180 Degrees
Well, here we are in March – the “Madness” month, at least for college basketball. Speaking of madness, I have a crazy challenge for you this month. Whether you’re a distribution sales rep or a manufacturer sales rep, I want you to flip your view 180 degrees.
As you know, I mention one of my heroes, Scott Fanning, in my Publisher’s Letters a lot. There is a reason for that. He has given me so many pearls of wisdom that they often drive what I write about in this column. Scott always challenged those around him to look at issues from 180 degrees. This allows people the ability to face an issue from more than one angle.
As I travel the country talking with sales reps from both manufacturers and distributors, something that always comes up is their frustration that their counterparts never call them back. Often I will hear: “I give them a lead, then nothing happens, and no one returns e-mails.” What is interesting is both manufacturer and distribution reps say it about each other consistently.
I am often asked to speak at manufacturers’ sales meetings about the value of distribution, which has been near and dear to my heart for 28 years. I believe the heart and soul of our industry rests on the shoulders of the 5,500 distribution reps calling on the end-users. When I give this talk, I show a slide describing your average day:
- Over 300,00 SKUs in your bag
- 150 plus emails a day
- Over 100 texts a day
- Back orders
- New orders
- Broken equipment
- Multiple promotions going on at once
- New office set-ups
- 25 plus voicemails
I tell the manufacturers this not to feel sorry for distribution reps, but so they have an understanding of how overwhelmingly busy you are. Now flip that 180 degrees and think about the manufacturer rep’s day.
- Anywhere from 50-100 distribution reps and managers calling them
- Follow-ups on end-user visits
- Quotes
- LVCs
- Over 100 emails a day
- Checking on orders
- Checking on back orders
- Sending samples
- 25 voice mails
- Over 100 texts
So, my challenge to both parties this month is to step back and take a 180-degree view of your counterparts across the aisle, give them a break – and give them a call back. Challenge yourself to work on the relationship with 5 new manufacturers or distributor reps in the next months. Relationships make our world go round and will pay huge dividends. Also, challenge yourself to get back to people in 24 hours. I will do the same.
Dedicated to the Industry,
R. Scott Adams