Auxiliary sales force in supermarkets: benefits and winning strategies for brands

Maintaining or growing market share and revenue in major food and retail distribution has always been a cost for brands. Whether it is about expanding their network, ensuring proper merchandising placement, or selling promotions, companies have no other choice but to invest in their field sales force to achieve their targets. However, there is an alternative to the in-house recruitment of traveling sales reps: the outsourced or outsourced sales force (supplementary sales force).

If you are hesitant to take the plunge, this mini-guide will show you the most common scenarios for using a supplementary sales force, the associated risks, and, for those determined to move forward, some tips to ensure a successful deployment.

Supplementary sales force: definition

The supplementary sales force is an inside or field sales team that acts as a complement to the sales reps of the employing business. Its role is therefore to strengthen, expand, or temporarily replace an existing workforce.

We speak of an outsourced sales force when it replaces the company's own sales force. This is therefore a long-term service, as opposed to the supplementary sales force which most often provides temporary support to the internal sales organization. Some even refer to it as a semi-internalized sales force, given the longevity of the service. We must also distinguish the external sales force from independent agents and other commercial representatives, etc. Indeed, in the case we are interested in here, the client uses a agency with which a service contract is set up.

There are two main types of organization: the mobilized sales reps can be dedicated to a specific brand, or manage a portfolio of brands, thus carrying out shared commercial store visits.

Finally, while using a sales force external to one's company exists in many industries, it takes on a special dimension in the mass retail sector. Supermarket visits involve many goals, from selling to hosting, as well as shelf auditing. This is why specialized agencies have emerged. They stand out for their knowledge and expertise of the market, and their close relationships with the banners and the retail outlets themselves.

When should you use a supplementary sales force?

Many situations can lead you to consider appointing a service provider to strengthen your field sales strategy. If your ambition is to develop your presence or defend your shelf space in the long term, outsourcing can be the obvious choice. But, as we will see, several situations lend themselves more to choosing a supplementary sales force.

1) Sales seasonality

The use of a supplementary sales force is closely linked to the concept of reinforcement, which is often associated with seasonal trends. Indeed, many industries experience peaks in activity at certain times of the year, such as the toy or chocolate industries during the holidays, or ready-to-wear during sales. In this setup, the sales department might have surplus staff during off-peak periods, and be completely overwhelmed by targets during peak times. Well-managed cost control may therefore recommend keeping a minimal sales structure and scaling up to handle peak periods.

2) Events and temporary promotions

Your company's journey is marked by all kinds of changes, and many events can lead you to consider sales backup, such as:

• The launch of new products;

• The deployment of guerrilla marketing operations;

• Countering competitor campaigns;

• Promoting the rollout of a new assortment;

• Launching special operations, such as inventory clearance;

• Etc.

All these operations, described as commando, high-impact, or one-shot, are not meant to last. Here again, the financial strategy may move towards a supplementary sales force. This flexibility allows to absorb the workload, and above all to act fast in execution, all without hiring internal sales teams.

The supplementary sales force also allows companies to react quickly to market opportunities, enabling acceleration in emerging markets.

3) Territorial deployment and distribution network expansion

Using a provider specialized in mass retail can also make you more efficient during strategic changes. For, example, if you have historically collaborated exclusively with one brand, and you decide to grow your network, a lack of contacts can slow you down significantly. In this case, why not work with a company that already has its foot in the door with your targets?

This reasoning also applies to territorial deployment, and expanding the sales front. In short, an external field sales team can make the difference whenever you want to develop your network and your area managers are already fully booked, or to reach regions or segments where you have a limited presence.

4) Brand launch and activation

Let's also mention new companies, whose rapid growth often involves risks: in a market that is not yet fully mastered, the supplementary sales force is a lower-cost sales accelerator. But cost savings are not the only benefit: the agency's experience can also be a key asset. Indeed, startups are not always built for commercial performance, and a partnership of this nature can help the management team mature in their communication and key sales approach.

Moreover, in a newly launched company, the executive team often benefits from focusing on strategic topics that cannot be delegated. The supplementary sales force then frees them from a time-consuming and energy-draining sales mission.

5) Reorganizing the sales cycle to increase profitability

Many companies prefer their experienced area managers to focus on key accounts. The extra sales force can then handle accounts of lesser importance in terms of turnover, or stores too far from the company's primary trading area. This division of roles optimizes the cost per appointment.

6) Store audits

In the same vein, delegate audit visits to a service provider. In the retail world, field visits go beyond simple sales prospecting or upselling:

• Checking product availability and shelf placement, tracking numeric distribution;

• Checking merchandising, point-of-sale displays (POS);

• Competitive intelligence and gathering insights on best practices;

• Etc.

Leave the higher-value visits (selling a promotion, launching a new product, or building key accounts) to your internal area managers.

This solution contributes to analyzing field results, improving numeric distribution, and increasing order volumes at head offices or at the stores themselves.

To achieve this, equip external sales reps with an application designed for shelf auditing to encourage instant and automatic upload of precise field data, especially with in-store photos.

7) Challenging your results

Another benefit of a supplementary sales force: challenging your methods and assumptions. Here are the questions you might ask yourself:

• How do you evaluate the quality of the sales pitch you built over time?

