At many wholesale companies, a large share of orders is still taken in the field. The person who visits customers at their stores, checks the shelves and notes what's missing, introduces new products, and writes up the order is the field sales rep. In this article, we explain in plain terms what a field sales rep does, how field sales works, and how digital tools make the process easier.
Who Is a Field Sales Rep?
A field sales rep is a sales representative who visits customers on site on behalf of a manufacturer or wholesaler. In Turkey, this role is known as "plasiyer," a word of French origin, and it is especially common in industries such as food, building materials, automotive spare parts, and cleaning products. A field sales rep's job is not just taking orders. They maintain the customer relationship, announce campaigns, introduce new products, and often follow up on collections as well.
The field sales rep is your company's face in the field. Customers often identify your company with them. That is why equipping field sales reps with the right information affects brand perception as much as sales. A rep who knows the products well, understands the customer's needs, and keeps their word earns a place that competitors can't easily take.
What Is Field Sales and How Does It Work?
Field sales means selling at the customer's location rather than from the office or over the phone. It usually follows a set route. The field sales rep visits customers in specific areas on specific days of the week. A typical field sales process consists of these steps:
- The visit plan and route are set.
- Stock and shelf status are checked at the customer.
- Campaigns and new products are presented, and a quote is prepared if needed.
- The order is taken and sent to headquarters.
- Any open balance is discussed and payment is collected.
Field sales can take different forms. At some companies, the field sales rep only takes orders, and products are shipped from the warehouse later. At others, products are carried in the vehicle and delivered during the same visit. Whichever model you use, the key to success is the same: the rep must stand in front of the customer with accurate, up-to-date information.
The greatest strength of field sales is the face-to-face relationship. Customers often voice their needs in the course of conversation. An experienced rep who spots a gap on the shelf can suggest a product the customer hadn't thought of. This relationship builds a kind of trust that is hard to create over the phone or by email.
What Does a Field Sales Rep's Day Look Like?
For a field sales rep working with paper and a phone, the day usually goes like this: In the morning, they print out the price list and put the order book in their bag. When a customer asks whether a product is in stock, they call the warehouse. When a customer asks for a special discount, they try to reach the sales manager. In the evening, they send the day's orders to the office or enter them into the system themselves.
Common problems in this setup include:
- Orders taken from an outdated price list, leading to price differences on the invoice
- Selling products that are out of stock, then having to call the customer and apologize
- Handwritten orders being misread or entered into the system late
- The field sales rep not knowing the customer's open balance
- Managers being unable to see which customer was visited and when
How Does a Mobile App Change the Field Sales Rep's Job?
A field sales app replaces the rep's paper order book and the price list in their bag. The rep enters the order directly on their phone or tablet while with the customer, and the order reaches headquarters. There's no need for separate data entry at the office in the evening, and errors like misread handwriting disappear.
The picture changes for managers too. Which customer was visited when, and which visits resulted in orders, are all recorded. You can adjust routes and visit frequency based on these records and spot customers who haven't been visited in a while.
With Multistok's field sales app, the field sales rep can:
- Log visits: Which customer was visited and when is recorded.
- Take orders: Orders are entered on site with the customer and sent to headquarters.
- Send quotes: PDF quotes can be prepared and sent via WhatsApp or email.
- Work offline: Orders can be taken in areas with no signal and synced once a connection is available.
Because the app is part of the same system as your B2B portal, the field and online channels don't operate in isolation. Since the portal syncs with your ERP in both directions, orders from the field enter the same flow as the records at the office.
Are Field Sales Reps and B2B Portals Rivals?
Some companies worry that a B2B portal will replace their field sales reps. In practice, it works differently. When customers place routine, recurring orders through the portal themselves, field sales reps have more time to win new customers, strengthen relationships, and introduce new products. In other words, the portal doesn't reduce the rep's work; it makes that work more valuable.
The best results come when the two channels work together. A customer orders an urgent need through the portal in the evening, and the field sales rep presents new-season products or a campaign on the next visit. When both channels are connected to the same system, the customer's order history builds up in one place.
The field sales rep module is also included in the Multismart plan, and the enterprise plan, Multipaket, allows unlimited field sales reps. For plan details, see our plans page.
Conclusion
In wholesale, the field sales rep carries the trust built with the customer, and field sales is where that trust turns into orders. A rep who can access the right information instantly in the field sells faster and makes fewer mistakes. If you'd like to see how your field team could work, you can request a Multistok demo.
