FEEDBACK: Sales Advice from the Buyer's Desk.

The last sentence I stated in my previous Blog was “Don’t let the things that upset you in your private life as a consumer happen to those in your Sales life who buy from you.”  In other words, there are unpleasant scenarios you experience in your private life as a consumer that upsets you and compels you to never again buy products and services from specific companies.  So as a Sales Professional, make sure you are not creating those same scenarios for the Buyers of your own products and services.  Suppliers spend thousands of dollars trying to understand the Buyers and Clients they want to sell to:  What motivates them to buy?  What are they willing to spend?  How do they select suppliers to place orders to?  What upsets them that would reduce supplier opportunities?  What excites them that would improve those opportunities?  The answers to those questions are simple enough . . . if you’re willing to look within your own desires as a consumer/buyer. 

Many times in my Blogs I’ve offered the advice to “THINK LIKE A BUYER” . . . think like the person you’re attempting to sell to.  Try to understand what the Buyer is responsible for.  Try to understand the Buyer’s own goals.  Mentally put yourself behind the Buyer’s desk and consider what might motivate them to buy.  Consider what they might be willing to spend.  Contemplate how they might select suppliers to place orders to.  Think about what might upset them that would reduce your opportunities.  Consider what might excite them that would improve your opportunities. 

We’ve covered this before but it deserves bringing up again:  It shouldn’t be difficult to put yourself in the shoes of the Buyer . . . because YOU are a Buyer!  You may not be a Buyer for a Fortune 100 company, but you are without doubt a BUYER.  You buy food, clothes, cars and a house.  You buy electronic equipment, home services, CD’s and power tools.  And in doing so there are not many differences as to how YOU think and act as a Buyer and how Corporate Buyers think and act.  You want the best product and service for the best value that best fits your needs.  Above all you want satisfaction.  And if you aren’t satisfied you want someone to take care if it immediately and without hassle.  Consider the fact that the same things that excite and upset you as a consumer of products and services in your own private life . . . also excite and upset Corporate Buyers. 

Think about experiences in your own private life that annoyed you going through the sales process as a consumer.  How about salespeople who tried to sell you something you didn’t want, tried to sell you options you didn’t want, acted in an unprofessional manner, did not pay enough attention to you, were unprepared and not sure what to do, over-promised and under-delivered, were insincere and concealed information, were too persistent or too aggressive, did too much talking and not enough listening, and failed to do any post-sales follow up. 

Now consider the experiences in your private life as a consumer in which the sales experience was positive.  Consider what excited you that made you want to go back to that business.  Maybe they looked out for your best interest, didn’t try to sell you on options you didn’t want, acted in a professional manner, paid attention to you and your needs, were prepared to work with you, delivered what they promised, were honest and trusting, didn’t pressure you into anything you didn’t want, listened to you and responded to your needs, and followed-up after the sale. 

Remember:  Don’t let the things that upset you in your private life as a consumer happen to those in your Sales life who buy from you.  Make sure the unpleasant scenarios you experience in your own private life as a consumer don’t become reality for those looking to buy product from you.

A few years ago I went to pick up my dog from the pet groomer after work.  It was 5:00 in the afternoon and I had dropped her off in the morning for a 10AM appointment.  As I arrived at the groomer I was informed my dog was not yet ready and would need another 10 minutes.  I was stunned to hear the news so I asked how that was possible when I had dropped her off for a morning appointment and she still wasn’t ready at 5PM.  It wasn’t the first time this had happened and, in fact, had become more the norm than the exception.  The person behind the counter (who ended up being the owner) repeated that my dog would be ready in just a few more minutes.  So I again asked why she wasn’t ready seven hours after her appointment.  I also inquired about the dogs who had appointments AFTER my dog who had been finished before her?  I said, “How is it that a client with a 3PM appointment gets done BEFORE my 10AM appointment?  See, you should be working on and finishing 10AM appointments before appointments scheduled after 10AM.”  The owner dryly responded, “I KNOW how appointments work!”  I replied, “I don’t think you do!  If you did, my dog would be ready by now.”  The owner snapped back, “If you don’t like how we do things you can take your dog to another groomer.”  Just then the groomer brought my dog out and handed me the lead.  I said to the owner and the groomer, “I’m not dissatisfied with the service.  Your staff does a great job.  What I don’t understand is why other dogs with appointments later mine get done hours BEFORE mine.”  With that the owner stood up, pointed her finger at the front door and yelled, “GET THE F___ OUT OF MY SHOP!”  Clearly the situation had quickly gotten out of hand so I turned to the groomer and said, “This is nothing personal.  Again you do a great job.  But if I make an appointment before other dogs I expect her to be done before the other dogs.”  The owner repeated her statement with a higher octave in her voice so I left the building with my poor frightened dog promptly leading the way!!! 

Clearly this owner was out of her mind.  Under normal circumstances there would have been an apology and explanation as to why they were behind and why appointments had been rearranged.  But too often in our business (and private life) we experience production and delivery schedules that are not met and not completed in a chronological or “common sense” approach.  You stand in line at a retail store waiting to purchase your selection.  You finally make it to the counter and the stores’ phone rings.  In that situation who usually gets serviced first, you or the caller on the other end of the line who hasn’t been waiting in line like you have?  Usually the caller!  You bring your vehicle in for minor service and find out you’ve been PUSHED BACK for a vehicle needing a complete overhaul.  You sit at a restaurant waiting for your meal when people who were seated AFTER you are already eating.  You stand in line at the grocery store with two items behind another customer with a full cart.  Does the cashier ask if they mind if you go first?  Of course not.  These scenarios take place in our private lives and our business lives.  It makes no sense to you as a consumer and it makes no sense to me as a Corporate Buyer.  It upsets you in your private life and it upsets me in my business life. 

I’ve placed purchase orders with suppliers for long lead, complicated parts; parts that I knew would take some time to manufacture.  So when issues arose and delays occurred I didn’t have a major problem with it because I still had time to meet our own production schedules.  But as I got closer to meeting our own timing and parts STILL weren’t in house I became agitated.  The order was placed with an “under 12 month” lead time quoted.  Now it’s been over a year and the supplier is still scrambling to push product out.  In the meantime, other clients who placed orders well after mine have received their parts.  Yes, I know the other client parts are less complicated and less time consuming to make than mine.  Yes, I know specification requirements are less stringent and technical issues less likely on the other client parts compared to mine.  But remember your own experience sitting in that restaurant starving to death while watching everyone around you getting their meal . . . when you placed your order before them!  Did you care if your meal was more complicated to make?  Did you care if your specific food prep directions to the waiter was beyond the norm?  Or do you sit there waiting for your meal saying to yourself, “I’ll never come back here again!”  Well, Corporate Buyers are thinking the same thing. 

