Gauge if the customer has time for you within seconds of walking through the door. Let them keep you there don't keep them from their work because you think they need you in some way.
Its tough, if they just walk in I always wish I would of known they were coming but if they call I almost always tell them I am too busy today.
Edit: Welcome to Signs 101, your St. Louis branch has some good dudes
Will do. It's easy to forget how much stuff you guys have going on because I don't always get a chance to see how much actually goes into producing the product. As my understanding has increased, I'm a lot more empathetic towards being respectful of your time and only coming by when I have good reason to. Thanks for your feedback!
Number 1: Know your products and how your pricing compares to competitor's products and materials.
I used to have a GBC salesmen stop in (uninvited, and unannounced) every couple of months and ask me flat out "so what are you using that I can replace with our products" and EVERY time we would go through the same routine. I would quickly tell him what we're using....he would proceed to claim he could beat the prices, offer better materials etc etc. When I would ask him for pricing he would spit out a ridiculously low number....and after me questioning it he would stutter and mutter for 5 mins while digging through his price list....only to come back with "oh sorry that's for a half roll".
Seriously.....don't even step foot in our shop and try to promise the stars when you're too dumb to turn on a flashlight.
Combine that with him "giving" us a roll of thermal laminate to try to "hook" us on his products.....then after it not resulting in further sales they sent us an invoice for it. I threw it in an Avery box and told him to go pound sand.
He doesn't stop by anymore....
Number 2: Realize that your customers' time is important. I love talking to suppliers about new materials and products that they think we could start using.....but only when I have time.
Number 3: service service service. If you don't have it or carry it....bring it in. Most our suppliers are great when it comes to bringing anything in for us but sometimes they just don't bother trying. That's when I move down the list and call the next supplier.
Otherwise....sounds like you've got the right attitude and are keen on learning how to look after your customers!
Yea I can see how it's irritating when people just stop in un-announced and go for the close immediately. The carrying part is difficult on my end at the moment because my manager makes the decisions on that, but because I want to end up in a management position eventually I'm going to keep this in the back of my head. Thanks for helping me get better :U Rock:
The other posts are fine so far, but........
- I'd like a call ahead of time, so we can better make use of the time allotted.
- Be on time or call me with your new schedule.
- Don't turn me towards something because you or your company make a better profit somewhere else.
- Don't pest me if you get the feeling I'm busy. Let's agree to resume another time.
- Call me when you have specials on something we use a lot.
- Don't wait for me to ask for a price match, try to be there before me.
- Be up on the latest in your field.
Most of all...... amd you can start this year with this one, send me a big bottle of
Bushmill for
Christmas.... even if you're
Jewish.
Always keep on time, no doubt it's a must. Thanks for the help. On the Bushmill, it depends on whether or not you're willing to share!
Pepperoni pizza once a month.
I only make Supreme, Pepperoni you might want to try Pizza Hut!
Right on welcome aboard, I was in your shoes about 17 years ago when I started selling digital signage materials so if you ever wanna chat you can hit me up anytime.
Thanks Bigfish, I'm going to take you up on that offer sometime, I'll shoot you a PM because I'd love to pick your brain a little. Thanks for the offer, it's always easier when there's good mentors around to help.
Make sure your price stays competitive, I hate finding out after reordering a material for months that the other place somehow has become cheaper. I don't have time to price shop every purchase.
If you don't have a basic item in stock don't charge me extra to drop ship it.
Yea I can see how the "nickle & dime" things get annoying. I do my best to stay away from it when I can because I hate when companies do it to me too.
The price issue is a point of contention between myself and some of the other reps because we have split philosophies. Some people say "Well start high because you can always go lower." My issue here is that buyers in this day and age are educated about what they want (at least with the common materials) and having the expectation that they will barter back on forth on price is too much of a gamble. On the other hand, we have to stay profitable to keep in business just like you, so it can be tough to measure at times. I think a middle ground is probably best here.
If you are selling materials try stocking it once in a while. After 3 tries and you dont have it " but we can get it for you" dont embarrass yourself and come back.
