For almost 10 years, Vicki Clayman has had the same end-of-year travel plans. While others are packing their bags for holiday trips to Europe or the tropics, the industry veteran is packing up eight large boxes of promotional product samples and rolling racks for shipment. Starting in late September, she’ll travel across the western half of the country making client visits, all for the same customer, and set up retail-inspired presentations at each one.

But it’s not just a simple check-in with buyers at each of the company’s 15 locations. Clayman brings all the equipment and inventory needed for these full-on tabletop shows, all tailored to the likes and needs of each individual buying team. Between flying and driving – including a nine-hour drive to Western Nebraska – it takes Clayman and one other colleague six weeks to complete the circuit. In the other months, her travel schedule lessens to just the twice-a-month trips she takes to other clients throughout the year. Clayman’s annual mileage? About 21,000.

“Bringing your wares is kind of old-fashioned,” Clayman admits, “but younger people love it too. Instead of sending them a slideshow where half the tumblers look the same and they have to wait for a sample to figure out what they want, they can see everything and make a decision right there. There’s so much nuance to each piece, especially tech items.”

Clayman says her buyers have largely recognized the value of her coming to see them, bringing new products along. When she started doing the series as a way to get in front of all the buyers and see what appeals to people in different regions, she had to initiate the visits anew each year. That dynamic has changed – now, clients reach out to her.

“We’re emotional beings,” she says. “We like to hear voices. That’s why our team has an edge, because we travel. Otherwise people can just buy from Amazon. No one wants to have long days anymore, but you can have a few meetings in a day and still be home by 8 p.m. And it pays off. You have to work hard to show them you want their business.”

Tim Farrell (second from right) visits the Office of Veteran Success at the University of South Florida.

For Tim Farrell, client visits aren’t so much about doing business (although that’s important too), as checking in on and supporting his close friends all over the country. The president of Veterans4You has made his life experiences the core of his business. A Vietnam veteran, he now supports veterans affairs and organizations with branded merchandise. He flies nationwide to see clients at least three or four times a month, totaling an estimated 100,000 miles a year. And he has no plans to slow down.

“Companies have cut travel budgets, but you need personal relationships,” he says. “And to build those, you have to meet people. We were all forced into using tech, and that’s one answer, but it’s not the only answer. I think we’re going to get back to more personal interaction.”

Tim’s Longest Trip of 2018

When a sales rep is willing to hop on a plane to go see a client and discuss their needs, the client appreciates it, says Farrell. “You have to get into their space,” he says. “We’re not pushy about it, but the higher up in an organization you go – and we try to go all the way to the top – the more they understand the importance of face-to-face time. They want to see you and talk to you. Once you build the relationship, then you can use the tech tools. But if you won’t visit them, someone else will.”

Three days a week year-round, Jim Nistico is behind the wheel of his car visiting clients. In his geographic region of upstate New York, that comes to between 700 and 900 miles of driving a week – quite a feat in a region known for its wicked winter weather.

“Clients appreciate seeing me,” says the president of Proforma Infinity. Of his 120 clients and prospects, he sees between four and 20 of them a day, and still makes it back to sleep in his own bed most nights. “Everyone can expect to see me at least once a month, and I just drop in,” he says. “It’s where the wind blows me at any given time.”

Nistico knows his commitment to in-person client visits is a deviation from the norm in this era of faceless tech-driven customer service, but he’s not letting that change his travel routine. In fact, it makes him even more committed to his time on the road.

“Visiting clients is a lost art,” he says. “My younger clients tend to do everything over email. They have to get used to seeing me at first, but then they like it.”

For reps who report traveling less, what’s keeping them in the office? Are they choosing to travel less and clients are getting used to it? Or are clients requesting that reps visit less frequently? Nistico says it’s more of a mutual agreement that’s taken shape over recent years. “Reps don’t feel like traveling as much, and clients want to do everything over email,” he says. “Reps have a hard time getting out of the office. I don’t look at emails much on my weekly travel days. If I do, it’s in a parking lot somewhere and I’m already out, so it can’t keep me from going out.”

Wayne Martin (second from right) with fellow ASB team members.

Wayne Martin flies about 140,000 miles each year to see prospects and clients as part of his company’s formal business model. The ASB executive is part of the team that supports the Top 40 distributor’s field sales reps. When a rep gets a new opportunity, Martin and his team immediately travel to the prospect to demo products and figure out needs and possible solutions.

“I don’t love the travel, and it’s only been more of a pain with increased security measures,” he admits. “But it’s part of the job. You just have to be able to get in the zone.”

Even if travel can be a hassle, it undoubtedly works for Martin – who can’t say the same about technology when inevitable glitches cost precious time. On a recent digital call for Martin and his team, it was almost 10 minutes after the scheduled meeting time before everyone was present, due to technological issues. (He does concede that tech tools facilitate business done on the road – in airports, on planes and in hotel rooms.)

But too often, says Martin, reps say clients don’t really want to bother with in-person visits. He’ll suggest ways for them to get their foot in the door – which often includes travel, especially at the beginning of the relationship – but he doesn’t micromanage them or force the issue. However, if reps respect the common wish of prospects to dispense with the face-to-face meeting, there’s still no guarantee they’ll get the business. “I’m a big fan of social media and technology, but it only works to a point,” he says. “At the end of the day, people buy from people. Nothing works as well as face-to-face time.” In a commoditized industry, he adds, it’s easier to communicate your differentiators in person.