Sales Laundry

Well, in my opinion, the sales team is being stretched too far. So a) they need more sales people to sell the 25 products, or b) they need to make a calculated risk, selling one or two of their best products.

Since “a” is not an option, they should concentrate on selling that which they have always depended on or that which they can see a market trend in (“b”).

Since 50% of their sales comes from one revenue stream they should sell that product the most, and ensure the highest level of customer service in that area. With demand increasing for that product, it is possible that building the client base and sales for it could increase the chance of speeding the 3 year proposed expansion.

They have spread themselves thin with one good product and 24 other mediocre products. If I were the VP of Sales I would concentrate on strengthening the brand of the one good product until it becomes a “great” product. Customer service should never be acceptable, it should be “incredible”. Then the sales pick-up.

Thanks for the question…good thought, and a similar problem I have encountered where I am. In this case, I am the only sales person!
Great post as usual!

Thx for jumping in.

Would you do anything special for the sales staff, particularly on the wholesale side to try and prevent them from jumping ship?

Actually that is a good point…when the employees have no incentive to stay, (e.g. low pay, stressful work environment, selling something no one will buy) you are going to have a very hard time keeping unity. As a first hand witness to this, I think the first priority would be to bring the team together, and brainstorm.

One, call a group meeting and find out what they feel needs to be changed on the wholesale end, their individual specific plans of action. They, next to the customer would know exactly what is and isn't working and everyone feels valued when their input is taken into consideration. When an employee feels valued they are less likely to leave.

Two, speak to each member of the sales team individually, with brutal honesty on both sides. If the company is facing financial difficulty, be brief but truthful, if the employee feels as if their work is all for naught they must identify the problems so solutions can be made. Rumors must be dispelled or else they can possibly leak to the customer with very negative consequences.

Third, set a plan of action and follow it without looking back. Yes, the company stretched itself too far in the past; but looking forwards, they now know what too avoid. The new Director of Sales must not only take his employees advice into consideration, once he has a plan, he cannot stop until it is completed.

Turning sales around takes time, and if they were to keep changing plans before letting the first ones have a chance to work, the company will run itself into the ground. I think employee and customer satisfaction work hand in hand, one usually cannot exist without the other.

What Really Happened…

A decision was made to spur the growth of the best selling product.

The wholesale sales staff was charged with securing orders for a pending 50% increase in production capacity for the number one selling product. With new orders for their number one product in hand, 25% of the products were cut and moved to special order status only and filled on a one off basis.

The price of the special order only items was adjusted upward to compensate for the increased production costs.

A calculated decision was made to increase the wholesale price of the number one selling product a small amount, which did impact sales to existing customers, but was replaced by sales to new customers, increasing revenues and cash flow and also allowing the business to begin to build some cash reserves.

To address the personnel issues, one of the retail sales associates was moved to the wholesale sales team to support wholesale business growth and three more entry level associates were hired on the retail side, one full time and two part time, allowing for more flexible scheduling.

The company successfully negotiated Net 10 terms and eventually Net 30 terms with their suppliers and was then in a position to offer Net 10 terms to their best customers which helped the wholesale sales team fill the new production capacity.

A year later the business had cash reserves and was back at capacity when the company was bought by an investment group that immediately shut down retail operations and let retail sales team and 40% of their sales go.

The product lineup was cut to one, the best selling product and the wholesale sales team was tasked with filling 100% of production capacity with orders for that one product.

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