Yea I hear you, we have to have it available if we are to keep in your quote pool.
one of Mosh's bottles of Scotch.
I'm going to stick to my guns; it depends on if you're willing to share!
Amen to that!
Thanks for asking the question, that puts you ahead already!
I'll throw a couple of things out there. One rep we buy material from that sells equipment as well has never ONCE called us or come by for a sales visit. I hear others talk about him and how he visits them. Guess who we won't be buying a a large format printer from when we need one? Hint- the guy that acts like we don't exist.
Stock products. You can't imagine how much loyalty you earn when you save the day by having something in stock for an unexpected rush job. It makes us look great with our customers and it makes us want to do more business with you.
Get up off the swatches. It's taken me 5 years to built my swatch books. I can't buy things from you if I don't know what you carry. Telling my customer that's standing in my showroom "it looks like this, but it's different" doesn't work. Pulling out a swatch book and showing them "it looks like this" sells jobs and sells your materials (which I need you to have in stock). I've never understand why it's so hard to get swatches from suppliers.
Give the small guy good pricing. We can't get bigger if we're quoting against people that buy the same material from you for less. We don't buy 10 pallets of Sign Foam at a time, but if we can't get a good price on 1 sheet, we'll certainly never get to the point where we need 10 pallets of it.
That's my point of view.
Thanks for sharing it, as "the new guy" it makes a world of difference when you share your point of view about things in the business. We argue back and forth with the manufacturer about swatches too, and I can appreciate your aggrevation. They expect us to sell their material without providing concrete examples we can show our customers.
It's funny you mention the "small guy pricing" because from what I've seen, most of the small shops aren't given great pricing. I think the general philosophy is that if a supplier gets the business, great because it's a good margin. If not, no problem because they aren't missing out on a ton.
I think where the real issue comes in is when you look at a lifetime value chart for a customer. Even if they only buy $500/year of material, if they don't require a lot of time to service well then over 10-20 years it can add up.
Something that might help on your end is offering all of your volume to one supplier. If you contact a couple suppliers and say, "Hey I'm looking to give all my business to one supplier for the next 2-3 years, and I've dealt with you before so I'd like to include you in the discussion. I'm not looking to kill you on price because I know you have to make money to service your customers, but I'd certainly appreciate you being involved in the bid."
Because the books are extremely pricey to manufacture. the more books they hand out the less value you place on them and the more likely you are to lose them or let customers take them. If they're a pain in the butt for you to get you treat them as such.
It's been a while but I want to say my Avery rep told me their swatch books cost them a little over $5 each.
What I'd like from a rep is to not call me every few months and ask me if there's anything I'm using they can get me a better price on than what's in their cowboy-man catalog. Seriously?! Why don't you just come out and tell me you know you're ripping me off and you're going to continue to do so unless I call you out on it. I've got an idea, genius, why don't you just sell me EVERYTHING at your best price. Should be a hell of a lot easier than setting special pricing for each individual customer.
The swatches are a hot topic it seems!
The never ending disussion about price seems to go on and on right? It seems to me like people appreciate a good price upfront and solid expectations.......But then you look at a company like JCPenny who stopped any kind of couponing and just sold at a even "fair" price. They haven't done too well with that strategy and I'm a little curious as to why.
I guess the question that comes up is this: When do you feel better about buying something? When you pay the upfront price and you know you aren't getting ripped off, but you aren't sure if you could have gotten lower? Or when you get the other guy to go down on his price a decent amount and walk away feeling like you "won" the price negotiation?
gotta disagree there.... I'm pretty sure you don't give your best price right outta the gate, why should they, we're all in it for the buck.
back to the topic, if i look busy, keep it short
I'll keep it in mind, thanks for helping me out here!
Dont be a punka$$ biotch and run and hide when materials fail. This is the #1 complaint I have . Reps are always there to sell you stuff and once a material goes south the rep abandons you as the customer.
If I buy something from YOU I dont want to have to deal with the manufacturer on issues regarding lifespan. You should step up and take care of the problem
Amen, thanks for telling it like it is. It's easy to run away, but even though you might lose some business because of the mistake, if you don't follow up and take the heat so you can fix the issue, you are
garunteed to lose the business.
