tracking performance, bouncing back, and triggering actions at the right moment.

A formative role… and still very strategic

In the face of the transformation of sales professions, some believe that the role of the area sales manager is losing importance. Taina disagrees. “I think the role of the area sales manager remains and will remain strategic thanks to direct contact with customers. Going out into the field is about creating a connection. Customers are happy to see that we are interested in them, that we are truly supporting them. It builds loyalty.”

Her observation is clear: physical presence, human interactions, and small gestures make all the difference. For her, it is a guarantee of credibility and efficiency.

“Physically visiting the stores allows us, on the one hand, to be credible and show that we are there to support the customer, and on the other hand, to check properly whether products are actually on the shelves.”

And the results speak for themselves: over her 4-month assignment, she noticed a clear improvement in product visibility in stores. “Many of my customers were actually happy to see me arrive in the store because it gave them the opportunity to discuss orders with me or resolve certain issues related to the purchasing center. We could see that our role as area sales managers increased the visibility of AB InBev products and consequently its revenue. This shows that the role of the area sales manager contributes directly to corporate performance.”

The human connection, the ability to adapt in the field, and a detailed understanding of store realities: these are levers that neither data alone nor tools can replace.

A passionate job, but not without constraints

Taina makes no secret of it: being an area sales manager is demanding. Physically, mentally, and commercially. The targets are ambitious, the reporting can be heavy, and the days are intense.

“We are sales reps, negotiators, ambassadors… Sometimes all at the same time. It takes energy, rigor, and a lot of resilience.”

But she says it with a smile. This profession has taught her to communicate better, structure her ideas, and show autonomy. A foundation she fully intends to leverage in her future experiences.