"10 Things EVERY Promotional Products Salesperson Should Know"
By Kathy Huston
Advantages: 2004OCTOBER
Consider this your version of Cliffs Notes® for smart selling. We've compiled an easily digestible translation of the most important things you need to understand to make the grade in this business.
Let's put it this way: I'll be your very own David Letterman for the next four pages, although let me assure you, this Top 10 list is very serious. I asked around - asked salespeople, suppliers and industry consultants: What do you think is vital knowledge for a sales career in this industry? What follows is a compilation of lots of people's two cents, which actually adds up to million-dollar advice.
So you want to make a good living in this industry? Keep reading.
#1: Get Closer To The Go-To Guys (And Gals)
Relationship-building is an often-talked-about but often-overlooked
principle of selling, says Jeff Solomon, "business construction foreman"
(president) of All American Marketing Group (asi/117055). And he's not just
talking about the obvious relationships with clients.
"Suppliers should be your go-to source for ideas, spec samples, etc. For instance, I used to walk by Soundline's (asi/88241) booth all the time at trade shows and think, 'CDs as promotional products? I don't get it.' Then I stopped and talked to Joel Schaffer (president) and he told me the many ways we could use them," Solomon says. "I looked at it as a partnership. He even worked with us with one of our clients and it worked out great!"
Solomon suggests attending your regional association meetings and talking to your suppliers. Obviously, anyone's more likely to take care of the people with whom they have relationships.
It's easier if you whittle your list of those you work with down to a chosen few and focus on their catalogs. Here are some of the qualities to look for in suppliers:
- Unique, creative case histories. How did someone use their products? How can you do something similar with those products?
- Commitment and ethics. This includes meeting deadlines, having the promised inventory, accepting blame and fixing errors, helping with large bids and special situations.
- Response and follow-through. There's always a "live" person available.
- Technology. They accept art via email; comprehension of print requirements; electronic tracking and communication; supplying templates or other product advice.
- Competitive Pricing. This doesn't always mean "lowest."
- Competency. Thorough knowledge of product line and decorating capabilities; freight estimates.
- Good Ratings.
#2: Get Closer To Clients
Lots of issues come into play when you're getting to know your clients.
To really get inside their heads, you've got to do a few things. "Know how
to ask questions and what to ask. Asking about the client's business, competition,
challenges, obstacles and desires allows you to more clearly define the
opportunities that exist, many of which may go beyond what the client initially
thought," says Les Wolff, CEO and founder of the Smart Marketing & Management
Institute and consultant to the promotional products industry.
Dave Stein, author of How Winners Sell, says at the very least you should know these five things about your clients:
- Who is the real buyer? "It certainly isn't an administrator or lower-level staff person," he says. Who signs the check? From whose budget does this purchase come?
- What are the buyer's criteria? How are they going to make a decision (price, quality, service, etc.)?
- What's their budget? Do you have the right item or service to sell them at the right price?
- Who's your competition?
- By when must a decision be made? What happens if they don't make a decision by that date?
Scott Armbruster, who'd rather we call salespeople "account executives," offers his two cents on this topic. The CEO of Phoenix Productions & Promotional Products (asi/295301) suggests that you also find out:
- What are your client's hot buttons and challenges?
- How do they like to communicate (phone, fax, email, etc.)?
- What is your client's goal for the promotion?
Of course, after you've asked the right questions, shut up and listen! "There's a certain amount of truth in the saying, 'the first person to speak loses.' Developing strong listening skills is essential to building strong customer relationships and gaining knowledge. Knowledge really is power, because it gives the client confidence that you understand their business," Wolff adds.
Research not only the client, but his or her industry. Pay attention to the trends in their particular industry. The Web and trade publications offer a wealth of insider insights, so this has never been easier. (In the upcoming November issue, we'll focus on researching clients and their industries in more depth, so be sure not to miss it!)
#3 Get Down And Dirty
One of the biggest issues in this industry, experts say, is lack
of product knowledge. In fact, many other problems stem from this one factor.