So a restaurant or fast food chain can charge more depending on what the customer acts like, sign suppliers arent artist , prices should be flat for everyone unless your buying quantity or been with them for over 15 years. But lets say two new customers, the rep gives them both high prices, one doesnt complain, the other asks for a better price, the rep lowers the price for him, where as the guy who didnt complain payed the rep asap, no questions asked. Thats bologny. Yes its different for us, but for supplierd, thats bs. In the end these reps are owners, thats like you shop employee asking the customers fir tips or adding on more money then what theyre boss charges... Think about it
I can appreciate your point of view here. I think people back down on price when they aren't sure of the value of their offering. If that's the case, either you're high on price and need to adjust to the market, or you don't believe that what you offer is worth what you're charging. If you are very sure of what you can do for someone, there wouldn't be any price negotiations, it's a "Here's my price, here's why it's that price, we'd love to do business but if you go somewhere else that's fine too."
If we haven't "clicked" after the first couple meetings don't think launching an e-mail and phone campaign will help.
Then you become a nuisance and I will never buy from you.
Don't be a pest, duly noted.
LairdGuy, it's simple.
Honesty.
Burned into my memory. It's shame there's an honesty issue at all in the industry, but I guess it's just a people issue. There's always dis-honest people walking around, regardless of industry.
I just have one. I would really like a phone call before you came to my office. Just to tell ask me if I need anything, and if it's a good time. It's good to know your face, but after a couple of stop by's in the beginning of our business relationship, I only require a general email or a phone call every now and then, and I'd only prefer those if it's something beneficial for my business, not just to see if I need anything. I will get a hold of you if I need something, and if you want to email me a couple times a year to see if everything is going ok, that's fine.
I do have a few reps that stop by probably once every year or two, that I basically don't ever in my life remember ordering anything from, and that drives me crazy. If you have stopped in once or twice (and called first) and I still don't order anything from you, do not keep pestering me. Either your pricing was too high, you didn't offer the products I needed, or I'm already happy where I'm at, and you can just stay in touch minimally and if I'm ever ready to shop around, I will contact you.
That's my biggest beef I guess whenever a vendor/supplier or some solicitor stops by trying to sell me stuff. I'm a full grown man who can do a simple Google search or talk to people if I'm in need of something. I will find you. Do not pester me. (I once made one phone call about some printed cups, and never ended up placing an order. That was about 6 years ago, and I get a phone call about once every two months from them)
That being said, I have a couple of good reps that I work with. They aren't pushy, but at that same time, I generally never have anything to talk with them about because I've already addressed any issues I've had via phone, right when they happened, so that's where the phone calls would come into play. I also realize, there may be a "higher up" that says this is how you are going to do it, and they're just doing their job. Long as I'm not dealing with a person that's got zero personality, that I never order from, it's not a huge deal.
Thanks for the insight, I'm trying to soak up as much as I can from you guys here because a lot of you have been in the business for a while. It's also a little easier for me to ask these kinds of questions because we don't deal with each directly. I've asked this in the past and sometimes people think it's some kind of sales tactic to reveal information, but really I'm just trying to get a good handle on what being a good sales rep is. I appreciate you helping me out!
By the way. If a company has been in business for any time then they buy what your selling already. So you have to have better service, price or something to ad value. Start off with a good price. We have new sales guys come all the time and ask to quote stuff. Starting @ 20% higher than I am paying from a good vendor make me laugh and throw the quote in the trash, wasting my time and yours.
I hear you, I've still got to get a handle on pricing, but for now I'll stick with finding out who I'm competing with and then ask some of my co-workers where my price needs to be.
To everybody who has been responding, I know it's taken a few days to get back to everyone, and I want to tell you all how much I'm grateful for the help. I'm going to pass on the good will to my customers who I'm sure will appreciate it, and I'm going to keep finding ways to give back the community here when I can.
If you look at the thread and haven't responded because you think I've already seen all the responses, please don't! I'm always open to learning more about the industry and everyone is going to have a little different perspective because of their unique situation. I'd love to hear from you!