The truth is, Buyers don’t care if you have other clients to provide product to.  Buyers don’t care how complicated the technology or specifications are that create delays in the manufacturing and shipping of their order.  (I really shouldn’t be telling you this!)  Buyers only care about their own needs and not those of your other customers.  And when they find that scheduled shipments to their other clients are being met but their own are not they become infuriated.  Now if the parts are considered “off the shelf” there may be an easy remedy.  If one client’s orders were placed before another’s, obviously the first client should receive their order first.  But if the second client is in more of a rush for parts than the first client, the supplier should consider sending what’s on hand to the second client, especially if it won’t affect the first client’s schedule. 

But if the product is custom to the Buyer’s specifications and replacements aren’t an option, then the best thing to do is to inform the Buyer as quickly as possible about delays in shipping.  I appreciate restaurant wait-staff apologizing and informing me of a meal taking longer than it should, along with a reward for my patience (free drink, dessert, etc.).  So the minute you realize you can’t follow through with deliveries you need to immediately contact the Buyer and let them know about it so they can make other plans.  From The Buyer’s Desk, here’s the best way to handle a delay in shipping product: 

1.  Apologize for the delay and take responsibility for it.  Don’t try to blame it on others (including your own sub-suppliers) when you’re the one who made the commitment.     2.  Let the Buyer know what you’re doing to ensure the commitment will be met as quickly as possible.  Give them some detail and offer to provide a step-by-step corrective action plan including when each step will take place.     3.  Offer a “consolation prize”; a price reduction, free expedited shipping, or something of value that will help offset what’s being delayed.  Ask if there’s anything your company to do in the meantime to offset the issue you’ve created for the Buyer.     4.  Ship what you can for now with a follow up of the full commitment at a new specified time.  If you can’t delivery 100% of what you committed, maybe 50% is enough for the Buyer to get by.     5.  And finally, absolutely ensure that the new commitment is met as quickly as possible and is completed on or before the promised time. 

Don’t let the things that upset you in your “private life” as a consumer happen to those in your “Sales life” who buy from you.

In the past few weeks I haven’t had an opportunity to post any new Blogs (though a few hackers managed to get into the site and post their own; I wish WordPress could please do something about that).  I’ve been immersed in the middle of two major projects that, due to setbacks in the last few weeks, have greatly limited my ability to share “Sales Advice from the Buyer’s Desk”.  One of the projects is occupational; the other is personal.  One of the projects involves the procurement and receivership of thousands of components.  The other involves the building of a new house . . .  my own!  And while both projects have gone relatively well despite a few bumps in the road, they both share one substantial drawback: A lack of basic communication. 

Every day in our business and personal life we experience less-than-perfect communication from others; communication to keep us updated, communication to reply to something we’ve questioned, communication to inform us of a future event.  And when communication from others is less-than-perfect it affects our ability to make decisions, to move forward, to come up with contingency plans . . . and to avoid disaster.  John Powell once said, “Communication works for those who work at it.”  And while I am myself communication-challenged at times, I make a concerted effort to reply in a timely manner to those who have asked questions and who are in desperate need of information. 

I can understand missing a voicemail, accidently skipping an e-mail and simply forgetting to respond to an individual’s request.  After all, there isn’t enough time in the day to complete tasks and get back to those who have connected with you.  But when numerous e-mails and voicemails from the Buyer are ignored, and when promises made by the supplier are unfinished, it leaves those in need of information and action in a distressed position.  Not only is the Buyer unable to move forward or make decisive decisions, they are also unable to complete their own tasks mandated by their Senior Management.  That frustrates Buyers.  Frustration turns to anger.  Anger turns to retaliation.  And retaliation turns into the Buyer’s OWN silence when it comes to requesting quotes for future opportunities.  If I can consistently count on you NOT replying to my communications, then you can consistently count on me NOT including you on future projects.  So from the Buyer’s Desk, here are some of the major areas where Suppliers in the business world AND the consumer world can enhance communication, thereby improving future opportunities: 

1.  Don’t over promise and under deliver.  Several suppliers on my occupational project have made promises to ship specific quantities of parts by specific dates.  Then the day before they’re scheduled to ship I’m informed not only will they be weeks late, the quantity has been cut in half.  When did you know this?  Why wasn’t I informed the second you knew?  Meanwhile on my home project the builder promised to have the house ready for closing by the end of the month.  That prompted me to lock in a great interest rate with the bank.  Then two weeks later I find out there’s no way they can complete everything by the time the rate expires due to mis-communication on the part of their own contractors.  Guess what; the rates went up and I lost out on the great one I had secured.  Too many times suppliers will tell the Buyers what they think they want to hear instead of the truth because they’re afraid of potential repercussions.  That’s the wrong road to take.  Not meeting a commitment when you were unaware of the cause is understandable.  Not making sure the Buyer is aware of it as soon as possible is inexcusable.  Inform the Buyer as quickly as possible about any delay (or potential delay) whether it’s a prior commitment on your end or something that would prevent the Buyer and his company from meeting their own deadlines.  Yes, the Buyer will initially be upset.  Nothing can prevent that.  But it will be much worse if the Buyer found out they missed an opportunity to make a contingency plan on their end simply because they were informed too late.  This is true not only for commitments related to deliveries, but even committing to a phone call or an e-mail. 

2.  Review emails to make sure everything was answered.  So many times I’ll send an e-mail to a supplier with several questions, only to have most of them unanswered in their reply.  Before you hit that SEND button, go over the Client’s e-mail again to make sure you’ve responded to everything they’ve requested.  Even if you don’t immediately have the answer, acknowledge the request and let them know when you’ll be able to respond with the proper information.

 3.  Check e-mails you may have missed.  At the end of everyday go back to the first one sent to you and ensure all e-mails have been responded to.  Many times I’ve made mental notes of e-mails sent to me with the intent to respond that day.  Then I get busy or pulled away to handle another emergency and I forget to respond to the e-mail.  So before I leave for the day I’ll go back and read those e-mails I may have missed.  If I plan to respond the next day I mark it accordingly.  With the hundreds of e-mails we can receive on a single day, it’s impossible to catch every one of them.  Going through them again at the end of the day will help improve response time. 