For eight years, Barry Hults, founder of the School for Promotional Marketing
Inc., has run a monthly training program in Toronto called the Products
Knowledge Tour and Creative Workshop. They take people into six different
factories so they can learn hands-on how supplier processes work.
"It's not good enough simply to go to a supplier factory and watch the machines work; you need to understand the process. We bring people in and sit them down at the machines and they actually print things or assemble things," he says. "It's really critical if you're sitting in front of a client and he wants you to print 11 different colors in a one-inch-square space, to intelligently explain why that's not a feasible choice."
The only way to gain this critical knowledge, Hults believes, is to go into a series of suppliers, and at least one that utilizes every imprinting technique, and have someone in the plant take you through the process. Ask your distributor owner to set this up with suppliers in the community.
#4: Surprise! Products Are Not The End-All
While knowledge of products is critical in an industry where "products"
is its middle name, the products are merely a part of the whole, albeit
an important part. "Every salesperson in this profession needs to know what
the medium can do for the client vs. trying to know the products themselves,"
says Jeff Tobe, sales and marketing expert and creativity guru of Coloring
Outside The Lines fame.
"I've seen too many salespeople beat themselves up when their 'best clients' order something from someone else. Then, when queried, the client says something like, 'I didn't know you did that!' We then commence to over-analyze because it was obviously our fault that they didn't call us.
"If salespeople understand that it is not the product that the client wants but the message that the product carries - overtly with its imprint and subconsciously with the impression it makes - then that salesperson can take their business to the next plateau," adds Tobe, who is also the author of Success Is A Decision Of The Mind.
As one salesperson succinctly puts it: A product without a promotional plan is worthless.
#5: You're In Control
Experts suggest salespeople drop the ball by quitting when someone
says no. "You say, 'I want to sell you some pens.' And I say, 'no.' You
think, 'Well I guess he doesn't want to buy any, I'll leave now,'" Hults
says. "But the reality of it is he may only be postponing the decision,
or you haven't properly demonstrated why he should buy it, or why he should
buy from you. So until somebody says no, you don't have anything to build
your case around."
And you might be surprised by this stat Hults shares: Salespeople control
97% of the buying decision from the very beginning. After all, you decide
which products you're going to show the client in the first place. "You
choose three caps and there are 300 other cap vendors, so you've begun to
control that decision," he notes.
The reality is that the client is asking the salesperson to suggest what's
appropriate, because he or she only knows their industry and services, whereas
you're the expert on promotional products and programs.
#6: Self-Promotion Sells
Before you sell those products and programs, you've got to sell
yourself. Solomon is a huge proponent of self-promotion, but acknowledges
some people just don't do it. Again, partnering with suppliers can help.
"Suppliers bend over backwards to give us self-promotion products and we
don't use them," he says. "We need to show people what we do."
Jim Gallagher, with Proforma Destiny Promotions, allocates an annual amount for self-promotional products. "Just recently I secured over $3,000 in business on products I had given to this new customer over the last three months," he says.
Although he didn't intend for her to buy those specific products, it just happened to work out that way. "This seems to be occurring more frequently as I get better at selecting the products I use to identify our business to the audience we're trying to attract. I didn't do much of this in my early years in this business," he notes.
Gallagher also uses personalized thank-you notes after meetings, completed projects, referrals, etc. Doing so not only keeps his name in front of clients, it also adds a welcome human touch.
#7: You're Askin' For It! (If Not, You Should Be)
Believe it or not, most salespeople never learn how to ask for
an order in any effective way, according to Hults. "If you can't ask, you're
certainly not going to be able to close sales. Consider that selling is
uncomfortable for both the buyer and the seller, in the sense that the buyer
doesn't want to make a decision and the seller wants him to make a decision
quickly. There's an inherent conflict there, so a good salesperson learns
to ask for the order in a number of indirect ways," he says.
For instance, giving them choices (color, quantity, imprint options, date of delivery, etc.) eases them into it. "You let the client begin to say yes, without actually saying 'yes, here give me the stuff,'" Hults says. "You lead them to the decision that is final without asking specifically for a final decision."
