My wife and I are movie buffs, and this past week we decided to watch the old film classic, Death of a Salesman. I can tell you, the homemade popcorn was the only highlight of watching such a depressing story. However, it did spark the idea for this week’s blog.
I’ve heard of many a salesperson who dies a slow death working for a company with poor quality standards.
The lack of good quality control standards makes it nearly impossible for the salesman to succeed, and to keep customers happy.
As in that old film, a salesperson’s bad experience, trying to sell for a chaotic company, has a predictable and sad ending. Yet, all of it is preventable.
The last thing an owner or sales manager want to hear from their top salesperson is, “I QUIT!” In many cases, this is also entirely preventable. Providing the best possible quality and service tends to guarantee happy customers and motivated salespeople.
The Coffin Nails for a Salesperson
What kills the initiative of salespeople is, poor quality, late deliveries, shorted orders, billing errors, miscommunication, and poor customer service. It doesn’t help matters, when an owner who doesn’t seem to care! Given those circumstances, it’s no surprise when a salesperson finally quits, taking their book of business to another company.
The Salesperson’s Point of View
Imagine a new salesperson spending the better part of a year prospecting for clients, and finally winning that perfect one. He’s told the client, “how great it’s going to be working with our company,” and “quality is our middle name!” He can’t wait to turn the new job over to production, and even brags a little at the Monday morning sales meeting.
Then, on closer inspection of the production area, with its loose grasp on quality assurance, the salesperson becomes nervous. Will his new client’s order make it through production without problems? He might decide to babysit the job through the process, asking production personnel many questions. His lack of trust and personal scrutiny may seem an annoyance, but the client’s satisfaction is what counts!
Now, imagine the job has been delivered, and all is quiet for a few days. Then comes THE CALL! It’s the call everyone fears, especially the salesperson, who has to FACE a client’s wrath. The client’s important job was ruined, due to some stupid error that should have been totally preventable.
A Preventable System of Apology
IT’S THE SALESPERSON, NOT production personnel, who has to say, “I’m sorry” when a job goes bad. THEY tell the client, “It’s a rare occurrence here, and it won’t happen again, because quality is our middle name!” But, it’s the salesperson who’s embarrassed, and informs his boss of the situation.
But, IT’S THE BOSS, many times, who has NOT put much stock in quality control systems. The boss doesn’t seem to understand what the salesperson faces, trying to please, actually, THE BOSS’s customers.
So why IS that? The owner is dealing with his own problems, and other production issues, trying to keep things afloat in a less-than-perfect economy, and he or she can’t seem to see that the implementation of quality systems could greatly DIMINISH problems and issues—helping to sustain the company, even in down times.
True Story…
I remember an incident where a new salesman confronted an owner about the lack of good systems in his production department. The owner’s response was, “We don’t need good systems, we just need good people.” The owner didn’t provide his employees with the proper tools or direction, yet he blamed any failure in quality on them. Apparently, he thought they were NOT “good people.”
This owner told the salesman, “Part of your job is to make us look good, regardless!” In other words, the salesman was to COVER UP for the company, even when the product was less than acceptable quality. Talk about death of a salesman! The salesman resigned immediately, having recognized the owner as generally unethical. Obviously, the owner who didn’t know the meaning of customer service, and worse, he really didn’t care.
Salesperson’s Dilemma
What can the salesperson do, when they have NO control over production quality in a business? What would YOU do, in order to hold on to an important customer? The salesperson may continue to apologize, hoping the situation will change with their company. They win a few and lose a few customers, even as they realize they’re just running in place. The salesperson’s book of business is not growing and, in a bad economy, they will likely continue to lose ground.
If the death of a salesman’s initiative is the result of poor quality, late deliveries, orders being shorted, billing errors, miscommunication, poor customer service, and owners not seeming to care, etc.—it stands to reason that LIFE, to a salesman, would include systems of controls for quality and service, that would ensure their being able to satisfy and keep valued customers.
Did I mention? Great Systems Work!
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