Sales people need to focus on value, not capabilities

Your sales people should educate your customers

Two weeks ago, we talked about how your sales people should be the link between your business and your customers. We approached this from the perspective of keeping your business informed about your customers. This relationship must go both ways, and your sales people also need to ensure your customers understand your business.

There is no doubt, operating a food and beverage business is a challenge. There are so many things you need to have in place to get that product produced and into the market. Educating your customers about your business does not mean a one-sided conversation about the challenges you face. I can’t tell you how many times sales people came into my office at Loblaw and talked about the many hurdles they had to overcome. Sometimes, I would wonder why they were in the job if it was so miserable.

Your customers are looking for you to bring them solutions, not more problems. Yes, your sales people do need to ensure your customers understand the challenges, but they also need to dedicate more time talking about the solutions you offer. Challenge your sales people to use 1/3 of the time to explain the challenge and 2/3 of the time to outline the solutions you can offer. There are times when you need the support of your customers to deliver these solutions. Examples would be more lead time on orders if raw materials are a challenge or less frequent deliveries to optimize limited transportation resources.

Understanding your business leads to a solid relationship

Your sales people definitely need to educate your customers about your business. When your customers understand your business and how it can help them, they will find more opportunities to work together. Challenge your sales people on how they are educating your customers and what they are focused on. Your customers are retailers, not manufacturers. They do learn about the manufacturing process, but most of them should be knowledgeable about the category. They should be more focused on buying and selling than producing.

Building a relationship is a journey. Your sales people should start with a list of needs your customers have. Some needs will be common across all customers and some will be unique to one or two retailers. Once you have a comprehensive list of these needs, take a look at your business and determine what you have in place to meet or exceed the expectations of your customers. When you educate your customers about your business as it relates to their needs it is much more effective.

For example, you might be making a significant investment in your line that will improve the flow of product through your plant and result in a 20% increase in shelf life. The conversation your sales people should be having with your customers should start with shrink, in their stores. They should be talking to your customers about initiatives in your business that will help retailers reduce shrink. Providing a product with a longer shelf life and more time to sell through is the win for the customer. They will be much more interested in the changes you are making, when they understand the impact on their business, not your business. 

Educate with a purpose

It is great to identify customer needs and share insights about your business as they relate to these needs. Your sales people should also be sharing insights and information to foreshadow cost increases or other challenges. If you know commodity costs are increasing and you have enough raw materials to last 4 months then your people need to start talking about the increase that is coming. When retailers understand what might be on the horizon it makes the conversation better when it does need to happen. If you were able to forward buy, to postpone the increase for a period of time let them know but also reinforce the change will be coming.

Your sales people should also be focused on educating customers about outside influences such as regulatory changes. We know the front of package labelling is changing and Environment Climate Change Canada is pursuing aggressive changes to packaging. These are outside influences that will impact your business and perhaps your customer’s business. You probably can’t change them but you do need to ensure your customer understands them and the potential impact on their business.

Build a customer relationship plan

Great relationships do not develop just because you have a great product. You do need a great product but there is so much more to the challenge. Your sales people need to build a plan. The plan needs to include more than just sales and trade spend targets. Yes, they need to be there and they should be measured. You will have a much better chance of achieving them when you are working on the relationship throughout the year.

Identify the customer needs and then figure out how to illustrate the value your business brings to them. You can spread this out over the months of the year. If you have a new category manager you need to go back to the beginning with them. Find opportunities to demonstrate value in person, with emails, with videos and any other tools you have.

Happy Halloween and Go Jays Go!

Peter

According to restaurants Canada people are eating out less often. Most people would agree it costs more to eat out so they are reducing these occasions to save money. Producers and processors need to watch these trends because it will impact sales in different channels.