Gift Rep Sandy

Archive for the ‘Sales Tools’ Category

While on the road, carry store and vendor contact lists.  If you keep your Access databases up to date, you can key them by travel route and print off a sale route report before you leave for your sales trips.  These reports include the store name, store buyer, address, phone, email and any other information you need to contact and visit the store.

Of course, Local or region road maps are useful whenever you are traveling.

Keep a box of sample products in your vehicle during all sales trips.   Bringing a sample of each category of products is often enough to show the buyers.  Storing these samples in a large plastic box (or boxes) keeps the samples cleaner and fresher longer throughout your travels.

A file box of product flyers from your vendors should also be stored in your vehicle.  Many potential buyers want to keep flyers to use them for further reference before making a final decision.

Using a sales representative product line list is good resource to leave with a buyer after a first visit.  A sales representative product line list is reference sheet of all the product lines you represent and how those items can be ordered.  Distributing this list during or after a sales call gives your buyers and potential buyers a reference sheet of your lines when they need to re-order an item.

As you continue to grow your business, you may decide to use additional technological tools to work more efficiently and make it easier for your customers to contact you to place orders.

Establishing a toll-free phone number is a tremendous aid to your customers.  Wanting to eliminate all obstacles to taking sales should be a priority for your business.  Supplying customers with a cost efficient way to contact you, such as a toll-free phone number, meets this need.

Purchasing a laptop computer for your road trips is a great help in contacting vendors and/or customers during ‘down time’.  Technological advances over the last years make it possible to have internet access in nearly every area in the U.S. either via dial-up connections or wireless programs.  Like with your toll-free phone number, email is another way to aid your customers in contacting you.  Laptop computers can also be used to store customer and vendor contact information, sales or bookkeeping information, sales flyers or product pictures and numerous other documents to aid your sales efforts.

Fax machine or virtual fax is an important tool for customers that prefer to fax orders to you.  If you start with a standard fax machine, hook it to a dedicated fax line – a phone line that will always be open for faxes and will not be used for frequent phone lines.  Or rather than having the added expense of a fax machine or dedicated fax line, contract with a virtual fax service and have your faxes sent to your laptop. Virtual fax systems are quicker, easier, and more efficient than standard machines, and you can access the faxes while on the road.

Old fashioned catalogs and flyer are quickly being replaced by business website. Setting up a website can be time-consuming at first, but the rewards are worth much more that the time to develop a website.

A scanner with a photocopy function is very useful for preparing sales materials.  Often a vendor has photos of their products but no flyers.  With a scanner, you can scan their pictures, format them into your own flyer and photocopy them with your own machine.

Although you can be an effective sales representative without having or using a computer, the benefits a computer offers in saved time and money is endless.

Internet access and email is one of the most efficient ways to contact vendors with orders and questions.  Spending “down time” during evenings and weekends emailing orders to your vendors leave time during standard business hours to work with customers and prospects.

With a computer, there are different software programs highly recommended to help track orders, keep records and print flyers.  A database program such as Microsoft Access is a great program to collect and store account information.

If you need to design and print flyers, a simple graphic program, such as Microsoft Publisher allows you to lay-out flyers for your sales book or to distribute to customers

If you wish to store your appointment calendar on your computer, Microsoft Outlook has a good simple calendar planner to keep tract of this information.

Accounting software or bookkeeping program, such as QuickBooks Pro, is a valuable tool for keeping track of commissions and expenses.  Sales reps, normally, do not need to invoice vendors or customers, but keeping a running track of sales made to various vendors is very useful when there is a question concerning commission checks.

Other computer programs, such as a word processor or a spreadsheet program is helpful in writing letters or compiling columnar data.  Most computers have a word processor, so a spreadsheet program can be adapted to a columnar word document.  If you are fortunate to have a spreadsheet program, you can use this program for listing sales data, keeping track of expenses, listing customer information, and various other reporting activities you wish to document.

Several tools and systems are necessary before you actually visit stores and sell your new products. Developing a system to facilitate your sales presentations make your first calls easier, more efficient and save you and your potential buyer’s time.

Here is a short list of what you need to prepare before you visit your first buyer:

Your Sales book or pitch book is the most important item needed to make effective sales calls.  In your sales book you display all the information on the products you are selling and the vendor terms for these products.

Setting up a sale book is fairly easy using any three-ring binder.  Assuming you have collected flyers, brochures and sales sheets from the companies you are repping, you need to organize them in a logical fashion.  Your book will receive a lot of use and wear, so I highly suggest you use ‘page protectors’ for every sheet included in your book.

If you don’t have sales sheets for any of the companies you are presenting, create your own sales sheets.  Include the following information on each sheet: Company name, name of each product, picture of each product, individual prices, case lot amount and pricing, vendor’s terms, and YOUR contact information.

Simple sales order books can be purchased at any office supply store.  Two copy sales order or general order books work best as you can use the top for your records and a second copy for your buyer.  Rather than spending the extra money for a preprinted sales order form, print a small label to adhere to the buyers sales order copy that includes your name and contact information (phone, fax and email address).

Designing your own business cards, with all your contact information, can be printed with a simple Publisher or graphics program.  Business cards are relatively inexpensive, and work as a wonderful advertising tool for your services.

A cell phone is very useful in making appointments and contacting buyers while you are traveling.  With time in great demand, the ability to check in with your customers while on the road can make or break a sale.