Marketing Solutions Blog
Outside Sales
April 30th, 2010 | No CommentsI recently performed a sales evaluation for a client. I spent a day-in-the-life with one of our client’s sales reps. Outside sales people sometimes get a bad rep because they are not “accountable” to a supervisor who can observe their regular work day activities. However, most successful outside sales people are self starters who do not want to sit behind a desk or in a retail environment all day. They choose to be on-the-go, typically are great multi-taskers and function best WITHOUT constant supervision.
“Jane” was a perfect example of this. She has the passion for the product she sells, has compassion for the clients upon whom she calls and is very talented at building relationships. Jane’s clients are all health care professionals who work in very busy hospital units. It was refreshing to see her size up a situation to determine how much time she thought was appropriate to spend with the client. It was also exciting (I am a marketing professional after all) to see her counter an objection from a potential client with such aplomb that this client actually purchased her product later the same day.
My business requires that I work regularly with outside sales people. Consequently, I know a good one when I see one. Outside sales people don’t always walk through the door at the end of the day with a fistful of orders or cash. The best ones have regular, repeat business due to the relationships that have been nurtured over months or years. They will generate new business, perform customer service duties and maintain existing business relationships all in the course of the day.
I am often asked for references on sales people in my industry. Sales Managers call to see who I think is a good outside sales rep. My criteria for giving a good reference include this short list:
Effective Use of Time: Does the sales rep effectively use his time with me to update me on his product and changes within the marketplace, or does she just come to my office to “kill time”? I respect those sales people who respect my time. I appreciate a sales call that covers several concerns, products and objectives at one time rather than repeated sales calls for one item at a time.
Follow Up: Does the sales rep respond in a timely manner (for me sometimes this means within an hour) with critical information or answers to questions? Jane’s clients’ primary need is a prompt response time on their cases. Jane showed a sense of urgency in getting them the information they needed to make a decision on her product.
Knowledge of Product/Marketplace: I expect the sales person to be so familiar with their product that they don’t need collateral to do a presentation. Sometimes a sales person has only time enough for the thirty second elevator pitch. Jane literally pitched a client while riding down in the elevator with her, walked with her around a cafeteria while the client got her lunch, then rode back up the elevator with her. You can see that trying to present materials or a power point presentation under these circumstances would be ridiculous.
In closing, I would add that the best outside sales people are a rare breed. They have to be tough enough to hear “no” and keep going back for more, deal with difficult people on a regular basis and juggle a multitude of tasks. This is not a job for your average 9 to 5er. If you are lucky enough to find a good outside sales person, hang on to them because initiative and passion are two things that can’t be taught.
To Advertise or Not to Advertise – That is the Question
February 9th, 2010 | No CommentsSo now I bet you want an answer. It depends on your business. Some businesses will thrive no matter how the economy fares and some are dependent upon consumer confidence levels and their disposable income. Some products only sell certain times of the year and some products are only NEEDED by the consumer every four to ten years (think cars and mattresses).
There are two rules of thumb when it comes to advertising. First, advertise when people are in the market for your product. For example, advertise perennials in the spring as that is when gardeners are planting. Second rule of thumb, advertise when people are not necessarily shopping for your product or service to build your brand awareness. Tires and mattresses come to mind in this instance. Tires and mattresses are advertised day in and day out, but the average consumer probably isn’t aware of this UNLESS he needs a new mattress or she needs new tires. In general, most consumers tune out advertising messages until they are in the market for the product unless something about the product or the messaging grabs their attention.
It’s always important to advertise when consumers are in the market for your product. If your product is one that is seasonal (perennials, snow tires, beach balls) then you need to focus the majority of your marketing effort on the time when consumers are buying your product.
However, if your product is one that consumers don’t think about until they actually need it then it is important to keep your brand out among potential customers. For me, this hit home about a year ago. I began searching for a long term care facility for my mother who could no longer live with me at home. There were dozens of choices and I didn’t have the first inkling of what to look for, so the first place I went was to the internet for research. Then I began paying attention to all advertising with messages about in-home care, senior daycare, long term care, rehab care. The messaging had been there all along but until I was ready to hear it, I had tuned it out.
The answer to the question I posed earlier is “yes, you should advertise”. Yes, you should advertise even when the economy is weak and even when you think that no one is paying attention. Because there is always someone paying attention and you need to be in their cross hairs when that person is ready to make a purchase. There’s a rhyme I learned in high school Junior Achievement that I’ve never forgotten: He who has a thing to sell and goes and whispers in a well is not so apt to get the dollar as he who climbs a hill and hollers.
