The job of a travelling salesman is a tough one. It's a hands-on approach all the way from the office to the potential client's doorstep and then some. But any thought of going out in the field and forgetting vital equipment, or tools of the trade, as it is – can be a thoroughly huge fail!
To ensure a salesman hits the road running and has everything on board for his business, he or she will need to make a small list of essential tools required to take out on the road. Among the first thing that springs to mind is a sample. If you are selling carpets, wallpaper, floor tiling or kitchen units, you really do need to show clients which colours you have on offer.
You'll also need a small booklet of carpet samples so your potential customer can browse through the book and if your company sells interior design then you'd need a sample of a bathroom tile, kitchen unit or bedroom curtain. This is all assuming of course that you are selling any thing that would be too large to cart around in a car and you'd need to booklet or catalogue showing a number of the samples.
One item a travelling salesman needs, regardless of what they might be selling, is a USB memory stick. Going out with a fully loaded USB stick means you can contain several gigabytes of data and information all compacted into an item that will fit easily into a matchbox. Do bear in mind that if you are visiting households and trying to sell household products like double glazing or carpet cleaning facilities, you'll need a laptop or a tablet at least.
You cannot expect a household to provide you with their PC equipment and have your potential customer run your USB stick on their tower. A cell phone is another tool of the trade a salesman should always carry around on them, contacting the head office while out on the road can be essential at times. Modern smartphones with some very useful apps are also becoming a real godsend for salesman, as they are able to obtain or record important data on the move. A satellite navigation device is a very popular tool for salesmen on the road. Getting from one place to another, needs to be done as quickly as possible, so getting lost en route is simply not a business winning strategy.
