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Sell More Now
Appeared November 2003 in Jobbers World
If you’re a lube distributor—even a small one —you
have more salespeople on your staff than you think. Your major oil
company suppliers have sales representatives you can use to increase your
sales. Here’s how.
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They shmooze, you lose. Find sales reps who want to
work. Most major oil company salespeople work on salary.
They work differently than those salespeople who work on
commission. If your oil company rep’s idea of selling is to talk
at every sales call about sports, hunting and not much else, look to
another supplier. Work with the rep who is willing to do the homework it
takes to be knowledgeable about your customers’ business and lubricants
requirements. Bring the major’s rep to your accounts who
want to learn about what other companies are doing, get advance notice
of future trends or have problems that need to be
solved.
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The 3Ps Use the major’s sales rep when you have a customer
with a Problem that can’t be solved by the toll-free tech
line. If there are failed parts to see, an experienced rep can
often identify the cause of failure and prevent it in the future.
Some customers want the Prestige of having a major rep
call on them. Make a joint call when you’re not selling all the
lubricant Products in y our line to a customer—another good
salesperson can help. Bring the major’s rep to your accounts who
want to learn about what other companies are doing, get advance notice
of future trends or have problems that need to be
solved.
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Use 'em or lose 'em. Before the sales call, give the
rep a brief history of the account— who you’re going to call on, a
description of the plant equipment, and what to expect. Agree on
an objective for the sales call such as to establish a product trial or
to upgrade products. Use the rep strategically. Are there
questions you wanted to ask, but couldn’t? Maybe you felt
awkward asking how your prospect views competitor’s products; have the
sale rep ask these questions for you. Remember, cold calls are not
the best use of a major oil company rep. Schedule calls where a
clear need exists and the major can provide the
solution.
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Play by the rules. Above all, you’re there to sell
the major’s brand of oil, not one of your other supplier’s brands.
You may unexpectedly uncover an opportunity for another brand’s product,
one not carried by the sales rep you are with. Before the sales
call agree on how you’re going to handle this situation. I
recommend you get the rep’s agreement that you will mention another
supplier’s product and say that you’ll follow up with your customer
later.
A jobber-supplier relationship can be based on more
than product order, delivery and invoicing. You can create a relationship
with your suppliers that is based on growing your business. When
they help you increase your business, you’ve made the best decision about
which brand to sell.
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Maura Schreier-Fleming works with business and sales professionals
on skills and strategies so they can sell more and be more productive at
work. She is the author of Real-World Selling for
Out-of-this-World Results which is available at
www.BestatSelling.com. She founded her company Best@Selling in
1997. You can reach her at 972.380.0200 or
info@Bestatsellling.com.
(c) Copyright 2004 Maura
Schreier-Fleming. All rights reserved. |
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