Are sales people still relevant?
Do you still need sales people?
Sales people are expensive. There are numerous ways to win business more efficiently nowadays. These include:
- Online advertising – but this is more expensive than you might think and there is a lot of online competition
- Relying on repeat business – I am always surprised at how many printing companies rely on this when most companies lose 15% of their customers every year
- Referral networks and business clubs – these can be surprisingly useful, providing that you have the time to manage this activity successfully
Each of these activities still requires some sales resource. Referral networks can be very time intensive. If you rely on repeat business, you still need someone to manage your current customers. Even online advertising requires some marketing resource from your organisation.
Sales people are still necessary – but the role is changing
Sales is no longer about cold calling. Nor is it about trying to hold as many face to face meetings as possible. Selling print should not be about getting into price wars with the competition. Today’s sales person needs to be able to create warm prospects who are interested in using your company because it fits their business needs. That means they need some important skills that haven’t always been required for print sales people. These include:
- Social media skills
- Marketing skills
- Understanding the customer’s business rather than the technical side of print
The sales person of today has to embrace a much wider range of abilities. Are your sales people up to the challenge?
How good are your sales people at social media?
Five Steps To Creating A Social Media Profile That Generates Business helps all job roles create a compelling social media presence through a simple 5-step process