4.  Report back, even if it’s to say you have nothing to report.  Not responding to an urgent request simply because you don’t have the information in front of you is as bad as never responding at all.  With several suppliers I’ve sent e-mail after e-mail, and left voicemail after voicemail asking for the same thing.  When no one responds after a few days I don’t even know if my messages are getting through.  At the very least, reply to the person requesting action or information so they know you’re aware of the request, then let them know when you’ll be able to provide what they’re asking for. 

5.  Communicate potential issues and a contingency plan.  We don’t live in a perfect world.  That’s why I’m always leery of suppliers who provide delivery absolute schedules when there are so many things that could go wrong.  Suppliers who count on their sub-suppliers for components or information need to ensure they are held to timelines that support their own production and delivery schedules.  On so many parts on this project, suppliers never took into consideration the potential things that could go wrong on the sub-supplier end that could affect their promised schedules.  I even had a supplier provide a letter of commitment in the delivery of their parts.  That date of commitment was over a month ago and I still don’t have the parts in house.  So much for a letter of commitment!  What was the point of that???  The issue wasn’t within their own internal assemblies; it was with one of their sub-suppliers who never communicated to them that they would be late.  So in providing a Buyer with a planned ship date, let them know of potential things that could go wrong and, if they happen, what your contingency plan will be to correct it.

Whether they learn from experience, through professional training, from their colleagues or as a natural-born talent, Corporate Buyers best protect their company, both legally and financially, through the process of “negotiating”.  Heard that word before?  In many ways, Buyers have the advantage over Sales Professionals when it comes to the eventual outcome of negotiations.  In most cases, Buyers get to negotiate with several suppliers for the same product, whereas each Sales Rep is only negotiating with one Buyer.  It comes down to odds and statistics; the more suppliers the Buyer has to negotiate with for the same part, the more chances the Buyer will have in reaching his budgetary goal.  If the Buyer has five suppliers to negotiate with, odds are at least one of them will agree to the price the Buyer needs, if not below.  Whereas the Sales Rep has only one Buyer to negotiate with and has a potential to lose the business to one of the four other suppliers.  The other advantage the Buyer has is actually knowing what the magic number is; that is, the price the Buyer is willing to accept.  That’s the final card that remains face down on the poker table.  The advantage is in the fact that the Buyer can win the hand without having to show that final card.  Imagine playing poker and accepting the other person’s word that they won the deal without even seeing their last card.  The odds are not in your favor.  And you may never really know if your accepted price was above or below the price on that last unseen card. 

But regardless of who has the advantage in negotiating, Buyers have other trick up their sleeve when it comes to concessions and arbitrations.  This specific trick is designed to discourage Sales Professionals from actually using negotiation strategies against the Buyer.  And if this trick is used properly it can quickly turn the negotiations in the Buyer’s favor.  I really shouldn’t be telling you this . . . but be careful when the Buyer refers to subsequent negotiating as “a game”.  That’s it.  A four-letter word.  If a Buyer replies to your offer and refers to the eventual process of reaching a negotiated price as a “game”, you need to step back and think about your response.  If the Buyer describes the aftereffects of playing the “game” and offers the benefits of reaching an agreement quickly in order to avoid playing “the game”, you need to think before you speak and offer a response that defuses that term.  When a Buyer refers to negotiations as a “game”, it’s designed to make you feel awkward and uncomfortable to use negotiation strategies against him.  In using the word “game” the Buyer wants you to assume that he is well suited and experienced in recognizing potential strategies you plan to use against him.  The Buyers wants you to assume they’ve been down that road before and has pre-described countermeasures to use against your strategies.  In using the word “game”, the Buyer wants you to consider that in this specific “game of chess” he has a countermove ready for every possible move your pieces can make; that the Buyer has a pre-planned action to thwart your maneuvers.  The hope is that you will surrender your Queen, throw in your cards, forsake your strategies and accelerate an agreement in the Buyer’s favor. 

In describing negotiations as “a game”, the Buyer will describe to you a well-rehearsed, step-by-step description of what will take place on both sides of the table should negotiations continue.  The Buyer may say, “Your quote is simply not where it needs to be in order to receive the order.   Now we can play the same old game where you tell me you’ve given me your best price, then I tell you I have lower quotes from other suppliers, then you’ll contact me a few days later with a price reduction.  We can play that game.  Or, we can forgo the rulebook and agree on a price right now that’s fair and reasonable to both of us.  So would you prefer to play the game and waste both of our time or should I cut the order to you today with the right price?”  At this point you have the advantage of saying one of two things, both of which will stall the Buyer and buy you time to regroup and rethink your strategies.  Response #1, “I’ll have to speak with my manager about.”  Response #2, “Let me go back and see if I can get my estimators to look at this again.  Maybe we can squeeze some more money out of our own sub-suppliers.”  Buyers are ready for both of those responses.  The Buyer may reply with, “I’m under pressure to cut a deal today.  If you can’t agree on this price right now then you’ll force me to contact the other suppliers to close the deal.  I’d rather place business with your company but we can live with the other guy.”  The beauty of this tactic by the Buyer is that it uses pre-planned negotiation strategy to combat your own pre-planned negotiation strategy.  The pressure is on you.  Time is of the essence.  I’ve personally sat through one too many sales seminars for timeshares, real estate and other business offers in which I had to make up my mind on the spot or walk away never knowing if I made a bad decision.  I hate that!  But it’s a time-pressured tactic Sales Professionals use on potential clients.  Now that same tactic is being used against them.  And here’s how to react. 

First, it’s important to know how many suppliers are out there that can offer the same products that you do.  Are they a definite competitor currently working with your Client?  Do you compete against them often?  Is the commodity you’re selling easily available in the marketplace by other capable suppliers?  Or is what you’re offering so unique that not only is there limited competition, but those who can offer it are far below your quality, technology and capabilities?  The less proficient competition you have, the better your advantage in the Buyer’s “game” tactic.  The pressure of closing the deal on the spot will drop if you are the only game in town.  Second, if you’re not the only game in town and you really need to receive permission from your manager or if you really need to have your estimators revisit the quote, make sure it’s planned ahead of time.  Let your manager know you’re about to enter negotiations with the Client before you leave the office and find out what price he’s willing to live with.  And negotiate with your own sub-suppliers for the best possible pricing BEFORE you enter negotiations with the Buyer.  Don’t go back to the Buyer after the fact and say, “We met with our suppliers again and were able to get their price down.”  Why wasn’t that done the first time?  The key is to plan ahead and have your bottom line answers ready before you sit at the Buyer’s desk. 

