Working in Sales

[ndwhite]

Firstly I would like to thank everyone at Signs101, originally I joined the forum to help prepare myself for an interview I'd be having at Schneider Graphics here in Des Moines, Iowa. I ended up landing the job and will be starting on the 16th. I believe this is largely due to Signs101 because of the research I was able to do on the forum; I was able to show an understanding of the industry and products in my interviews.

Now I will be entering a sales position, and I'm looking to receive any advice or tid-bits the community can throw at me.

As for as sales is concerned, what was the most important lesson you learned when starting out? What about the biggest challenge, or the most common challenge? While talking to the person that will be leaving the position I will be filling she said that the biggest difficulty is needing to constantly babysit each project through all stages of production. Do any of you feel that this is also the case where you work?

And for those of you working in other positions, working with a sales team, what do you feel is their most common mistake? How do you feel that they could work with you better? If you could offer any advice to your sales team, what would it be?

Thank you in advance for your help, and if you feel there is anything else I should know about sales I'm eager to hear.

 

[Mike F]

Always ask as many questions and get as many details as you can from the client so that you can give the designers/production people as much info as possible about the job. It drives me insane when I have to have them get in touch with the customer because they didn't even ask how many, what size, when it's needed by, etc...

Also, do as little "babysitting" as possible. The only thing more aggravating than having a customer up your *** is having a salesperson up your ***.

I'm sure I could come up with more, but those are the two things that really grind my gears.

 

[Just Another Sign Guy]

- yes 'babysitting' projects can be a concern for anyone selling in this industry. you want to make sure that your projects are done on time and to the level of quality that your customers are going to expect or you will be the one who has to explain delays, problems, etc., you are dealing with a custom made product and every one is different than the one before.

-communicating artwork requirements and needs is also a common challenge, especially for a salesperson who does not know the industry and needs trying to communicate what it is you need from a customer (who has NO idea).

-colors. Make sure you have a way that you can show customers colors and communicate to your shop the colors that you need them to reproduce. I am unfamiliar with the shop you are referring to and the scope of work they produce but if they produce electrical signs you will need translucent color charts, if they print digital you should get a color chart printed from their printer(s), a pms book, etc.

-depending on the size of projects that the shop produces you may have challenges in regards to permits, what is and is not allowed, etc. customers will want great big signs that exceed what they are allowed, they will want signs placed in areas that may not be possible for installers or allowed by code (for example many municipalities do not allow 'rooftop' signs any more.

-if you don't know how to do a proper site survey...make sure you have the INSTALLERS at the shop show you the ropes as they will be the one's using that information and you want them to 'love' you.

-there is often a disconnect between sales people / office staff /etc and the production / installation staff. you want the production and install crews to love you (I've yet to meet an installer who doesn't like cinnamon rolls) these guys can and will save your bacon or they can do the bare minimum and leave you with lots of explaining to do to clients.

-MONEY... I have seen super star salesmen be able to sell clients signs that meet their needs and will serve them well in the long term versus a short term solution, in many instances the customer is not in a situation to pay full price for projects of that scope or magnitude..find out what options are available to you for financing (if any) so that you can overcome those objections.

-COMMUNICATION I can not tell you how many times I have seen or heard the story of a salesperson carrying an arm load of yard signs or whatever only to see a new banner rolled up on the counter of a customer and hear " I didn't know you did banners too" make sure you communicate what you can produce for the customer.

-Follow up. Any salesperson worth their salt will follow up with their customers after the sale. see what other needs you can fulfill now that you have their trust.

-ask for referrals and in this industry you will work with businesses of all types, be prepared to refer people to those businesses..people will give you referals if you ask for them but they are also going to be more apt to refer people to you if you are sending them business.

those are the things that I can think of off the top of my mind

 

[Locals Find!]

This about sums up everything I spent the last 15 years learning.

 

[rjssigns]

Take the time to set up an order form. Make sure it answers all the questions your designers, pre-press and production people can throw at you.

You could even set one up in Google Docs with radio buttons.

Bottom line get it in writing and cover the details.
It is called Covering Yer A**.

 

[AnotherSignManiac]

I work with a sales guy, he in no way shape or form 'babysits' me, nor would I ever allow him to.

Make sure to get more details than you think you could need. Try and sit down with the all of the staff and see what they need to complete a quote (if you don't make them yourself), a work order, and how to get the job complete as smoothly and timely as possible.

As far as sales goes, always remember more times than not you know more than the customer. Be confident that you know what they need and you ARE the best choice for them to choose.

 

[ndwhite]

Thank you for all your replies! For those of you not in sales; what questions(s) do you feel sales people most often neglect to ask?

 

[allamericantrade]

Get a good camera and take a lot of pictures. This will help aid in designing, fabrication, and explanation for installation. As always a picture says 1000 words. get as much info as you possibly can. talk with the installers. I highly recommend tagging along on a few installations to further your knowledge in the industry. This will also help you in regards to pricing and figuring what is going to take longer than what may be considered the "norm".

 

[kylebrk]

Get a good camera and take a lot of pictures. This will help aid in designing, fabrication, and explanation for installation. As always a picture says 1000 words. get as much info as you possibly can. talk with the installers. I highly recommend tagging along on a few installations to further your knowledge in the industry. This will also help you in regards to pricing and figuring what is going to take longer than what may be considered the "norm".

Uh huh! +1

 

[Rick]

How much experience do you have in the sign business?

 

[Sticky Signs]

I truly believe that every person working in a shop should take the time to learn a little bit about everyone else's position. ESPECIALLY the sales people. Learn about the process and what it takes to make it happen. This can only be beneficial. The more you know about how things are done, the better prepared you will be to ask the necessary questions to make sure that you deliver the right product. This goes for everybody form the receptionist to the pre-press person to the finishing person as well as the shipper/receiver and the installer and any one else I may have left out. Learn, learn, learn.

 

[ndwhite]

How much experience do you have in the sign business?

My only related experience would be graphics design, but nothing in the sign business before this job.

 

[Rick]

Please... not "graphics design" the tiny hairs in the back of my head stand up when I hear that...

I checked out the company, the learning curve is not as bad as if this place was a complete architectural signage company. Looks like a nice gig.

You will want to babysit the jobs for the main reason of you want to get used to the process. When I'm designing signs, I have to ask a lot of questions, when I worked at a shop, the quickest way to get my answers was to go out to the shop and ask the guys building it how to do it. you will probably want to ask everyone about the process.

When I worked as a designer at a sales based shop, I followed each job. Not as a nag, just out of habit that everything was done so my butt was covered.

My 2 biggest pet peeves with salesmen:

1. Salesmen not giving me enough information. 9 times out of 10, if the salesman (or the surveyer) spent an extra 5 minutes of measuring, I would have whipped out the job in to time but I was missing one or 2 key measurements. They need a survey form and go through each step.

2. Salesman art directing - this goes back to my 1st pet peeve, if the salesman got enough information on what the client required, had the logo ready in digital format or at the very least something scannable (in color) and had a design brief that either they, or the client filled out so I have something in writing on what the client is looking for instead of the salesman's interpretation of it. If you are going to art direct, then give the designer the option of showing the client more than one design (as long as it does not take too long) if color is very important, or some other element, make sure everyone from design to install knows it.

 

[Mosh]

Get a cool siut and drink during lunch, that is who they roll on Mad Men.....