Rationale For Field Representatives

 

The financial sustainability of the TCRC will be largely related to the success of the website. 

 

The success of the website will be directly related to the usefulness/comprehensive content of the website, which is necessary for it to become popular.  At the same time, the volume of listings is critical to the financial sustainability of the TCRC.   It will be difficult to get a high percentage of businesses and communities to list on the site, even if we do an all-out advertising campaign. 

 

I suggest we can succeed by making it possible for others to succeed. Ah capitalism!  I’m suggesting that we can arm a task force of people with sales information kits (and, if possible, GPS receivers or geospatial software) and give them an opportunity to make some money while they make money for the TCRC.  We could do this by establishing a Field Sales Representative system (FR) to sell website listings and TCRC memberships and they would work on commission, so TCRC does not have to find any finances.

 

The Field Rep Duties would be to:

• Solicit Listing Customers and Members

• Look after clients’ location information

• Enter their clients’ listings online with personal special accounts

• Ensure their clients’ data is updated as needed and ensure all listings updated at least on an annual basis

• Responsible for Community as well as business listings

• Responsible for listing Community Events and Attractions*

• Responsible for listing and maintaining emergency information locations and contact information for the communities they serve, namely hospitals, ambulance, fire and police.*

 

* These would be non-paid community service duties FRs would be expected to do

 

Pros and Cons of Field Reps

Pros

• ·        The TCRC won’t have to pay out money unless it makes money.

• ·        The entrepreneurial spirit will reach a far higher percentage of individuals and direct contact selling will be far more effective than any form of advertising. This will be of particular importance in ensuring the businesses critical to motorist travellers, namely gas stations, places to eat or buy groceries and places to sleep, are in the database.

• ·        A field person can

  • more fully explain the unique website concepts and functions,

  • sell the client the various advertising features built into the website design,

  • answer questions,

  • ensure the listings forms are complete and accurate,

  • look after details of their clients’ precise locations (GPS coordinates or distance measurements or just double checking distance measurements) and

  • ensure listings are updated.

• ·        The net result will probably be more members and more income for TCRC than could be generated without field reps with the bonus of having field services

• ·        Field Reps can provide valuable feedback to TCRC

 

 Cons

• ·        Require additional online accounting database functions

• ·        Require TCRC managerial duties

• ·        Require Developing a Sales Program

• ·      Possibly require providing reps with GPS receivers or location software such as      MapPoint, that can be used on a laptop.

 

Commission

 Flat rate of 40% or

Commissions could be based on a sliding scale commission points, where the sale of one bronze account is 1 point , a silver is 2 and a gold 3, listings of an event or attraction, hospital, ambulance service, fire department or police would each be worth 1 point:

 

Field Representative Territories

This will reward efforts and encourage responsibility to clientele. If Rep is not looking after his/her clients, then we should have conditions in place that will allow others to come in and possibly take over. 

Some Suggested Guidelines

• First come basis!

• Areas secured on a postal code by postal code basis?

• Area secured when the individual has achieved an 80%?? business-listings coverage rate. (This should demonstrate that the person is serious.

• Coverage rate statistics can be based on data from the Manitoba Community Profiles Website  http://www.communityprofiles.mb.ca/.

• Performance requirements:

  • Must list over 80% of the businesses and maintain these listings in their area.

  • Must cover the gamut of listings for their area including those yielding only commission points – obvious deficiencies in their listings spectrum would result in a drop to the next lower commission level.

  • Exclusivity of Postal-code portions of their area falling below 50% will be lost and susceptible to take over by adjacent Field Reps

 

Sales Kit - Guidelines and Sales Promotional Information

 

The info kit would include much of the above plus:

• Quality Standards Guidelines
• Formal Agreement with Field Reps – for territorial exclusivity when Representative has demonstrated a 50% listing coverage for a particular area.  Other Field Rep accounts would not be able to list within their postal code areas, i.e their online submissions would be denied by a server application. The agreement should also include a Disclaimer, i.e. TCRC reserves the right to discontinue working with any or all Field Representatives at the discretion of the Board of Directors, in which case the online account(s) will be canceled.
• Sale Pitch Guidelines
• Additional Special Services Opportunities For FRs to Make Money (described below)

Some Suggested Sales Promotional Material for Businesses  (Note: We would prepare a similar selling pitch for DMOs and Product Organizations)

First Canadian website to serve the ‘rubber-tire’ travel industry i.e. designed to enable travellers to discover and find (navigate to) rural businesses and encourage them to travel throughout rural Canada as well as urban Canada.

 

This will be the most comprehensive and useful travel site to date.  It will not only be well marketed to Canadian travellers but to world travellers as well.

 

The site will put Canada on the map for anyone interested in quickly finding:

• What offerings exist in any particular area,

• The critical information they will need to find i.e. fuel, food, accommodation and emergency services

• The driving directions and navigational maps which enable navigation of all roads including the rural back roads

             Very affordable and extremely  good value considering the unique features of the website:

• Website navigation by maps.  This Website design doesn’t assume Website visitors are familiar with geography or knows what they might be looking for in any particular area. Your category and subcategories will be displayed for every map that covers your location, when Website visitors request them.

• Website navigation by “customer interest’.  Customer can easily find their interest(s) and can immediately determine the geographical location(s) and travel implications.

• Built-in Roadway Navigational Aids.

  • When a Website visitor arrives at the listings for your specific category, the visitor can open a map that shows the location of your business in relation to the others.

  •  When visitors come to your listing(s), they can open a Location Map for your business, which they can print out. They can also print out your person driving directions and all the other written information you put in you listing.

  • Trip Planning Function that puts it seamlessly all together with your information included, when your listing is chosen by a visitor, i.e. travel directions, travel time estimates, navigational maps etc.

 Rural Travel Support Features to Encourage Rural Travel

• Maps of country roads

• Critical en route travel information

• Service stations

• Places to eat or buy groceries

• Places to sleep

• Emergency services locations and contact information

Opportunities for Advertising Exposure on the Website

 

Basic areas that can be fleshed out:

-         Map Area Directories – comprehensive list of categories, if you list, you are assured of having your specific category displayed in every map the Website visitor requests that covers your location

 

-         Customer Interest Categories –comprehensive categories of potential customer’s interests to insure you have the maximum opportunity to reach your potential target market.

 

-         Special Offers - an opportunity to advertise to the cost-conscientious consumer

 

-         Travel Services – ideal exposure for those offering travel services

 

-         Adventure Packages - First website to provide a directory for rural experience product packages.  Description of the many possibilities of developing and cost-effectively marketing a gamut of rural experiential packaged and priced, tourism products.

 

Additional Special Services Opportunities For FRs to Make Money

Digital Images

 Taking digital images of clients' properties or scanning their photos or logo, if client desires, in cases where client wants a photo/logo with their listing or photo(s) on their TCRC-hosted website and client doesn't have one in digital form to provide the FR.

 

Website Development and Maintenance of TCRC Hosted Website

If client wants a TCRC-hosted website and doesn't want to fill out the online templates, the FR could fill out the client's Website template, add images as per the do it-yourself online instructions and contract to maintain/update the site.

 

Implications for Others Listing Their Offerings Online through the Website

Organizations that are TCRC Partners

 These organizations would be eligible for a $10% commission.  The organization would designate FRs and FR territories.

 

The General Public

Anyone would still be free to setup an account and list their offering online on the Website.  The price would be the same regardless of whether they do it themselves or through an agent.  Commissioning our product, namely our listings, simply creates a service niche for entrepreneurs. 

 

All other marketing endeavors to solicit online listings should still be entertained to maximize our listings.