The best way to defuse the Buyer’s game tactic is to let them know it’s NOT a game to you or your company.  Don’t give in to their trap.  Don’t acknowledge that you’re playing a game even if they are.  Let them know that to you and your company this isn’t a game, it’s a business transaction.  You have quality products and services to offer.  You have the best value that best fits the Buyer’s needs.  And if your quote isn’t where it needs to be, you look forward to finding a fair and reasonable solution.  Let the Buyer know that if time is of the essence, hopefully there’s enough of it left for you to respond with a revised quote without the Buyer having to procure inferior product, thereby affecting the quality of what they’re offering their own Clients.  Remember this important bit of advice from the Buyer’s Desk: If the Buyer really does have other suppliers with equal product at lower costs . . . then why is he wasting his time with you?  The reason is because he wants to the place the order with your company and needs to get the best deal possible, even if it isn’t lower than your competitors.  Otherwise he wouldn’t be pressuring you on the spot.  So don’t make it a game with winners and losers.  Make it a serious business transaction that fulfills everyone’s objectives.

In a prior Blog we discussed what Sales Professionals should do if they end up winning the purchase order; what steps should be taken immediately and subsequently after being awarded new business from the Client.  Because winning the order doesn’t mean the Sales Rep can sit back, relax and reap the financial and emotional benefits of new business.  Quite the contrary!  Receiving new business means your work has just begun and the prior Blog (dated August 17, 2012) explains what Sales Professional should do after receiving the order.  So the question begs, what do you do if you LOST the order?  After all, in a competitive quoting environment there will be more losers than winners.  And how you handle yourself as the underdog will determine your future opportunities as a winner!  For the rest of the Suppliers who weren’t fortunate enough to receive the order, their hard work, persistence and business strategies didn’t pay off this time . . . no matter what the reasons were.  And I want to stress that it doesn’t matter if the successful Supplier deserved to win the order or not.  The fact is the countless hours, documentation and negotiations didn’t end in your favor.  But just as winning the order doesn’t give you time to sit back and relax, neither does losing it.  Even if you don’t end up with the prize, your work has just begun in developing and following through with contingency plans.  In fact, from the Buyer’s perspective, there are several things a Sales Professional should do after losing the order.  The following recommendations are based on the observations, experiences and advice provided by hundreds of Corporate Buyers across the Nation who have been on the receiving end of Supplier reactions in losing business . . . and what Sales Professionals have consequently done that have ruined their future opportunities for business. 

First and foremost, if your company lost an order to a competitor, whatever the reason behind that loss . . . . DO NOT bad-mouth the competition nor the Client’s supplier-selection process!!!  Put yourself in the Buyer’s shoes for a moment.  If you were a Buyer, why would it upset you to listen to a Sales Professional who lost the order complain about the supplier selection process?  A Sales Rep should NEVER discuss in a negative way the bad experiences they had during the request-for-quote and quoting process with the Buyer.  Because the reality is, there’s no perfect way to select the right Supplier on any given project.  Buyers can define processes and guidelines and hope they make the right decision.  Unfortunately there are times when today’s right decision ends up being tomorrow’s headache!  Buyers are human.  They are not perfect.  They can make mistakes in supplier selection despite what they sincerely believe is the right decision.  In a perfect business world there are processes that define the right supplier for the right job.  But we don’t live in a perfect world.  And some Sales Professionals attempt to conduct business in the vacuum of a perfect world and become incensed when they don’t get the order despite the fact they may have been the best supplier for the job.  Unfortunately, we don’t live in a fair and just society.  We don’t work in a fair and just business environment.  And as a Sales Professional, you can either accept this fact and attempt to prudently improve conditions . . . or you can distance yourself from the decision-makers by complaining about how things should be.  Because in the real world there are internal and external forces that directly or indirectly affect the decision-making process.  Those internal and external forces include politics, ignorance, stupidity, ego, discrimination, the good ol’ boy network and the “We’ve always done it this way” mentality.  And because of these forces, many purchase orders have been lost to the wrong supplier for the wrong reason.  Keep in mind that at times, the Buyer’s hands are tied when it comes to supplier selection process.  For instance, an End-User Manager may fight for his favorite supplier to receive the order even your quote is priced significantly lower.  And in a Buyer vs. End-User Manager wrestling match it’s the higher grade-level that usually wins, depending on how far Purchasing Senior Management wants to take it.  If the Buyer WAS forced to place the order to an unacceptable Supplier, they will most likely be too upset or too embarrassed to discuss it with you.  So don’t put them in a difficult position to discuss in a negative way what they already know and can’t do anything about.  Stay positive. 

Sometimes the End-User and Buyer actually agree on which supplier to place the purchase order to because the supplier did a great job on previous projects.  But for whatever reason this time, the incumbent supplier submitted poor designs, developed unqualified processes and provided inadequate program management thereby resulting in the wrong selection by the Client.  And there may have been no way for the Client to have known that ahead of time; no crystal ball.  Even the best of suppliers perform less than perfect at times.  So again, no Buyer has a perfect method of selecting the right supplier for every commodity of every project.  Buyers make mistakes just like everyone else.  Complaining about it won’t get you the job and it may in fact affect your chances of receiving future jobs.  So instead of complaining in a negative way, the Sales Professional should accept the decision, especially if they know it’s final.  Shake the Buyer’s hand, thank them for the opportunity to bid, and tell them you look forward to the next opportunity. 

The second bit of advice from the Buyer’s Desk: If you lose the order, try being PROACTIVE about it.  Prudently and positively find out why you didn’t receive the order and how your company can do a better job next time.  Maybe it wasn’t anything you did or failed to do.  Maybe it was a total mistake on the Client’s side that you didn’t receive the order.  Maybe the Client clearly gave the order to the wrong supplier but it’s too late to do anything about it.  It never hurts to ask for feedback.  Say to the Buyer in a positive approach, “I believe my company would be a great asset to your firm.  Can you offer any constructive feedback as to what we could do better with our next opportunity?” 

