© Orlando Florin Rosu | stock.adobe.com
Meeting the challenges of seeing customers in person and networking with principals and customers were just a couple of the dilemmas detailed by reps participating in a MANA special interest group teleconference for single‑person agencies.
Over a three-day period, MANA members shared their experiences as they navigate a post-Covid selling world where getting in front of customers is more challenging than it’s ever been before.
Perhaps the situation that many single-person agencies find themselves in today was best described by one rep who boasts a long tenure in the profession. “I’ve been a rep since I was in diapers in 1984 and I’m at the point today that I just want to get out of the office. Look, this is a lonely business and I’m finding that it’s become terribly difficult to interact with people. While I’m happy that I’ve got my first appointment in more than two years coming up, I find that I’m absolutely thirsty to meet and network with people. I want to complete sales calls and go to trade shows. That’s where I get my energy from.”
He went on to note that prior to Covid, “I’d drive more than 15,000 miles a year. Now, it’s about 1,500. For me, when I’m able to get out in the field and into a customer’s location, that’s when I can feel the real pulse of what’s going on in the territory. And, when I can feel that pulse, it’s better for me, my principals, and customers.”
New Decision Makers
This rep is hardly alone. Another rep located in the southeast explained that the inability to get out to see customers wasn’t caused by Covid alone. “I don’t mean to be overly negative here, but in doing some research I’ve found that we’ve got to recognize the fact that key people with many of the companies we’ve called on for as long as 15 years simply don’t want to see us — or any salespeople for that matter — anymore. With many of those customers, the sons and daughters of the owners or other younger people have taken over and they are now the major decision makers. We’re dealing with a whole new generation of decision makers, and they do things differently.”
One rep made the point that on any number of occasions he’ll be told that a customer who fits the aforementioned description “will let me know that they no longer require an online or face-to-face meeting. Many of the new decision makers don’t want, need or have time for sales-type people. That’s not to say they’re being mean about it, but they just don’t do it anymore. I don’t believe it will ever get back to the way it was.”
Compounding the problem of not being able to make personal contact with customers is the fact that “So many people today aren’t coming into the office — they’re working out of their homes. If you don’t have their personal contact information and there’s no receptionist, you really can’t even find them. And, if you’re lucky enough to find them, they’re reluctant to come out of the house and even have lunch with you.”
Email Problem
A couple of additional concerns were put forth on the difficulty in communicating with people. According to one rep, “I’m getting increasingly frustrated in that people don’t even read the emails I’ve sent. Or, if they read them, they only read the first line and nothing beyond. Then in response they’ll ask questions that I’ve already given them answers for.”
To address that concern, one rep said he has had success in limiting his email communications to bullet points. “I’m very specific with what I put on the ‘subject’ line and make sure to cover just one issue in an email. That lets me get straight to the point.”
Then, there’s the issue of what was termed “email fatigue.” How do you engage with a customer when they’re getting bombarded with emails on an hourly and daily basis. Compounding that is that there are simply too many social media channels that people avail themselves of. How do you reach customers these days when they’ve got so much coming at them?
One approach to solving this problem was offered by a couple of the teleconference participants when they said, “What you’ve got to do is to determine how the customer wants to be communicated with. Whether it’s in-person, phone, email or texting, ask them what’s most convenient. I’ve found that when they let me know their preference, it’s gone a long way to opening the path to regular communication.”
Another rep located in the Midwest came up with what she considered to be a partial solution to the problem of making contact and getting in front of customers. “I’ve been fairly lucky in the industry I call on in that there have been some monthly industry meetings as the restrictions of Covid have loosened. I’ve got to admit that I really feel blessed with the opportunity to be there in front of people. As an example, after one principal made a presentation, I went up to him and asked whom in his organization I could speak with. With just that quick contact I believe I cut the sales cycle timeline by 50-75 percent. He pointed me to another person to whom I gave my card. He then passed it along to someone in Georgia. I received an email yesterday asking me how we might conduct business together.
Always Bring Value
“What this is really about is that I had the opportunity, in person, to bring some value to the relationship. By bringing value, here’s what I mean: I let him know that these are the products I represent. Even if I don’t have a product that we can supply to you, please feel free to reach out to me. I’m always networking with other reps and chances are, I can refer you to someone who can help you, even if it’s not me. I’m positive that something is going to develop with this contact.”
At this point, the rep took the opportunity to praise the contents of an article she read in Agency Sales where reps were urged to “always be selling. No matter what you’re doing with a customer, always have your eyes on the customers’ needs and determine how you can best help them.”
Other reps who participated in the MANA call emphasized the value of taking advantage of networking opportunities such as those mentioned above. Consider everything, whether it’s your local Rotary or Chamber of Commerce meetings, in addition to industry meetings that you’re made aware of.
Making contact or maintaining contact with existing customers occupied a great deal of the participants’ time during the MANA call. There appeared to be a great deal of frustration when it came to making phone contact or even getting responses to email communications.
According to one rep, “I’ve found that when decision makers are listed on a company’s website, it often will be listed minus the phone number. Then, it’s very difficult to get the phone number out of the experienced phone operator — if there even is one. I’ve tried with some success to say to the operator that ‘So and so has asked me to contact him, but I’ve lost his number.’ But even that approach won’t work with an experienced company phone operator.”
Compounding that concern is the fact many customer recipients of emails don’t have their phone numbers on their emails. Some reps mentioned that they’ve had marginal success by searching out contacts on LinkedIn, but even that doesn’t guarantee success.
Then there’s the matter of customers “ghosting” reps in their efforts to make contact. Admitting that “ghosting” sounds a bit like her dating life, one rep explained, “There have been any number of occasions where I thought I had a good contact with someone, and then when decision time came, I simply couldn’t get in touch with them. To counter that problem, I’ve had a little success with this approach — if they don’t respond to my phone or email approach, I let them know that I don’t want to keep on bothering them, but after several attempts, this is the last time I will be reaching out for a decision. Sometimes this results in a response.”
MANA welcomes your comments on this article. Write to us at [email protected].
