Everyone is busy, time is short, there is a struggle between family and work balance and the last thing you need is a cold call from sales rep’s. I get it, but I get it from both the salespersons role and from yours and I think we need to consider how difficult this role can actually be and furthermore how 10 minutes of your time will make a huge difference.
Straight away I bet you are all thinking of the sales people knocking on your doors but I’d encourage you to think about your sales team. How do you want the builders to respond to your sales people? What do the builder expect from consumers? It isn’t just about people cold calling on your business but about the whole supply chain and everyone, at some stage is hit up by a cold calling sales representative.
When I do road trips to visit fabricators I try and tell them when I will be there, however, there are times when I need to reschedule as a fabricator has more issues they want to discuss or my health interferes with a longer than expected day. I love visiting fabricators but I’ve had my fair share of being told to go away….one fabricator was kind enough to say it was nice to put a face to the junk mail before showing me the door and that’s part and parcel of what we do.
Recently I was visiting a member and looking through their plant when they were informed a timber sales rep was there to see them. The initial response was ‘I don’t have time and I’m not interested’. I pointed out to the member that the sales person was from a FTMA Sponsor, a company that invests in the industry for the betterment of the fabricator and asked if they could simply give them 10 minutes, which he did.
Cold calling or even planned sales visits are necessary for all suppliers across the supply chain so again I ask you to think, how do you want the builders to treat your sales people? FTMA Australia is the only National Association focused on the fabricator and over the years our sponsorship has continued to grow. This has resulted in us having the funds to develop much needed training for designers, create greater resources for your business such as contracts, credit applications and policies.
When my son left school, he got a job going door to door selling Roof Seal products with his cousin. He hated it and as young men there were days they felt totally rejected and worthless. I’d hate to think that a new young sales rep in our industry would go home feeling the same way especially if this was there chosen career.
FTMA Australia has always encouraged fabricators to support those who support your industry and all I ask, especially as we head in to summer, is to give the sponsors sales representatives 10 minutes when they next cold call you.
Gold Sponsors
