Well maybe that’s a little extreme. But I have something for you to think about. We’ve all heard about the trend of going "Green." Really it’s more than a trend. It will become a way of life to all of us not only in the equipment industry but in all major industries moving forward. It’s hard to keep your eye on the environment when you are dealing with customers, employees, competition and of course now the financial climate that permeates the news these days.
Would you like to save money on your marketing, help your sales staff get more involved with your day to day operation and help the environment?
I’m a big proponent of the internet. Obviously you are reading this e-mail because of the online marketing we do at EquipWholeSale. But how can you make that work for you and your company?
If you have an outside sales force or even inside counter people here is one way to increase your marketing coverage, decrease your sales cost, save money on fuel and there by help the environment.
First off. Does your company have a website? Now I don’t mean just a business card on the internet. I mean an interactive site that your customers can use to contact you? Does your sales staff use it in their marketing process?
How many hours a day do your sales people spend driving to and from jobsites or customers offices? Have you wondered if all these trips were necessary?
Let’s say that the average sales person is in the field for 6 hours a day. He or she makes 10-12 calls in those 6 hours. Now when I was in sales a GOOD call would only last maybe a half hour. Most are over much quicker than that. (Didn’t take long to throw me out of an office!) So let’s average that down to 20 minutes per call. 12 calls take 4 hours. Ok so 2 hours are spent driving back and forth to the jobsite or offices. It’s not uncommon for a sales rep to rack up a hundred miles in a day visiting those customers. Nothing you can do about that right? Well maybe there is!
How about if just one day during the week the sales rep worked from the office? Maybe two?
Using a combination of the telephone and e-mails a sales rep can make 15-20 good calls per hour. On the low side that’s 90 contacts per day!
I know I know this isn’t new news but I’m surprised to find that most sales people I talk to NEVER use the phone to prospect new business or keep in contact with existing customers.
The biggest objection I hear is "My customers WANT to SEE me!" and in some cases and situations that’s true. But they are busy too. And many times I’ve found that a quick phone call will work just as well and is less disruptive to the customer than a face to face meeting. Plus they will cover a lot more ground, make more commission and save the company money if you adopt this philosophy.
What’s this got to do with the website? Plenty! If you have an informative well designed website complete with a list of equipment that you offer to rent or sell, the marketing force can give the web address out to your customers and it can help to answer questions that your clients may have. And make sure you have your contact information on it and an easy way to e-mail you.
If you don’t have outside sales people you can have your counter people make calls to your customers from your customer list. And again promote that website!
You will be surprised to find out how much more productive your marketing effort will become if you employ these simple steps.
If you need help implementing this type of online marketing, give me a call or e-mail me. I would be glad to help in anyway I can!
Yours for quality buying and selling!
EquipWholeSale
