The distribution industry faces manpower issues. As experienced sellers start to retire, most distributors have discovered that there are few, if any, candidates instantly ready to step into their roles. Distributors who once relied on poaching new sellers from the competition have discovered that option has dried up. 

In research for my latest book, aptly named “The New Sales Guy Project,” I interacted with over 200 new sellers. These ladies and gentlemen came from all over North America, had a wide-ranging set of credentials and grew up with diverse backgrounds. The one common link was they worked for knowledge-based distributors and had less than one year of experience in sales.  

Early on, I suspected the life of a new seller today would be different from when I launched my career. What I was not prepared for was the plethora of roadblocks making the new seller’s journey more difficult. Further, I had the overwhelming sense that only a few sales managers had time to fully understand the complexity of issues facing the new sellers. 

The challenges facing new sellers were many, but six were most apparent: 

• The pressing need for learning both products and applications. 
• Identifying contacts outside of the obvious purchasing fronts at assigned accounts. 
• Difficulties in making meaningful first-time sale appointments. 
• Knowing how to engage a customer on the first sales call. 
• Understanding how to move relationships forward once contact is made. 
• The importance of scientifically gathering information from customers. 

New products and applications

Just a decade or so ago, salespeople, armed with a cursory knowledge of the products sold by their company, could differentiate themselves from the competition by learning the features and benefits of new products and using those new products to leverage their way into the customers’ hearts and minds. But the situation has changed. 

Product information, even very detailed product minutia, is readily available to the customer via a Google search. The addition of smart product selectors with drill-down menus serves up the proper data without wasting time on social niceties.  

It’s not enough for a salesperson to be a product expert, they must understand application nuances. Typically, this type of learning takes place organically and builds with time — time the new seller doesn’t have. Customers want value-driven results from a salesperson within the first several visits. If the value doesn’t flow, setting additional appointments becomes increasingly difficult.  

Sadly, we were only able to identify three of over 200 new sellers who indicated their company or any of its suppliers were delivering meaningful product application information.  A small number of the new salespeople came to distributor sales after serving in technical roles at customers. Even though these new people had an advantage in application skills over their peers, most indicated they struggled to develop “commercial” and “catalog” skills because of the breadth of their product offering. 

Identifying contacts outside of the obvious purchasing fronts at assigned accounts. 

Repeatedly, I discovered that the customers assigned to new salespeople had made at least some purchases from the distributor . The only contact that could be identified appeared on the purchase order, typically a low-level procurement department person. 

First-time calls with purchasing people reveal little about the customer’s true buying decision. Further, conversations with the new sellers point to the unwillingness of procurement types to share the names of important technical decision-makers at the account. Whether trained to do such or just trying to focus attention on the buying group and price, the procurement people aren’t helpful. 

The research also discovered if the territory was reassigned from a seller who quit, retired or was terminated, the customer contact lists had been poorly maintained. Many times, only the largest accounts had names listed in CRM systems. In a couple of cases, the contacts were obliterated during the last days of the previous person’s employment. 

Distributors had not provided trainingon finding worthy sales contacts. In many cases, the new seller also did not maintain a LinkedIn account, which might have proven to be a solid tool for discovering other contacts. 

Difficulties in making meaningful first-time appointments. 

Setting appointments with strangers is likely the single most frustrating and hated part of the new seller’s life. At least three (possibly more) of the sellers grew frustrated and left the selling role because they found setting appointments to be distasteful. In my estimation, all these young people leaving the profession had the potential to have successful sales careers. The lack of guidance or process fostered an inner belief that appointment setting would be their main responsibility for the rest of their career. It’s not. 

Hearing these messages, I studied further. I discovered getting appointments with new contacts in an age of no receptionists, limited access to customers’ cell phones, and leaving endless voicemails is much more difficult than when I started so many years ago. 

None of those we coached, mentored or interviewed in our research had received training on the subject. Further, some were encouraged to drive from place to place with the sole task of setting up meetings, including old-fashioned drop-in calls. All these approaches provided activity, and perhaps even tested the new seller’s motivation, but none produced the desired results. 

