Sales Representatives
Represent companies to sell their goods to wholesale and retail establishments, and to sell business services to other companies.
A day on the road for the supplier
You are a sales representative for a building and plumbing supplies company, driving between hardware shops and trade yards in a country region. It is 9am. You have five visits, a long drive and a phone that keeps ringing. The first stop is a trade yard that has been your best customer for years, and the buyer is waiting.
Choose what you would do. Then see what happens. There are often good reasons for each choice.
I need a pallet of the new fittings by Thursday for a big job. Your office told me last week that you have stock. Can you confirm that for me right now? I have promised my customer, and I cannot let him down.
Ring the warehouse from the car park and tell her what can arrive and when
Half the pallet can come Thursday and the rest on Monday. Heather is relieved to get a straight answer, and she plans her job around it.
Confirm Thursday, because you trust your office and you do not want to lose the sale
The stock is not available until the following week. Heather has promised her customer Thursday, and it is your confirmation that she relied on.
Tell her you will get back to her this afternoon, and move on to the next stop
You do call back, but Heather spent the day not knowing. A quick call from the car park would have given her a plan before lunch.
I like your range, but I can get something similar a bit cheaper from another rep. Here is what I want: give me the same price, and a private rebate you do not put on the invoice, so my partner does not see it.
Agree to the hidden rebate, since it wins the order and Cameron is a good customer
The arrangement comes out when the company is audited. You are accused of breaking company rules, and Cameron's business is dragged into it too.
Say you cannot do anything off the invoice, and offer what the company can legitimately do
Cameron is disappointed but you keep the business, with a fair deal that is written down. A relationship built on honesty lasts longer than a secret discount.
Say you will think about it and check with your manager, but give him no sense of the answer
Your manager rules out the secret rebate, but Cameron has already waited a week without a clear answer. He signs with the other rep.
I just received your quote for the timber order and the total looks wrong. It is much lower than we talked about. I am not complaining, but I thought you would want to know before I accept it.
Say nothing and let her accept, since it is her good luck and your quote
The error comes out when the invoice is checked. You look careless, the company has to renegotiate and Priyanka is left wondering whether you knew all along.
Tell her the quote is a special offer and honour it, without checking
Priyanka is delighted, but the company absorbs a mistake you chose to hide. Your manager is not happy and the arrangement cannot be repeated.
Thank her warmly, check the quote and send a corrected one
Priyanka is impressed that you told her the truth. The corrected quote is accepted, and she mentions your honesty to her boss.
How it went
You finished the day with two orders, one honest delay and a corrected quote. Sales representatives are paid to win business, but the best ones win it by being reliable and telling the truth when it is hard. Does that sound like the way you would want to sell?
This is a simplified, fictional situation to help you explore. It is not professional instruction or a test of your ability.
Case study: The package that was not right for them
A fictional case set in a regional sales territory, visiting hardware shops, motor parts counters and small businesses.
The situation
Dewi was a sales representative for a company that sold advertising and marketing services to small businesses. A plumber who ran a one-person business wanted to sign up for the biggest advertising package. He had seen a competitor with a large sign and wanted to match it. Dewi's commission would have been larger on the big package, and her month had been slow. But from what the plumber had told her about his work and his customers, most of his jobs came from word of mouth.
What they did
Dewi asked how new customers had found him in the last year. He realised that very few had come through any advertising. She suggested a smaller package, focused on local searches and a simple website, and explained exactly what it would and would not do. She also said she would check in after three months to see whether it was working, and that he could tell her honestly if it was not.
How it turned out
Her commission on that sale was smaller. After three months the plumber was getting a few more calls and was satisfied, and he asked for a second small package for his brother's business. Dewi's manager noted that her customers tended to renew.
What would you do?
- Why might a smaller sale be a better choice in the long run?
- How can a sales representative find out what a customer really needs?
- Would you enjoy building long relationships with customers?