• Are you sure you have identified all arguments and sales techniques?

• What if your prospects have changed since the days when you were an area manager yourself, thirty years ago...?

Whether you notice a gap in sales skills or are convinced you are a master of the trade, outsourcing part of your client or prospect base can also help evaluate your sales skill level. This partnership offers you a fresh, unbiased look at sales strategies, as well as innovative ideas that may be missing internally.

8) Outsourcing Strategy

In financial strategy, outsourcing (subcontracting services or products by a company) helps manage fixed costs and handle unexpected events. For example, many companies are hesitant to hire: a bad hire can be expensive, either because the resource is underperforming or because onboarding needs drain the company's training and management capacity. The selection process and interview stages are also time-consuming and complex.

Finally, let's talk about contract terminations which sometimes escape the companies' control. Ultimately, HR management sometimes puts companies in a difficult position, and if HR is your weak point, having an external partner will no out-of-pocket avoid many pitfalls. Thus, hiring a supplementary sales force means less management, and issues that are no longer your responsibility (motivation, sick leave, evaluation interviews, etc.).

9) Access to expertise

Supplementary sales force agencies often bring specialized market knowledge and expertise, which are useful for entering new segments or optimizing retail execution. Their client references in your industry are a key asset. Furthermore, their cross-industry reach gives them a wider retail culture from which you can also benefit!

Disadvantages of outsourcing the sales force

After looking at all these arguments, outsourcing the sales department might seem like a must for every business. Yet, it's not that simple!

The challenges inherent in this type of collaboration do exist. The most obvious is the loss of tracking and field visibility. Many management teams want to stay connected to store reality and fear losing control of brand activity. Some even consider sales an integral part of company culture. In these cases, internal staff – starting with sales reps – may become defensive.

Additionally, by adding an extra intermediary between you and your clients, communications inevitably take longer, back and forth.

The structure of your distribution network is also a factor to consider. Relationships play a huge role in retail. For department managers, buyers, and independent network managers, a change in sales reps can damage established trust and relationships. Your brand image could pay the price! Are you sure a change of contact person is strategic right now?

Finally, the technical nature of your products is important to consider, as it can be a major challenge. For certain industries or complex products, the required level of knowledge can be difficult for a third-party partner to master. A lack of credibility in the sales pitch due to poor product understanding could cost you sales. Often, agencies themselves hesitate to work on products that are too technical or require long training cycles for their teams. Their performance and profitability rely on optimized processes, and investing long hours in training can be costly for them.

Proving their efficiency to clients is a main goal for agencies, which is why they may decline a project when they fear the complexity. However, some providers offer test periods. They assess performance right from the start of the collaboration with the brand (P0). The test period includes a review to identify potential improvements and overall profitability.

So, if you sell complex or highly technical products, be cautious of agencies that sign a contract without factoring its impact on their business model. If, instead, you have found the perfect partner, but they are hesitant, take the time to design a mutually beneficial collaboration. Additionally, if long-term onboarding is needed, you will likely look for a long-term partner to grow your sales force over time, rather than a temporary assignment (supplementary) for a one-off project or workload peak.

Now let's dive into best practices for setting up a supplementary sales force.

10 tips for successful sales force outsourcing in mass retail

1. Onboarding & useful resources: take the time to create a resource library for training. Document company sales knowledge: many decision-makers have excellent sales techniques but never formalized them in a sales playbook. This is the opportunity to build a sales kit that will also serve your internal team. Allocate time for training; Rome wasn't built in a day!;

2. Sales goals: set clear targets, such as the number of new stores, conversion rates, number of promotions sold, etc. You can prioritize them and tie some or all of the partner's payment to achieving these goals.

3. Gradual investment: start with a test scope: whether it's a specific territory or store format, begin with a pilot and scale up the sales team gradually;

4. Tracking and reviews: in some cases, the mission can run long-term. Set KPIs so you are not left in the dark waiting for results. Decide on communication frequency and reporting formats;

5. Preparing accounts: most of you will avoid giving key accounts to an external provider. But if this happens, take the time to inform your strategic customers beforehand to avoid any human friction;

6. Sales profile: define an ideal sales rep profile. Your partner must understand your expectations and account for your talent requirements. Ask your partner how they recruit and train their reps? What is their experience in your sector? Can this be verified through existing client references?

7. Involve IT in the software choices: which parts of your CRM will the provider access? Can their sales app connect to yours via EDI or API? What about GDPR compliance?

8. Engagement: include external sales forces in your steering meetings: remember they contribute to the effort and deserve recognition;

9. Engage internal resources: involve your internal sales team in setting up the plan: you know this change might worry them, so use it as a tool for motivation, and remember that too much isolation often creates fear and tension;

10. Payment and terms: challenge the provider's pricing proposal. Plan a compensation model that includes performance variables. Do not hesitate to write a brief listing your expectations and market specificities. This document – which you can send alongside a NDA – allows you to request estimates from different agencies for comparison.

In conclusion, many reasons can lead you to search for a supplementary (temporary) or outsourced (long-term) companion, or even a blended sales force! While strategic and financial upsides are real, understanding key boundaries is critical. If your brand is preparing to take the step, our shortlist of focus areas should help get the project on track.