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GDA Staff -- Gifts and Dec, 6/17/2011 4:49:48 AM

I have read with much interest Randy Eller's article (G&DA January 2011) and Ken Kline's response (G&DA March/April) concerning fi eld sales reps and rep groups. As a 35-year-plus veteran sales and marketing consultant and national sales manager of several companies, I off er the following observations:
     1. Depending on shows, media websites, emails and cheap phone calls to sell product is like having a vegetable stand in a giant farmer's warehouse and hoping a customer will pick your products over the thousands of other vegetables at the market.
     2. Mr. Kline is correct that top down thinking is old school, but bott om up thinking from the customer's needs viewpoint cannot be assumed. It must be att ained from good discovery questions and answers from well trained salespeople.
     3. Yes, the stores are too busy to deal with uninformed time-consuming product-pushing salespeople.
     4. Store owners do have time and appreciate dealing with well informed sales professionals. Time is everyone's competitive enemy. No one has time to deal with someone who does not know anything about their store or the store's customers, product mix, pricing and their peak seasonal needs. A salesperson's job is to assist the store in having the right products at the right time in the right place and at the right price. 5. A big issue with salespeople in our industry is confusing professional relationship with personal relationship. This is, in reality, a transactional business. If the product is right for the customer, then she wants a transaction, which is write the order and ship it. I don't have time or desire to have donuts and coffee with you.
     6. In summary, this industry suff ers from an abundance of uninformed and untrained salespeople, whether they are direct employees, rep groups or telesalespeople. This is the fault of owners who don't realize that sales are the revenue producing arm of their business and that a good sales manager drives sales through good management and constant training.
     7. The majority of vendors leave the reorder on the table and depend on stores to reorder on their own or see them at the next market. This is an injustice to the store and to the vendor.
     Austin W. Bunch vp sales/marketing, Kalalou

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