Third, it’s important to understand that a portion of orders lost to competitors take place due to business politics.  Under this scenario the Buyer’s hands may have been tied when it came to trying to place the order to the deserving supplier.  It’s certainly a waster of money when Clients place orders to another Supplier for more money than what you were offering simply because someone higher than the Buyer, possibly from another Department, wanted to give the order to his own favorite Supplier.  It does happen and I’m sure you’ve witnessed it from time to time.  So what can you do about it?  First, it may be reassuring to know that it doesn’t happen as often as you may think.  It was much more prevalent in prior decades than it is today.  Companies have much more stringent processes and guidelines in place than there were in prior years to prevent this type of situation from happening.  And Business Practices Office of many major corporations have made it easier for biased decisions to be reported anonymously by both the corporate employee and the supplier.  Therefore, you may want to visit the Client’s corporate website and find out what steps to take should it ever happen on a project you’re quoting.  Not reporting this type of unfair business practice only encourages more of it.  In our private lives we may have witnessed a shoplifter in a retail store and not said a word to store management.  In the end it hurts all of us because shoplifting creates a large percentage of the price we pay for retail products.  When we don’t report unfair business practices, it encourages the corporate employees to continue its process of unjustly selecting suppliers.  Also, just like in shoplifting, if a more expensive supplier was picked because of dirty politics, it’s the consumer like you and I that end up paying for the extra cost. 

CAUTION: If you decide to take this course of action in reporting illicit business practices, you must be absolutely positive that this is what REALLY took place and make sure you have all your facts correct!  Don’t make a decision and decide the facts based on rumors or sour-grape comments from other people, no matter what their position is in your company or the Client’s, and no matter how close they were to the issue.  During my time in Purchasing I’ve spend quite a bit of effort putting together documentation showing proof that the right supplier was selected simply because the losing supplier had a case of sour grapes.  In once instance the supplier claimed that THEY were the low bid supplier and that the winning supplier didn’t quote to specifications.  It was losing supplier’s perception that, in many cases, they were rated both technically and commercial number one, yet failed to receive the order.  And in both instances there was absouletly no way the complaining supplier could have known either one of those facts even if it had been true (which it wasn’t).  And here was my response to that supplier: “I have no issues with reviewing project outcomes with suppliers.  In fact I highly encourage it.  But it would be appreciated if the supplier had their facts straight before I invest hours of my time in reviewing technical and commercial concerns.  In the four projects investigated, not one claim by the supplier was found to be accurate.”  It’s also important to know that many times, Buyers are kept out of the loop in corporate decisions like these and the reasons to give the order to a seemingly non-compliant supplier may be perfectly legitimate.  So unless you’re absolutely positive that the decision was against corporate policy, don’t do it!!! 

Finally, if somehow you have found a way to win back the order, step back a moment and think twice about receiving it.  It may be in your best interest not to!  If your company gets jammed down the throat of an End-User who clearly does not want you, what are the odds your product will sincerely get qualified or will genuinely work in the field?  Odds are the End-User will look for any reason, any excuse as to why they shouldn’t use you again.  You’ll be under their microscope during the entire process until your product warranty becomes void.  Take that scenario under consideration and, if you think you can survive that type of scrutiny, then do it!  There have been cases in which an order placed to the wrong supplier was eventually cancelled and placed to the deserving supplier.  This does NOT happen very often and a number of things must be in place in order for it to take place.  First, you must have a Buyer, Senior Purchasing Manager and a percentage of End-Users willing to fight for you.  Second, you must have your information organized and factual to show that the decision to give the order to the wrong supplier was unwarranted.  Third, you must be willing to accept the backlash of whoever wanted the wrong supplier in the first place.  Again, changing suppliers after the order has been placed does not happen very often.  You may want to have a private discussion with the Buyer to see if he has ever experienced it and, if so, ask how did the decision get reversed.  But don’t pry for confidential information; keep it as generic as possible.

As a Corporate Buyer I do not claim to be an expert in the process of Electronic Bidding, or “E-Bid”.  But I know that many Suppliers today are either submitting quotes through the E-Bid process or will someday be compelled to do so by the Client.  So I thought I’d share my experiences on E-Bid and provide a true Buyer’s perspective on the practice.  Because prior to my employment in Corporate Purchasing I was actually employed on the supply-side of the business for 23 years, working for various engineering companies.  During that time I attended request-for-quote (RFQ) meetings and put together quote packages for potential clients.  And having worked on the supply side I understand the amount of time, effort and cost involved in the quoting process of a program.  Now, on top of all that, comes the paradigm shift of Electronic Bidding. 

When I first started out in the industry, everyone wore a tie to work.  And if you didn’t wear a tie, everyone you’d run into would say, “Oh . . . casual day?”  Now today when I wear a tie to work everyone says, “Oh . . . got an interview?”  Now that’s a small but perfect example of how the way we do business has changed.  When it comes to business, change has NEVER been the exception.  In business, change has ALWAYS been the rule.  Many years ago the majority of us never heard of ISO 9000, Total Quality Management, “micron precision” tool cutting or any number of technical and administrative advancements that have evolved over the years.  Today, they’re the rule.  Computers, e-mail, voicemail, cell phones, . . . if a company doesn’t keep up with technology and doesn’t keep up with the latest industry trends, they need to get out of the way because they’re going to get run over by someone who is.  It reminds me of the old golf saying, “In the game of golf, you’ll always miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.”  The pendulum of change is constantly in motion.  And in some industries, with some client companies, the pendulum is swinging towards Electronic Bidding.  So I’d like to provide you with my experiences with E-Bid; how the process works, and what the positive and negative aspects are for both Sales and the Buyer. 

I’m proud to say that I was the very first Senior Buyer at DaimlerChrysler Corporation to facilitate on-line E-Bid auctions for their Powertrain Purchasing Group.  At that time no Supplier was forced to use E-Bid in order to submit a quote package.  All suppliers were allowed to submit their typical quote package without the fear of being penalized.  And yet, only a couple of Suppliers chose not to participate in E-Bid.  In addition, no supplier was charged any money to bid on the on-line auctions since DaimlerChrysler covered the E-Bid facilitation charges.  What’s important to note is that each supplier went through training to learn how to place their bids and was then registered with the company handling the process.  Each Supplier also went through real-world practice bids days before the actual bidding began so they could become familiar and play with the on-line bidding options.  This is highly recommended for every Client company to offer their Supplier base. 

