Strategy in TECH...
Our phones and email lit up over the last few days as word spread that Nortek Security and Control has fired all of the remaining Core Brands reps in the U.S., according to multiple sources. The timing of the terminations over the holidays only seems to add a sense of heartlessness to the action….a real-life ‘bah humbug’ that leaves the reps feeling cold.
A long and proud tradition in our industry is the narrative of the individual sales rep or distributor salesperson schlepping through wind and snow to meet with one of their dealers lugging product samples and marketing materials, pitching his lines, getting a purchase order from the dealer, calling the order into his manufacturers and thus earning a sales commission. But data from Forrester Research, Inc. released last year shows that this tradition is rapidly diminishing, with market trends projecting the elimination of as many as 1 million B2B sales jobs – like those held by sales reps and distributor salespeople – by 2020.
Often, when a company contacts The Stratecon Group (our marketing company, and owner of www.strata-GEE.com), to ask for advice on “business development issues” (i.e. they are in trouble and running out of ideas), the first question we ask of the owner/CEO/president is: “How Often Do You Travel with Your Sales Team?” The answer to this question is critical to our assessment of the situation. Understand, there’s no right or wrong answer…but the answer will be incredibly illuminating as to several critical elements of their management of the enterprise.
<February 8, 2012> BusinessBrief.com published this list of ten phrases that salespeople hate to hear. I’m willing to bet that, like me, you’ve heard one or two of these during your career. [Read more…] about 10 Phrases Salespeople Hate to Hear