When they've finally made the decision to work with you, "Be prepared to go the extra mile, for it will never be crowded," Wolff says. "Look for ways that you can give a value-added aspect to doing business with you. The more you can take away 'aggravation factors' by offering a complete turnkey service, the more business you will also walk away with."
Further, be proactive. "Don't wait until the client calls with a need; go to them often with suggestions developed from the questions you asked, how well you listened, the research you did and the effort you put into making dealing with you very 'user-friendly,'" Wolff adds.
#8: What Really Matters?
Top Secrets Web site ran a report entitled, "Do You Know What Is
Important To Your Customers (or do you just think you do?)." Author David
Blaise wrote, "If we truly intend to be 'industry professionals,' we have
to learn what is most important to our clients. Then we have to structure
our businesses to deliver those things on a consistent basis."
If you're basing your service on assumptions of what your client wants rather than needs and wants based in fact, you're doing your client and yourself a disservice. As Felix Unger pointed out to Oscar, "Never assume. It makes an ass out of you and me (ass/u/me - get it?)."
Top Secrets reported, based on a survey of 1,662 promotional products customers, that these were the top five factors the customers deemed most important in their experiences with distributors (in order of importance):
- Prompt and timely delivery of orders
- Accurate order fulfillment
- Products available when needed
- Imprint and graphic quality
- Timely response to customer concerns.
#9: Stick With Statistics
As mentioned, learning about your clients' industries is necessary,
but what about your own? Do you know how big this industry is, what the
top markets for promotional products and the top-selling products are, etc.?
If your client asks, you should have the answers. And even if they don't
ask, you can still dazzle them with your knowledge.
Every year, this industry is fastidiously researched by the staff of Counselor magazine in its "State Of The Industry" report. Here are some facts pulled from this year's issue:
- Industry sales rose 3% in 2003 to $16.1 billion.
- The number one distributor business strategy for 2003: Focus on increasing business from a select number of clients.
- Top five products: Wearables; writing instruments; business accessories; glassware and ceramics; calendars.
- Top three markets: Education; health; manufacturing.
Care to go more in-depth? Simply click on www.stateoftheindustry.com.
#10: Make Like Trump
Lastly, think only clients can fire you? Sometimes the reverse
is necessary to save your sales - and your sanity.
Look at a few things: Is it worth the aggravation to deal with this client? Does it seem like you just can't do anything right for them? Do they nickel-and-dime you to death? Do they treat you unprofessionally? Are they consistently late-payers? Are they cutting into your profitability?
"Distributors tell me all the time about situations where the client has
been abusive in ways that simply won't let them make a profit," Hults says.
"And yet they go back and back because of volume and size and all that stuff.
But they're not making any money on the client. They might as well not have
him. Salespeople have a hard time giving up business, but you've got to
be unafraid to do that."
In my own many years of researching and writing about this industry, I've
touched on this topic with other knowledgeable sales consultants as well.
Asked how one knows it's time to cut a client loose, Brian Jeffrey, the
president of SalesForce Training & Consulting and self-described "Sales
Wizard," gave me this interesting metaphor awhile back: "It's like an impending
storm; the sun goes away slowly at first. It keeps getting darker and darker.
Then the wind picks up. You're saying, 'Where did this come from? It was
sunny a minute ago.'"
Tim Connor, sales consultant, speaker and author, told me this: "If they're giving you $500 in business, but costing you $1,000 in terms of support, aggravation, etc., they may not be worth it. However, if you're expending more energy but they have a great potential, decide if you can tolerate that account."
It boils down to weighing the pros and cons, but let's be clear, sometimes it just makes absolute sense to act like "The Donald" and tell that more-effort-than-he's-worth client: You're fired!
And on that note, class dismissed.
Kathy Huston is the editor of Advantages.
Two Cents From The Trenches |
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Used with permission of The Advertising Specialty Institute copyright 2005
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