No salesperson had been provided with expectations or guidance on how many attempts to reach a prospective customer should be made. With no experience, all struggled to determine if they should quit trying after two, three or maybe four unanswered phone calls. Many based their outgoing call experience on pesky tele-scammers pushing cheap insurance, medications or school loan forgiveness. 

I instruct sellers on the need to reach out at least seven times over approximately five weeks. The research indicated salespeople who faithfully followed the process significantly improved their number of meetings and future sales calls. 

Knowing how to engage a customer on the first sales call. 

When I started in the sales world, first-time distributor calls began with a formal presentation of the company line card. Typically, these cards listed supply partners on one side and a short overview of their company, a picture of their headquarters and a map of locations on the other. 

Fast forward to today, line cards are a waste. Here’s a snapshot of the scene: The new salesperson comes in and ceremoniously wastes 15 minutes of the customer’s life explaining something that could be revealed in an eight-second Google search. After about 10 minutes, the customer gets fidgety, and the salesperson leaves; they are never welcomed back again.  

The folks taking part in our research were taught to create a customer-centric first call, a call with no selling. A visit where they interview the customer with prepared, well-thought-out questions about the customer’s operation, training requirements, technologies used and even ties to existing suppliers.  

During these calls, the seller is instructed to take notes and look for areas that might be better explored on consequent visits. For example, a customer makes an off-hand comment about worker safety concerns. Rather than pounce on the idea, the seller asks clarifying questions and moves through the interview. At the closing, the seller says, “I’m interested and concerned about what you said about safety. I may have a few things to discuss with you after I think more about what you said.” This thought typically sets the stage for an additional call and further demonstrates the new salesperson isn’t a product pitchman. 

Understanding how to move relationships forward once contact is made. 

The previous paragraph demonstrates how a new person can set the stage for additional customer visits. While two calls don’t equate to a relationship, the fact that a new salesperson listened, took notes, researched products and reported back with something of substance does a lot to launch the relationship and keeps the door open. 

Our research indicates new salespeople often run out of valuable things to discuss with customers. They lack deep product and application experience, so the value they can deliver is limited. Following a good first call with a couple of “just checking in” or poorly selected product demos can put the seller on the “nuisance salesperson” list.  

Experts tell us: “People buy from those they trust.” Being assigned to the nuisance list is probably an overt demonstration of distrust. Those going through our coaching have been able to accelerate the growth of their customers’ trust.  

Again, most sellers rarely receive solid advice from internal mentors and/or managers. This correlates with the length of time since that mentor/manager was in a new sales position. 

The importance of scientifically gathering information from customers. 

No recently assigned salesperson can even begin comprehending the amount of information and data that will come their way. Most comprehend neither the future value of that information nor do they have the habits and methodologies to capture it. I suspect a few of those I would characterize as “naturally organized” would be able to adapt to the “tsunami of stuff” flowing from their customers.  

Sales managers take this information gathering and the organization behind it for granted. Of the 200+ folks we interacted with, less than a handful were given any kind of guidance from the direct supervisor. These sales leaders preach the use of CRM systems, but they rarely outline what useful customer information should be captured outside of sales calls.  

Ultimately, solution sellers need to know far more about their customers. Here are a few examples of points a distributor salesperson in this role must consider:  

• financial justification required for projects 
• cost of downtime 
• burdened labor rates 
• utility costs 
• markets served 
• future technologies to be deployed 

In the short term, similar things must be recorded: need for delivery information on a critical product, opportune time to provide a quote on storeroom inventory, and perhaps the name of your contact’s immediate supervisor. A seller’s ability to capture and recall information is tested daily, yet it is left mostly to chance. 

What are you doing to accelerate the development of your new guys? 

While it could be argued my research is not all-encompassing enough to make broad statements, it is the only such study carried out in my rather long memory of the knowledge-based distribution segment.  

Selling in our environment is a never-ending journey of trust, respect, and understanding. To paraphrase a distributor friend:  

“When we do our job, we often understand one small slice of the customer’s business better than they do. We become the organization they can rely on to bring solid ideas and suggestions.”  

If you want to get your newest sales reps up to speed faster, invest in a step-by-step process for bringing them on and developing their knowledge in the industry.