It is an important component of our “sales” economy having large numbers of independent manufacturer’s reps who sell a vast array of industrial, commercial and commodity products. They help keep our” economic machinery” running smoothly and efficiently. These Reps sell to manufacturers across literally all industries, end users such as industrial plants, and processing plants. These all cover practically all agencies in the U.S. government. There does exist a smaller component of Reps that sell to smaller markets segments like sales of small amounts of consumer products into the grocery business. In the case of most food and consumer products, the Reps rarely service the retail giants as they buy in vast bulk directlyfrom specific manufacturers.
Beyond selling, Reps need to be acquiring products to represent at a host of outlets. Many go to trade shows for manufacturers and customers; including very traditional “hitting the pavement” tactics. By far the biggest source of business opportunities are found on the Web. This can be learning new products to sell or new accounts to sell into. Reps also use the Net to be found, as with www.replink.com, which provides product material on thousands of companies’ products.
So, what does this have to do with outselling your competitors? It starts with some of the freshest and most telling data on the Web. It contains some of the most pervasive information on how selling is undergoing radical changes(free “gifts of Knowledge”), for you and your competitors. Here are some facts that substantiate this:
- 57% of the buying journey is done BEFORE a sales rep is involved;CEB (Corporate Executive Board).
- 75% of B2B buyers now use social media to research vendors.
- 90% of decision makers say they never respond to cold outreach. Harvard Business Review.
This data points out that the buyers have changed and are smarter, more knowledgeable, and use it to their company’s advantage. The Rep who is not up on how to sell into these new environments is at a disadvantage. The Rep who is learning to master this, is at an advantage.
It is called “Social selling”; and, it is now required to succeed in any sales endeavor regardless of what you sell, who you sell to; no matter where your territories are. However, learning these skills are time consuming. It requires updating, or worse yet, first building your LinkedIn page, having a “business or professional Facebook” page, when to use Twitter and what to say, and using a selection of relevant pieces of content. All of this helps the buyer to see you as a “trustedresource’ and not just a Rep who represents a good product at a good price.
SDM believes most sales teams in industry do not make this a priority. It is typically not the Rep’s fault. It usually is the responsibility of the company they work for. In the case of Independent reps, they are where the buck stops. Where then do you get specific help?
SDM helps Reps, small business owners and Sales people to learn the latest “tips & tricks” using:
- Single topic “sales gifts of knowledge” on Social Selling.
- Cheat sheets on using Social Selling to differentiate.
- 20 minute speed courses on outflanking competitors using Social Selling.
- Where to get “free” content and where to go to the Internet to get more.
What do you do next? Send us an email and we’ll arrange for you to speak with Ed to chat about how these learnings can help build more sales just for your business.