In a nutshell, “E-Bid” is sort of like using “E-Bay”, except for the fact that the price is going DOWN instead of UP.  For our sessions, the Supplier logged onto their own computer, they logged into the E-Bid website with their own created password, they found their specific auctions and they start bidding at the specified time.  Each auction lasts for ten minutes . . . which is not a long time.  And that’s why before a Supplier starts participating in an E-Bid, they need to do their homework ahead of time and know what their absolute bottom line is so that they’re simply pushing keys during the auction and not planning a strategy.  At the end of ten minutes, the low-bid supplier was considered the “winner”, though I hesitate to use that term because at DaimlerChrysler, low bid did not necessarily WIN the purchase order.  If the technical content of the quote package was not acceptable then they didn’t “win” anything.  But unlike E-Bay, it was impossible for a Supplier to hold off until the very last second of an E-Bid before time ran out to submit their lowest price and beat out the other Suppliers.  That’ s because there was an “overtime cycle”.  If any Supplier submitted a bid within the last three minutes of the auction, even in the last few seconds, the auction was automatically extended for an additional amount of time.  And if within the last three minutes of the extension period a Supplier submitted yet another bid, the auction was again extended.  If at the end of the last three minutes of the auction, or the last three minutes of the extension, there was absolutely no activity from any Supplier, the auction ended. 

At Daimler Chrysler we used two separate types of E-Bid auctions.  One auction was called the “English Reverse”.  With the English Reverse a supplier was allowed to submit a bid as long as it was below the current lowest bid.  But if the Supplier couldn’t beat the current low bid, then they couldn’t submit a bid at all.  The other auction was called the “Dynamic Reverse”.  With the Dynamic Reverse, a Supplier could submit a bid even if it wasn’t below the current low bid, but as long as it was below their OWN last bid.  Towards the end of the quoting process of the Program, we realized that the English Reverse auction was not a good method of bidding for either us or the Supplier.  That’s because we weren’t allowing the Supplier to submit their own best price.  The Supplier was only allowed to submit a price if it beat the current low bid.  Well, maybe they couldn’t beat the current low bid but maybe they could have beat their own last bid.  That’s why we finally decided part way through the Program to only use the Dynamic Reverse auction and actually allow Suppliers to submit their best price.  But again, with our E-Bid auctions, best price did NOT necessarily get the purchase order.  Many factors played into ending up with the order, including the technical and commercial content of the quote package, conformance to specifications, and a proven track record in prior programs.  Sometimes the low bid Supplier received the purchase order . . . and sometimes the HIGH bid Supplier received the purchase order.  In my opinion this is the only fair, reasonable and common sense approach to E-Bids from the Client’s perspective. 

By now you must be thinking, “Well, if a high bid supplier was able to receive a purchase order, than why do E-Bid at all?”  There are positive aspects to E-Bids for both the Buyer and the Seller.  For the Buyer it saves an incredible amount of time in the negotiating process.  Especially on the power-train program I worked on, with hundreds of machines to purchase covering over 50 commodities and hundreds of Suppliers to deal with, E-Bid made my life as a Buyer a hell of a lot easier.  The other positive aspect for the Buyer is that it obviously helps to reduce the price because Suppliers are directly and visibly bidding against each other.   But there are positive aspects of E-Bid for the Supplier too.  During the auctions the Supplier was able to see what the current bid was . . .  just like E-Bay.  But they were absolutely unable to know who that low bidder was; no names were shown to the other bidders.  But through E-Bid, the Suppliers could compare their current price with the current low bid and align their price either below it or just above it with the understanding that low bid does NOT necessarily win the purchase order.  Another positive aspect for the Supplier is that they are able to see what the current market value of a specific commodity is and whether or not the Supplier has been bidding too high or too low in prior programs.  Remember that with a regular paper or sealed bid, the Supplier has no way of knowing where the current market price is.  E-Bid was able to provide them with that valuable information. 

E-Bid isn’t perfect.  There are some obvious drawbacks for both the Buyer and the Supplier.  For the Buyer you lose whatever face-to-face negotiating power you may have had.  You lose a portion of the personal working relationship you built up with the supply base.  And at a time in which supplier relations are key to program success, E-Bid sort of dilutes it during the quoting process.  For the Supplier, E-Bid is sort of like playing poker, except for that fact that ALL the cards are turned up and everyone’s wearing a mask.  Everyone else knows what you know, even though they don’t know “who” you are.  At DaimlerChrysler we had our share of problems with Electronic Bidding.  We had Suppliers get accidently disconnected from the website and we had to start the auction over again.  We had Suppliers lower their price during the auction by pulling components and program requirements out so we no longer had an apples-to-apples auction taking place.  In those instances we had to run the E-Bid again, minus I might add, the Supplier who cheated the system.  We had Suppliers claim the website didn’t accept their last bid seconds before the auction ended.  We even had a Supplier bidding on-line and going head-to-head against another bidder . . .  until they realized that the “other bidder” was someone else on-line from their own company!  We all got a good laugh from that one. 

All in all, E-Bid saved a lot of negotiating time for both the Buyer and the Supplier, and it redefined commodity market values for everyone.  It may surprise you that the majority of the feedback I received from the Suppliers was positive.  Some suppliers absolutely loved E-Bid!  Others did not.  The question is, does E-Bid create an effect on the current market price for a commodity?  Have E-Bid auctions been successful in reducing the price of a suppliers quote?  We can all speculate but I don’t think anyone has the absolute answer right now because of the current economic environment we’re all trying to survive in.  Whether a client uses E-Bid during an economic downturn or not, the price IS going to come down because that’s what the economic and financial market dictate.  And that was verified by the handful of paper quotes received on the program that weren’t put through the E-Bid process.  I believe time will indicate that E-Bid does have a tendency to lower the supplier price, though not as much as during an economic decline like today. 

