Sales Rep Calling on Prospect
I have been in management for years and also spent aconsiderable amount of time as a sales rep who called on business owners. What I have learned is that most managers and owners have a genuine dislike for sales reps as I once did. What I want to put forth here is that sales reps are a necessary part of business and provide a valuable service that has nothing to do with selling you something. That service is the ability to provide you with information about what other companies are buying and paying for products and services. They are a tremendous resource in saving you research time to decide what product or service is a best match for your company. Let me give you some reasons why you should give the Sales Rep a chance to meet you. 1. They have special training in a specific product or service your industry uses above your own! 2. They have insider knowledge about what is coming out and how it will affect you! 3. They know what is going on within your market including your competitors so be friendly If you get sales reps calling on you regarding services or products you are sure after thoughtful consideration that you are not in the market for then simply assure them that you are not a Qualified Buyer! That is the ultimate information a sales rep is looking for. They make a living managing their time wisely. So if you assure them you are not a qualified buyer they will thank you for your honesty and leave you alone. Always tell them to check back every six months because you never know what might change. Keep and nurture those relationships. The best way I have found to get the best of both worlds is to manage the traffic of sales calls. You can do this by setting a schedule that you are in control of. For example
when I was District Manager of automotive stores in Orlando I had a rule that I
only spoke to sales reps on Wednesdays between 8:00 and 12:00 AM. This was my
normal slow time of the work week and allowed me to screen and control who I
was giving time to as well as ensured that I was giving proper consideration to
product and service offers. Rather than totally blow off all sales reps take
control by setting a time for them to get in touch with you that is convenient
for you. Let me tell you some true stories about when a sales rep saved some real money, First True Story: while at the automotive chain Xpert Tune we had a sales rep from Standard Coffee call on us and it was to convert from the old coffee pot to brewing directly into a large insulated Carafe that saved us the equilvalent of $25k in 2013 dollars pre year for 12 stores! Second True Story: While selling PEO services back in 1996 I sold a major manufacturer on converting a group of 180 temps to a separate company on a PEO arrangement. We were able to lower their rate by $825K per year in todays money and 10% of labor cost. How often does a H.R. Director get to come in and announce a savings like that? all because they listened. Third Ture Story: While I was tasked with turning around a Commercial Health Care Laundry the very first week I instructed the General Manager to shop around for better prices on everything. He came back with a 33% price reduction on all the commercial grade linen we purchased at the same thread count and weight per item. This saved us about $80k per year. Not bad for a conversation!!!!
It is part of your job as manager or owner to stay on top of the latest trends and offers to maximize profit and operations. If you are in need of a cash flow infusion I would start by calling sales reps and putting anything out for bid you can! Isn’t that an important part of your job?