Great News! You Don't Have To Be Great. You Only Need To Be Good

Those of you who know me have heard me "tongue in cheek" praise the competition. C'mon, stick with me here. I firmly believe that the markets can be your sales playground. Why? Because in the sales world I live in - the world of industrial distribution - sales representatives suck! They really do.

Ok. One concession. Not all of them are really that bad. There are a few good ones and probably one or two that I'd happily add to my sales team. However, the best news is: Most of them are really, really bad.

Glen, you ask, what makes them so bad. I'm so glad you asked. Here are few observations:

1. They are not Product Experts

• They rely on manufacturer reps way too much. Example: Customer asks them to visit and help troubleshoot a floorcare problem. Bad sales rep eagerly agrees to the request. Shows up. Looks at the floor and promptly says, "I'll have to contact my manufacturer rep and bring her back around to look at the floor". Here's what the customer interprets: I have no idea how to help you. In fact, I've wasted your time. I could have called my manufacturer rep to visit with me on this call, but I'm not organized enough to make that happen. I have no product knowledge.

2. They have no Purpose

• They schedule appointments (or more likely, just "show up" unannounced) and make these kind of statements: "Do you need anything today?" or "Why don't you buy that item from me?" (as they point to a competitors product on the customers shelf) or, my favorite, "Can I quote you on that?"

3. They fail to Do What They Said They Were Going To Do

• "I'll have that proposal to you by end of the day tomorrow". Then they promptly forget about it because they have no system. Two weeks later they "show up" (see item #2 above) and the customer/prospect says, "Hey, were you going to get me that proposal?" Sales Rep Who Sucks proceeds to say, "Oh yeah, I forgot to call you... uh, I've been waiting on the manufacturer's rep to get me pricing (a lie). I'll have it to you tomorrow (yeah, right)

I raise my glass high to all who are not Product Experts, to all who have no Purpose, and I'll even raise it a little higher to all who fail to Do What They Said They Were Going To Do

Thank You! You make my job all that much easier.

To succeed in the world of distribution sales you don't have to be great. You only need to be good because your competition sucks!

Be good today