E-Bid isn’t for everyone.  It’s not for every Buyer and it’s not for every Supplier.  It’s certainly not for every commodity.  There has to be a good fit.  But there are four key factors in making a process like E-Bid work for both the Buyer and the Supplier:     1. The Buyer must be absolutely clear and specific as to what the Supplier needs to include in the E-Bid price, and exactly what is to be left out.  The end result MUST be apples-to-apples.  If the commodity is too customized, E-Bid is NOT the direction to take.     2. The Supplier MUST be allowed to opt out of the on-line bidding process and be allowed to simply submit a typical quote package without the fear of being penalized.  It’s not to their advantage to do so, but it needs to be allowed.     3. The Supplier MUST be allowed to submit their best price even though they can’t beat the current low price.     4. The Supplier needs to know their absolute bottom line before the on-line auction starts.  If the Supplier doesn’t know their bottom line going in and doesn’t know when to quit, that Supplier is headed for trouble!  Then again, my Dad always said, “Winners never quit, and quitters never win.  But those who never win and never quit, ARE IDIOTS”. 

The future for E-Bid is unclear.  I think in better economic times it will be better defined and show the true savings potential for the Buyer and the true market value of a commodity for the Supplier.  I do believe that E-Bid will be around to stay in one form or another in specific commodities that make sense, especially when it comes to large programs or when a Buyer is procuring large quantities of a straightforward, well-defined commodity like a hammer or a fuse.  But if a Buyer is only planning to purchase a few, highly critical, highly complicated items, then the process and setup of E-Bid, in my humble opinion, is not worth it.

Sitting on my side of the desk, I know that Sales is not an easy career to be in.  Yet, Sales is so much a part of our everyday life.  Not just our business life, but our personal life as well.  Where ever you are reading this Blog, take a good look around you.  Everything you see is there as a result of the sales process; someone had a need and someone had a solution.  All of our lives we are literally surrounded by the INFLUENCE of Sales Professionals and the companies they represent.  And that’s what makes Sales a very necessary and noble profession.  Now at the risk of sounding incredulous, IMPROVING the relationship between Buyers and Sellers has been a passion of mine since I first became a Corporate Buyer 12 years ago.  And since May of 2012 on this website I’ve been providing observations, insight and sales advise from the Buyer’s desk.  So for today’s Blog I’d like to summarize some of the most important points from these last few months of Blogs . . . the things that are most important to Buyers. 

Years ago when Mr. Thomas Lasorda became new President and CEO of the old Chrysler Group, he gave a speech to an audience full of suppliers.  And one of the things he said was, “Some suppliers could greatly improve their sales approach by understanding how we think – what our Buyers need to hear.”  I completely agree with that statement.  Because the best way to sell to someone is to mentally sit behind their desk, walk around in their shoes and try to see things from their perspective.  What are their goals and responsibilities?  What do they want and need to hear from you in order to make a decision about your company?  When I was on the supply side for 20 years before becoming a Corporate Buyer, I admit I didn’t always understand why Buyers made the decisions they made.  When I was on the supply side, we knew if we could just get our foot in the door we could show the Buyers how we could improve their production, improve their quality and save them money.  Why couldn’t they understand that?  Why wouldn’t they just give us a chance?  Does that sound familiar?  Aren’t those some of the same things you’ve thought of yourself?  Well it wasn’t until I became a Buyer that I finally understood WHY Buyers think the way they do and make the decisions they make. 

First, from the Buyer’s perspective, you need to re-think your sales approach.  Think about this statement: you will develop more business relationships in two months by showing interest in the client, than you will in two years trying to get the client interested in you.  And yet I have suppliers who spend all of their time and energy trying to get me interested in their company.  The candid truth is that Buyers are not interested in your company, any more than you’re really interested in that company who’s installing new carpeting in your house.  What you’re interested in as a consumer are your own financial goals and what that new carpeting is going to do for you and your family.  Just like you as a consumer, Corporate  Buyers are interested in their own goals and responsibilities and how your company can help achieve them.  And that’s the sales approach you need to develop and use.  Yet, so few suppliers actually USE that approach.  So during your sales meetings, sell to the Buyers based on what THEY want and need to hear, and not necessarily on what you can’t wait to tell them about your company . . . because those could be two completely different things. 

Most sales meetings I have with suppliers are a waste of time, both mine and theirs.  Why?  Because the supplier is using the exact same sales presentation on me that they use on the other departments in my company, be it engineering, production or the end-user.  As a supplier you need to ask yourself, who am I about to meet with?  Who am I about to present to?  What is their job title and responsibilities?  If it’s a Buyer, would he or she necessarily be interested in detailed, comprehensive technical product information like an engineer would?  Or, being a Buyer, would they be more interested in commercial information including warranty, delivery, payment terms, transportation, financial capabilities and product value?  Yet 90% of the suppliers I deal with use the exact same sales presentation on me that they use on the other departments.  So a portion of the information being provided either goes over my head or bores me to death.  I’m NOT hearing what I need to hear!  So how do we find out what a Buyer wants and needs to hear before you even walk into that sales meeting?  By sending the Buyer a pre-meeting agenda; a bullet-point list of the topics you’re planning on talking about during the meeting.  Create a pre-meeting agenda and e-mail it to the Buyer a few days in advance.  Encourage them to remove the topics they’re not interested in and add the ones they are.  That way you know you’ll be providing the information the Buyer wants and needs to hear, and you’ll be better prepared to discuss the things they want to talk about. 

I’ve had many Sales Professionals ask me, “What’s the difference between a GOOD supplier and a GREAT supplier?  A good supplier will get me the information I need by a requested date.  A GREAT supplier will do everything they can to get it to me earlier than the requested date, will ask if it’s what I wanted, and if there’s anything else I need.  A good supplier will respond immediately when I call them to resolve an issue.  A GREAT supplier will make sure I never NEED to call them to resolve an issue because they’re already aware of it and taking care of it.  A good supplier will tell me what they can do for me.  A GREAT supplier will ask what it is I need.  Doing some research on your client’s company to find out what it is that they need will go a long way in impressing them.  And with the Internet and business periodicals that we have today it’s so much easier to research a potential client before contacting them. 

Many suppliers have told me, “Why should I bother trying to work with Buyers when they’re just going to make their decision based purely on price anyway.”  Well, if you don’t educate Buyers on the VALUE of your product, then PRICE all they have left to measure you by.  If you were a Buyer and you perceived that every product from your supply-base is the same, you’d be crazy not to pick the low price!  As one fellow Buyer likes to say, “It ain’t the price, it’s the cost, dummy!”  We call that “Total Cost of Ownership” and in terms of future best practices, that’s where the industry is heading.  You need to research the concepts and formulas of Total Cost of Ownership and sell to Buyers not based on price, but on the value of your product over the time of its usage.  It doesn’t matter if you’re selling a multi-million dollar system . . . or a $5 pen.  Most suppliers hand me a quote and say, “Call me if you have any questions.”  But they rarely take the time to educate me on the value of their product. 

