by tradesmeninsights | Sep 20, 2016 | Marketing Tips
Today we have a guest post from Alan Sipe, President of Toolbox sales and consulting. Alan has over 40 years of experience including Sr. VP of Sales and Marketing for Klein Tools and President of Knipex Tools. His insights in selling through various distribution channels and professional contractors are invaluable. Alan can be reached at [email protected].
So, why isn’t your new Super-Duper Widget selling?
Your Research Department talked to your users and found a need. Product Development and Design took that information and developed the world’s best Super-Duper Widget. Marketing put together literature and an excellent introduction display and sales package. Sales developed a forecast and Production has plenty of Super-Duper Widgets in stock. Literature, samples, promotional material and quotas went out to your Manufacturer’s Representatives … right on time.
Now you only have one little problem … your fabulous new Super-Duper Widgets are not selling into distribution at anywhere near projections.
You did everything right … Right?
There is a mistaken opinion that as soon as you give someone the title salesperson they immediately are professional Super-Duper Widget salespeople … you couldn’t be more wrong!
Whether your sales staff is your own or if you use independent reps. Here are some things to consider:
The first thing to consider (no matter what they tell you)is that as a Manufacturer’s Representative they represent many lines and no one can intuitively be an expert in all things.
Mary may be an excellent salesperson and has great relationships with all her customers and gets good repeat orders but doesn’t do well with new products. (more…)
by tradesmeninsights | Sep 13, 2016 | Uncategorized
Today we have a guest post from Mark Mitchel of Whizard Strategy.
Building materials companies frequently only see the customer who is directly in front of their nose. They are laser focused on selling a builder, an architect, a facilities manager or even a homeowner.
In every one of these cases there is someone standing right behind them that you may not see. That person is the contractor. More specifically, it is the installing contractor.
Time and time again, I see building materials companies, with a great product, think they have a made a sale to their primary customer, only to lose the sale because of a contractor.
It’s easy to assume that contractors are working for your primary customer so they will do what the customer wants. That is frequently not the case.
Here’s Why Contractors Resist Change
- There is a shortage of labor so any good contractor is in demand and may turn work down or charge more, if it involves something new or different.
- Contractors see new ideas and products as change and change represents risk. It usually does not represent opportunity to them.
- Contractors can be very stubborn in their resistance to change. They and maybe even their Daddy has always used the same product and installed it the same way for years. Many of them also believe that buildings and homes are not built as well as they were in the past. To them, modern day construction practices and products are not necessarily better.
- New products mean the contractor will lose money. The contractor looks at a new product as having many places where they are going to lose money, for example:
- They aren’t sure how to estimate the project so they can underestimate it and lose money or they can over estimate it and lose the job.
- Their installers will have to be trained and the cost of that training will fall on them.
- Installers will take a longer time on the first few jobs, reducing the contractor’s income.
- There is a higher likelihood of a callback on the first few jobs, once again costing the contractor.
- Dealing with a new supplier is also time consuming, when he probably isn’t having a problem with his current supplier. (more…)
by tradesmeninsights | Sep 7, 2016 | Uncategorized
This post originally appeared on INSIGHT2PROFIT.com
Many manufacturers treat their distributors equally. They offer everyone the same discounts, the same promotions, and the same training programs.
However—not all distributors work equally hard for your business.
In this article, we’ll look at how the right distributor plan can help you get the most benefit from your distributor relationships and drive the business objectives you want to achieve. (more…)
by tradesmeninsights | Sep 6, 2016 | Uncategorized
Today we have a guest post from Russ Hill, Founder and CEO of Ultimate Lead Systems.
OK, let’s get real about sales people for a minute. Sales people want to make sales calls. They want to make calls on qualified leads and on profitable customers who can generate sales and compensation. They are like gunslingers interested in the “quick kill.” You hire them to sell and that’s where you want them to spend their time.
But they are also given business plans and projections to write and update. They also have prospecting and travel to schedule. And they are frequently required to spend time on software training…you know the CRM program, Excel, quote building software, the ERP system and the other third-party programs and resources that are pushed out to them, so they can be “more productive.”
The days of sales people making sales calls and writing up “simple” call reports (primarily for their own benefit) are long gone. Besides making calls, today’s sales people need to master and manage a variety of tasks and complex software. The need for the fundamental call report stills exists and management would be wise to keep that in mind. That means that one of the most important things management can do to help their sales people be more productive is to reduce the sales person’s administrative and non-sales related tasks.
by tradesmeninsights | Aug 30, 2016 | Marketing Tips, Traditional Marketing
By John Sonnhalter, Rainmaker Journeyman, Sonnhalter
Have you given contractors clarity and conviction as to who you are? Sometimes manufacturers focus all their efforts on products and not enough time on developing their value proposition. Others take for granted that everyone knows who we are and what we do.
I recently read an article by James O’Gara from On Message about creating clarity and conviction in the minds of your customers that got me thinking about a possible disconnect on messaging through the buying process. James points out that the message has to be consistent before, during and after the sale. Customers or potential customers can’t have one message when they are investigating a solution, only to find out once they start the buying process, the culture and messaging has changed.
Your story needs to capture not only your purpose and vision but your positioning statement, the value you deliver and what sets you apart from the competition. The bottom line is, your story can’t change from one phase to another. You need to be consistent and authentic!
(more…)
by tradesmeninsights | Aug 24, 2016 | Uncategorized
When you think about a Call to Action (CTA), what comes to mind? Perhaps a print or banner ad that says “Click Here”? Or a TV commercial urging you to “Call Now”?
CTAs are often thought of only in relation to sales messages. But incorporating CTAs in each aspect of communication can significantly improve your results. This goes for all external communication, but also for internal and interpersonal communication.
For example, think about the last email you sent (to a colleague, customer, friend, whomever). Did you clearly communicate the response you hoped for or did you just send a message that might leave them wondering how to respond? Even adding a simple, “Let me know your thoughts” to a message can signal that person to act and engage with your communication.
Each piece of communication you use could benefit from a call to action; once you incorporate CTAs into your messages, you’ll likely see better results.
(more…)
