A New Type Of Sales Call


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A New Type Of Sales Call
By: Staff
Issue: 2010feb

A Distributor Asks:
One of my clients told me another distributor is trying to schedule a sales call with him. He told the salesperson he is not interested in moving the business and happy with the products and services I provide. Is it appropriate for me to call the competitor (whom I know) and ask her not to call my client anymore?

Judy Ginther
Principal
Affordable Printed Products, LLC
UPIC: APPLLC
There will always be rude or pushy competitors, and I would never stoop to calling them. The real questions are: How much do you trust your client, and how strong is your relationship with him or her? Real, solid business relationships are founded on trust and integrity—on both sides of the trade.

Wayne Greenberg, MAS
President
JB of Florida, Inc., a division of Geiger
The call shouldn’t go to the competitor, but rather the client. We’re in the appreciation business—show your client some tangible form of appreciation. Add a note that mentions how integrity and loyalty from a client is rare these days and how fortunate you are to be working so hard for a client like them. One last twist would be to send a large package with the letters IOU on it.

Inside, write up a certificate for an IOU for renewed energy, harder work, better ideas and an even stronger ROI on their projects as a thank-you for loyalty.

The client will be thrilled, and it will be the client who tells them not to call anymore.

Tamara Sanchez, MAS
President
Innovative Ideas, a member of Adventures in Advertising
UPIC: INNIDEAS
Do not call the competition! If in doubt, ask yourself what you would accomplish by making such a call. We all know our competition, and it’s fair game to call on anyone that is buying and using products. This should be a wakeup call to make sure you keep your customer happy and stay competitive. Things can change within company policy, so who knows if and when they may be required to look for bids even when it’s not required and your buyer is happy with you.

Robert L. Joseph
Vice President
Ideas For You, an IC Group Company
UPIC: IDEAS4U
You never call another distributor about not calling on your client. All clients are fair game. If the client does not want to see that person he or she won’t make an appointment. None of us own clients even though we would like to think so. Calling another distributor and asking him or her not to call your client anymore just makes you look desperate.

Marsha Londe
CEO
Tango!
UPIC: TangoP
You can’t control the competition’s sales calls. What do you envision accomplishing? Are you looking for a fight? Bragging rights? Touting your client relationship? Your client already told the competitor that he’s happy working with you. Why make the sales person angry and/or more determined? What if your competitor shares the tale of your warning with reps—and possibly with the client? Making that call could lose you the client and a positive reputation. Stay focused. Spend that energy on caring for your client to validate his decision to stick with you.

Lori-Ann Corey
Advertising and Tradeshow Coordinator
QPL, Inc. & The Image Group Inc.
UPIC: QPL001
Although I understand your frustration and fear of losing your client, just knowing that my client appreciates doing business with me and that I’m offering him or her the best customer service, products and pricing would ease my worries.

This situation is not a new one; we all compete at some level for new business. Let’s face it, it’s a dog-eat-dog world out there. I don’t think I would call the other distributor, unless they were slandering our company practices in some way.

You just need to be confident that your superb customer service skills, pricing, etc., can’t be beat.

Laura Hansen
President
Image Group Inc.
UPIC: IMAG0001
Of course you shouldn’t call! It is your client’s responsibility to respond to a potential new supplier—not yours. I would not even convey to your competitor that you are aware of the incident or that you are working with that client. Just keep doing your best to service the client and keep him or her happy.

Fern Silver
President
Fern Silver & Associates
UPIC: FERN
I can understand your concern. Your client probably hears from several distributors during the year. In fact, we all face the same situation. After all, every brand does its utmost to capture new customers and keep its old ones.

It is not your responsibility to contact your competitor. Anyone worth their weight will keep in contact with prospects they deem worthy of their time. Your job is to keep your client so happy that when they do hear from other distributors they just toss their info in the garbage or tell your competition they are very happy with their present relationship.

If your competition demonstrates their creativity and solution to a business challenge better than you do, then bravo for them. We are in the business of creating solutions and benefits that move our clients to successful profits and performance improvement.

So, keep up the great work and remember: Loyalty is only as good as the benefits and value you provide.

Bryan Vaughn, MAS
National Sales Manager
LarLu and Display-Tec
UPIC: LARLU
This makes me think of the saying “you can’t bribe an honest man.” I guess to fit this scenario it should be “you can’t take someone who doesn’t want to leave.” You obviously are providing a level of service the client appreciates, so no attempts to “steal” them will cause you to lose them. However, what may cause you to lose them would be to get comfortable in your success and possibly take them for granted. The way to combat that is to realize if you don’t take care of your customers your competitors will. I would instead call this person and invite them for lunch to thank them for keeping you on your toes. To call and say anything else would be wasting your time.

A Distributor Asks:
Is it a good idea to send out a company report card to clients and ask for their feedback? I’d like to know if they’re satisfied with our services and what we could do to serve them better, but I don’t want to open a whole can of worms about pricing or services we’re not equipped to offer right now.

What’s your answer? E-mail answers along with your name, title and company name to Question@ppai.org by February 26 for possible inclusion in an upcoming issue of PPB magazine.

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