Just a thought … Where have all the sales reps gone?

James Cryer explores three possible sources for small-business owners trying to find a sales rep.

Like small creatures that go into hibernation, we could be forgiven for assuming that some natural event has caused a sudden mass disappearance of one of those already endangered species, the printus repii. Hounded, abused, under-nourished, this species has hung on for grim death for decades, as its familiar pasturelands have shrunk and many of its familiar watering holes have disappeared.

Today printus repii is a mere shadow of its former robust self, as the rich harvest it used to feed on has been engulfed by that noxious weed, digitalis. Gone are the days when you’d be knocked over in the rush anytime you wished to whistle-up a rep. It’s hard enough to actually find one – let alone one who wants to make cold calls all day long.

So let’s face it – reps are an endangered species, like butlers and au pair girls. You just can’t get a good one, anymore. As times get tougher, so bosses’ tempers get worse and their patience wears even thinner. It used to be reasonable for a rep to take six to twelve months to build up a good head of steam. Now it’s down to months and counting.

The other problem is, there’s not much in the way of a point of difference between one printing company and the next. So reps are in mortal fear of flogging a product that everyone else has and there’ll always be someone who can flog it cheaper!

So who’d be a print rep?

That’s the problem – but what’s the solution?

Just occasionally, the company’s best sales rep is right under your nose. You may say ‘Hello’ to her everyday without realising. It’s the receptionist!

Think about it: (I’m generalising that the most receptionists are female, so please forgive me, any bloke receptionists) –

• she’s got a bright, breezy personality,
• she probably knows – by name - most of your clients better than you
• she’s got a pretty good idea of what you make! (If not you should fire yourself as the world’s worst boss for not informing all your staff of what your company does)
• she’s been trained (by you, of course) to be diligent in getting back to clients who require information, and
• Am I allowed to say she’s probably better looking than you?

OK. So you don’t like my receptionist theory. Well, you’ve got another guy (we’ve got to keep the gender balance even) lurking there somewhere on your payroll. Again, if you go down into the factory every day (as I’m sure you do), you’d recall there’s a really switched-on young operator who’s always quick to say “Hi!” and who always seems to love greeting agencies, especially when they send young female print buyers to do the press-checks!

So what’s he got going for himself as a potential sales rep?

• being a rep is an aspirational thing. Males have terrible egos, and so it’s something he’d die for to tell his mates that he’s now a BDM, not just a press-operator. There’s no better incentive, than by impressing his peer group to make sure he succeeds with your support.
• he has an excellent understanding of printing processes and their capabilities and so can talk intelligently to clients about their print needs,
• he’s a known quantity, you know him and he knows you. Now if you’ve been a lousy boss this may come back to bite you, but for the purpose, we’ll assume you’re like all print industry bosses – perfect.

Let’s take a brief breather. You might not like either of these options. You say the receptionist has no technical skills and the printer doesn’t know how to generate new business.

Fine. This is the people business and that’s what you’re there for, to guide, support and mentor, to work on their weaknesses and build on their strengths. That’s what good managers do, or are supposed to. This is no longer a game of maximizing – there is no perfect rep out there (Well, there is, but I’m otherwise engaged). This is a game of optimising – trying to build on the people we’ve got, not imagining there is some legendary sales rep out there, who will miraculously answer all your hopes and dreams.

Seriously – you still don’t like my idea. What’s the alternative? You hire a rep for a small fortune, who brings in very little (that’s not always his/her fault of course!) and who promised to bring all sorts of clients onboard. He/she has a dummy-spit several months later, leaving you the worse for wear, and back to square one.

One other employee may yet come to the rescue

You! That’s right, you! Think about it: wouldn’t you rather be out there talking to clients about their corporate communication needs, than getting bogged down in boring admin stuff? We seem to suffer from this Calvinist work ethic that the boss must slave away in the office or down in the factory as if being in those places is an attempt to expiate one’s sins.

Now this proposition – that you get out and sell – is based on the assumption that you’re a relatively new age kind of guy, not some grumpy old curmudgeon. Thankfully, most bosses I’ve met fall into the first category and thus have all the bells and whistles to be a good sales rep. Sadly in this country, sales reps have often been regarded as second class citizens whereas in the US they’re regarded as professionals, who can often earn more than the boss.

Yes, I know you are the boss, but potentially, you could deliver more revenue to the business than any hired gun. All you’ve got to do is surround yourself with people who are smarter than you.  What’s that you say? They are!  OK, well you’re halfway there.

You know what you have to do now? Surround yourself with people you can trust, and you’re ready to start re-writing the record books. Maybe have some fun and possibly meet lots of new people. Those new people are likely your old clients that you’ve never met before!

You’ve just learnt your first lesson about your own business, and the potentially perilous link it has with its customers.

And there’s one other benefit: all the long lunches are legal.

James Cryer is director of JDA Print Recruitment