The dangers of 24/7 communication….

While the wonders of technology continue to provide the manufacturers’ representative with the 24/7 contact he needs to do his job more efficiently, the same technology also brings with it a spate of potential dangers when it comes to staying connected on the road. By “on the road,” we mean specifically on the highway, behind the steering wheel, experiencing windshield time. When a couple of reps recounted their minor fender-bender stories owing to the fact they were not paying sufficient attention to their driving tasks, we accessed some tips on this subject courtesy of Advanced Driver Training Services, Inc., (ADTS). They offer the following specifically on the subjects of cell phones, pagers and navigation systems.

“Whether your cell phone is hand-held or hands-free, don’t use it while driving. Remember that the conversation is just as distracting as the manual operation of the phone. Pagers are equally distracting; those with text messages can be hard to view, while those with voice messages divert your brain’s focus away from the driving tasks. Set your phone to vibrate so you won’t be tempted to answer it. Use your phone’s voice mail feature or your pager’s memory feature to capture messages; then build in regular stops to check messages and return calls.”

When it comes to navigation systems, “Input your destination address before you start to drive. If you need to change course during your travels, pull over safely first. If your system allows you to turn off the screen and use verbal commands only, it’s best to do that while driving. If you can’t turn off the screen, consider covering it while the vehicle is moving.”

Preparing for the sales call….

Some interesting data was forthcoming on how sales reps prepare for sales meetings as the result of a study undertaken by Knowledge Anywhere, Inc., a company involved in the development of e-learning programs. That company’s survey focused on how salespeople research and prepare for meetings with prospective companies.

Consider some of their findings and determine how you fit into the mix. According to the study:

• To manage their client relationships, 50.8% of all respondents currently use sales software, such as ACT and Outlook. Additionally, a few respondents reported Salesforce.com, Sales Genie, Goldmine, EST and ADP as the software they most often use to manage their relationships with customers.
• On average, managers expected their sales reps were spending about 30 minutes to prepare for each sales call.
• In reality sales reps only spent about 15 minutes preparing for a sales call.
• Normal sources of industry information include: Internet (47.8%), colleagues/coworkers (38.1%), trade magazines (29.1%), other (26.1%), internal websites (23.9%), and newspapers (20.1%).
• 43.8% of the participants reported using Google — whereas only 1.6% used the Wall Street Journal Online to gather information.
• 54.8% of the respondents said the most effective industry informational source was the Internet. They also said this was also the easiest industry informational source to use and understand.

Maximizing sales call success….

The timing couldn’t have been better for one rep in attendance at one of MANA’s local networking chapters. He arrived at the quarterly dinner meeting frustrated at his agency’s lack of ability to plan sales calls. That was followed by the even greater frustration of not being able to complete successful sales calls. By chance, that evening’s formal program was devoted to a roundtable discussion on how to plan for more productive sales calls. Before the evening was over, he walked away with several sheets filled with suggestions on how he and his colleagues could maximize their time in front of prospects and customers.

As he exited the meeting, among the actions he planned on implementing were:

• Setting realistic goals for sales calls — “We’ve fallen into the habit of making calls without a plan. We don’t really know what it is we’re trying to accomplish. What I learned this evening is that each call should have a goal. Maybe it’s just getting the name and title of the person who has the greatest purchasing influence, or perhaps it should be to determine if there’s a real need for the products we represent. In any event, we’re going to set goals for each of our calls.”
• Defining goals ahead of time — One of the major challenges he described for his agency was defining the difference between a real sales call and the visit you make with someone you like and who likes you. “We try to kid ourselves into believing the latter are real sales calls when all we’re really doing is wasting time. We’re comfortable with those people — even though they do have some say in the sales process — but the truth is we’re really just looking for a safe haven under the guise of a sales call. I’m going to make a real effort to cut back, if not eliminate, those calls. I’ll admit there are still people in that category we have to be calling on, but we’ll certainly not spend as much time there as we currently do.”
• Setting goals for the next call — “It’s rare, if ever, that the sale is made on the first call. As a result, we’ve got to do a better job of plotting a course for our follow-up calls. Let’s refer to it as ‘having a call to action.’ By that I mean, what will I and the customer get done on that next call? Will we go over new product literature? Will additional personnel be brought in for a meeting so I can determine their needs? Do they need to learn more about my principals’ abilities to meet their needs?”

Encouraging word-of-mouth advertising….

An article in Entrepreneur Magazine promoted the value of word-of-mouth advertising as “one of the most credible forms of advertising because a person puts their reputation on the line every time they make a recommendation and that person has nothing to gain but the appreciation of those who are listening.” The article goes on, however, to note that such advertising doesn’t happen all on its own; rather, there are steps that can be taken to promote it.

• Word-of-mouth is triggered only when the customer experiences exceptional service. Plan to regularly deliver such service.
• Beware of promises made in ads. “Although it’s tempting to promise the thing you’re counting on to trigger word-of-mouth, these promises will only eliminate the possibility of your customers becoming your ambassadors. Why would a customer repeat what you say about yourself in your ads? You must allow your customers to deliver the good news. Don’t rob your ambassadors of their moment in the sun.”

Introducing new products….

When Electrical Wholesaling magazine published a list of dos and don’ts for manufacturers’ representatives to follow when it comes to selling new products, it sparked a lot of conversation among reps and manufacturers in attendance at an industry conference. Among the highlights of that publication’s list were:

Do’s

• Use a new product rollout to open doors. “Introducing a new product to a customer is an opportunity to establish yourself as an authority on the very latest development in your market — something you should never pass up.”
• Narrow your list of target customers to those who will be the most interested. “If you’ve developed a strong relationship with your customers, it may be immediately obvious who would be interested in the benefits of the new product.”
• Think about who in the customer’s operation would be most receptive to it. “Who gets the benefit?”

Don’ts

• Miss product training when a manufacturer rolls out a new product. “You need the product information; even more important, you need to be listening for information about the target market.”
• Blanket the territory, showing the product to everyone. “It can be a big waste of time.”
• Panic if a customer asks you about a new product and you’re clueless. “There will still be times when a customer sees an advertisement in a trade magazine or hears through the grapevine about a new product you’ve never heard of from your manufacturers. Admit you hadn’t heard of it, or that you don’t have much information yet, and promise to get literature and answers for the customer immediately.” And then follow up on your promise.