Passion
January 12th, 2010 | No CommentsA friend of mine is making a career change and so we were talking about passion. If you could do anything you wanted, what would you do? My first boss, J. Troy Strait, told me that I should find a job I really like or find a job that paid really well because I was going to spend a third of my life doing it. He also told me that if I did my job really well, and my boss knew I did my job really well, then the money would follow. He was right on both counts. Fortunately, I found a job that I really like and the pay is okay too.
It’s all about passion – if you have passion for what you do, you do it well and it shows. Passion is contagious. Passion can be the difference between being a success or a failure, average or stellar. And passion shows in marketing and business. Business owners and managers that are passionate about their product and/or service are like beacons for me. They are willing to take the risks, make the investments and hard decisions to be successful. Passionate entrepreneurs inspire their staff to be passionate about their jobs, their product and meeting client expectations.
A company or product with passion is worth more than one without, so the money follows the passion. A business owner that has a passion for her product will go the extra distance to make sure that others recognize the significance of the product, the worth, the value.
One of my clients, an automotive dealer, is so passionate about his business that he can rattle off stats about how many units have been sold, how many are “out” (potentially sold), how he’s pacing with the same month last year, what his profit margin will be at the end of the month, and on and on. I always enjoy meeting with him because his passion is overflowing. I feel energized after a meeting with him. Even though his business has been adversely affected by the economic downturn, he is still turning a profit. I think the difference is passion.
My friend who is changing careers is passionate about his potential new position. In fact, he’s so passionate about it, that he’s been working as a volunteer for several years for this entity. Now that the prospect of being paid for his passion is becoming a reality, he’s even more passionate. Like I said earlier, passion is contagious. Pass it on…
The Customer Pays the Wages
November 4th, 2009 | 1 Comment“It is not the employer who pays the wages. Employers only handle the money.
It is the customer who pays the wages.”
Henry Ford
As a native of Detroit, I was brought up to revere Henry Ford. This is one of my favorite quotes from him and he’s absolutely right!
I believe that marketing encompasses every aspect of a business; from how a customer is greeted on the phone, to how the customer is billed or pays for their service to employee training. Advertising, public relations and branding are just part of a business’ marketing efforts.
As business owners and managers, we recognize how basic this concept is. But have we effectively conveyed this to our employees – specifically those employees that have direct contact with customers? For some employees, treating the customer courteously is second nature but for too many others it is a learned skill.
Two different experiences a colleague of mine and my husband encountered this week provide glaring examples of the impact of good customer service and the result of bad customer service. Both instances happened at two different locations of a national drug store chain.
After returning home from picking up his prescription, my husband Phil discovered that the pills in the bottle were a different color and size from the ones he normally receives. He called the pharmacy, was connected immediately to the pharmacist who discussed the change of manufacturers and assured my husband that it was indeed the same medication he was used to just a different look. After hanging up the phone, my husband commented on how impressed he was that he was able to get through to the pharmacist so quickly and how thoroughly the pharmacist had answered his question (how many of us have felt our concerns or questions were dismissed when talking to a medical professional?). Needless to say, he was very pleased with the personal level of customer service he experienced.
One of my colleagues went to a different location of the same drug store chain to pick up a prescription. She was the only one at the counter, no one was waiting in the drive-thru and no one was on the phone. After being ignored by the pharmacy tech behind the counter for way too long, she was finally asked for her last name – no may I help you, just what’s your last name. Once the tech found the prescription, she informed my colleague it would be $250 (that sound you hear is M.’s jaw dropping at the price which had up to then been $75). My colleague questioned the clerk as to whether or not her insurance had been applied, the clerk replied “that’s how much it is, do you want it or not?” Still stunned by the price, my co-worker paid for the bill and upon returning home called the drug store to ask again if her insurance had been applied to the prescription. Without asking her name, insurance company name or the name of the medication, the tech pronounced that if that was the cost then her insurance didn’t cover that medication. Undeterred, my colleague called her insurance company and was told that the pharmacy had in fact made a mistake and the prescription should have been only $75. One more trek to the drug store where the same rude pharmacy tech never made eye contact, huffed and puffed at having to fix the problem, never apologized for the mistake, and never thanked her for her business. My co-worker received poor customer service not once, not twice, but three different times at this one business at the hands of just one employee with very bad customer service skills.
Either the clerk at the second store didn’t know that the customer pays the wages or just didn’t care. Either way, it cost this drug store a customer. As marketers, we realize the expense involved in gaining just one new customer. Many of us have implemented customer loyalty or customer retention programs to prevent our customers from taking their business elsewhere. However, if you don’t have good customer service to begin with, those programs are like shutting the barn door after the horses are out. How many of us, have lost a customer due to poor customer service? Maybe it’s time to check our internal marketing resources to ensure that the first person our customers interact with is not our weakest link.