Is What Worked for Offsite Sales in the Past Still Alive Today?

 

I can still remember my days as a modular home sales rep—back when some factories had 10 sales reps, each with a clearly defined territory. Every Tuesday morning, we’d file into the sales meeting, where the Sales Manager would break down the numbers.

How many contracts did you sign last week? How many are you expecting this week? Which new builders are you contacting?

Then, just to make sure we all stayed humble, our performance was ranked in numerical order. Ouch!

We’d go over sales-to-date totals—homes ordered, homes produced, contracts waiting for deposits. We were also handed that week’s list of price increases, surcharges, and new options. Some Sales Managers covered nearly every detail, setting us up for success. Others? Well, they preferred yelling at us, demanding more contracts, and reminding us we were replaceable if we didn’t deliver one new deal each week.

It was intense, sometimes painful, but it worked. It built accountability, camaraderie, and a drive to push harder every week.

Fast forward to today.

Few factories still have a dedicated sales staff. A surprising number of new startups don’t even have a Sales Manager. Instead, they rely on a marketing person to create social media posts, set up a booth at conferences, and wait for the phone to ring. No cold calls. No office visits. No emails to prospects. Just hoping a TikTok video or LinkedIn post lands with the right customer.That’s not selling—it’s gambling.

So here’s the question: is this new model—fewer salespeople, fewer one-on-one meetings, more “team updates,” and heavy reliance on digital content—actually working? Or are we abandoning the grit, structure, and accountability that once kept factories thriving?

Factories, especially modular and offsite factories, need to ask themselves:

• Are we giving our teams the tools and discipline they need to win?
• Are we holding sales accountable the way we used to?
• Are we building relationships or just chasing likes and shares?

I’ve seen both sides of the coin. And while no one wants to go back to being screamed at by a Sales Manager, there’s no denying that the old systems—though tough—built results.

So I ask you: is what worked in the past still alive today? Or have we traded effectiveness for convenience?

Now It's Your Turn

I’d like to hear from factory owners, sales managers, and reps on the front lines: Are the new methods truly working for you—or is it time to bring back some of the structure and discipline of the past? Drop your thoughts, your frustrations, and your success stories. This isn’t just a history lesson; it’s a challenge to rethink the future of selling in modular and offsite construction.