Business of Print

One More Rep

Most commercial printers have a number in mind. That number is how much more sales per month would they need to be where they need to be. It usually boils down to “if we only had 1 or 2 more good sales reps we’d be fine.” And you know, they are probably right. Now comes the hard part, finding those sales reps. Here’s where many have a difficult time. They all want the rep who’s going to walk in with their book of business, hit the ground running on day 1, never need any assistance or direction from the senior team and never say a word about the shop’s quality, service or prices. And even then, the rep is over paid.

In the old days most new reps came from your competitors. Today many of them have retired or have moved off to another industry. So finding them is even harder. Once you have a potential rep though, don’t take anything for granted. Do your best to understand how well their work will fit into your organization, confirm that your pricing is OK and that any account conflicts have been addressed. Look at this new hire with a “first 100 days” mentality. If they are going to successfully manage the transition, these days can be the most critical. Here are some things that you should get involved in if you’re the sales leader: 

Where is the rep going to work from, office, home, car? May seem trivial but if things get uncomfortable this could become an issue.

If you have any weekly or monthly sales reporting that you use to monitor sales performance make sure that it’s communicated in advance of their acceptance of the position. 

Have someone from senior management travel with the rep and help introduce the new company to their contacts. Make a point of it. Have a routine and make it happen. A great way for you to see what’s going on and to make sure that the company is being positioned in the way that is consistent with your sales strategy.

Metrics. You undoubtedly have expectations about their performance. Make sure that those have been clearly articulated to the rep and make sure that everyone is on the same page relative to the scorecard you’ll be using.

Be in a position to answer these two questions:
a.    This rep will be successful and remain employed if they _________.
b.    This rep will not be successful and will be terminated if they ________.

Expectations and results may change along the way, that’s OK as long as you communicate clearly to the rep and that there are no alignment issues in regards to performance expectations.

Set Examples Along the Way

I was scheduled to deliver a presentation on selling integrated print solutions to a peer group in Arizona last Saturday at 8am. Instead I was re-routed and had the unpleasant experience of delivering my mom’s eulogy in New York at the exact same time. While I enjoy speaking in front of groups large or small, the group of family and friends gathered for this speech was a tough one to make eye contact with. You must first understand that I’m terrible at funerals, even when I don’t even know the person! So you can imagine my emotions for this one.

After a nice dinner the prior evening with some family members I sat down and began writing the thoughts that I wanted to share about my mom’s time on this earth. As I began, the words just flowed. It was relatively easy to highlight the key points of her life. Even better, it was much easier to deliver than I could have imagined. Perhaps because the content was clear, meaningful and peppered with a few laughs was able to keep my emotions in check and get through it okay.

It wasn’t until a day or so later that I realized what had happened. Mom had left me good material to talk about. This was a page right out of one of Stephen Covey’s seven habits, “begin with the end in mind” and a not so subtle reminder that we’ll all be the subject matter of one of these speeches one day and that the things we do will become fodder for this final monologue. Has nothing to do with printing but everything to do with how we live our lives and pursue our dreams.