Remember that the best way to sell to a Buyer is to understand that “a Buyer’s behavior is influenced by the relationship they experience with the seller . . . in particular, through trust”.  Now when I say trust, I don’t necessarily mean is the supplier honest, does the sales rep lie?  Trust comes from a mixture of 3 things: credibility, reliability, and familiarity.  Are you doing the things you say you’re going to do when you say you’re going to do them?  Are your products reliable in the field?  Is your staff reliable in getting things done?  And how familiar is the Buyer with your products, your company . . . and you?  Have you exhibited “trust” in the business relationship?  When it comes to negotiating, tell me who YOU trust?  Think about someone in your life, think of the first name of someone whether on a business or personal level.  Someone who, if you were buying something from them and they told you “this is the best price I can offer”, you would believe them without a doubt.  What is it about them that you trust?  Have you known them for a long time?  What is it about their character, their demeanor, their ability to consistently make you trust them.  Think about what it takes to make YOU trust someone, and develop and use those same traits when you’re attempting to get the Buyer to trust you.  Because good negotiations come down to two things: TRUST . . . and knowing your absolute bottom line.  There’s some financial point that you have to say to yourself, “If it comes down to this price, I’m going to have to walk away and not make a sale.”  So how do you find out what your walk away point is?  What’s your formula?  Is it cost plus?  Can you afford to take one step back in order to go two forward?  You have to decide that for yourself.  But too many suppliers don’t know what that point is and they either end up losing a job without knowing they could have given a better price, or they get the order but end up losing money on a job; OR they try to make up for it my nickel and diming the order, which obviously upsets the Buyer.  You’ve got to know what the negotiating rules are before going into the process because it’s different for every Buyer of every organization of every company. 

Now what I’ve been attempting to do in these Blogs is to have you see SALES from the Buyer’s perspective; from the Buyer’s side of the desk.  And when you think about it, it really shouldn’t be difficult for you to see things from the Buyer’s perspective because you’re ALL buyers!  Now you may not be a Buyer for a Fortune 100 company, but you are, nonetheless, a Buyer.  You buy food, you buy clothes, you buy a car, you buy a house.  You buy electronic equipment and garden accessories.  And in doing so, there’s not much of a difference between how you think and act as a Buyer, and how I think and act as a Buyer.  You want the best product for the best VALUE that best fits your needs.  You want satisfaction.  And if you don’t get satisfaction, you want someone to take care if it immediately and without hassle.  That is Corporate Buying in a nutshell!

During my years in Corporate Purchasing I’ve asked various Sales Professionals what their biggest pet peeve is regarding Buyers.  By far the number one complaint is a lack of responsiveness from the Buyer.  Sales Reps send e-mails and leave voicemails asking for a reply that never comes.  Quote are submitted without a rejoinder from the Buyer.  Business cards and company brochures are mailed without feedback.  Request-for-quotes are sent to your competitors but not to you.  This leads to the conclusion that the Buyer is rude, callous and insensitive to Sales communications.  And in most cases, the Sales Professional is absolutely right.  But it might surprise you that in some instances, the person to blame for the Buyer’s lack of response is the Sales Rep! 

One of the most important responsibilities of a Sales Professional is to ensure the lines of communication between Buyers are open and easily accessible . . . that is, making sure the Buyer has your updated contact information and that you are ready and able to receive their communications.  As a Sales Professional you should make certain you are readily available to receive an invitation to quote or respond to any questions and requests the Buyer might have.  Unfortunately, many Sales Reps unknowingly make it difficult for Buyers to easily get a hold of them!  So from the Buyer’s Desk, here is a “Top Ten” list of the things Sales Reps do, or fail to do, that make it difficult for Buyers to contact them: 

1.  The Buyer can’t read the Sales Rep’s telephone number or e-mail address on their business card.  The main cause of this is that the text font is either TOO SMALL or the ink on the card is TOO LIGHT against the background.  From the Buyer’s perspective, this happens WAY too often.  Make sure the font on your card is large enough to read without having to use a magnifying glass.  In addition, I’ve come across many business cards that don’t even have the most updated contact information on it.  Then the Sales Rep wonders why they’re not getting asked to quote! 

2.  More times than not I’ve come across business cards with the Supplier’s main office telephone number on it . . . but without the Sales rep’s phone extension!  That forces the Buyer to use telephone name directory which is frustrating and time consuming.  Even if you have to write your extension on the card, do it before handing it to the Buyer.  In your private life you hate playing with phone directories . . . and we Buyers hate it in our business life! 

3.  70 percent of the time, Sales Reps do not leave an out-of-office message on their voice-mail or e-mail.  The Rep is out of the office on vacation, training or business travel and cannot be contacted by the Buyer.  Every out-of-office voice-mail and e-mail should inform the caller when you will be returning and who to contact in case of an emergency. 

4.  The Sales Professional’s contact information is not stated at the beginning or the end of the quote package.  Many Sales Rep’s include their name and job title at the end of the quote along with the statement, “Please contact me if you have any questions.”  Then they fail to type their contact information after the statement.  Buyers hate that! 

5.  The Sales Rep leaves a voicemail on the Buyer’s telephone asking for a call back, but fails to provide their full name, company name and/or telephone number . . .  especially a phone number that is stated clearly and slowly.  If you want the Buyer to call you back, don’t leave a message that says, “Hi Bob.  This is Jerry.  Give me a call back.”  Instead try this, “Hi Bob.  This is Jerry Smith with Acme Company.  Appreciate a call back to discuss the quote.  My number is 123-456-5555.  That’s 123-456-5555.  Thanks.” 

6.  The Sales Rep doesn’t check their e-mail and/or voicemail on a “regular” basis for potential business opportunities or communication from the Buyer.  One of my previous Blogs talked about the time I tried to contact a Sales rep to invite him to a request-for-quote meeting.  His e-mail and voicemail never indicated he was in training all week and he almost missed out on a great opportunity because he never checked his messages.  Unbelievable, but it happens more times than you’d think. 

7.  The Sales Rep doesn’t respond to the Buyer’s communications within a “reasonable” amount of time.  I’ve sent out opportunities to quote that took weeks for various Sales Reps to get back with me.  By then it was too late. 

8.  The Sales Rep’s voicemail has reached its limited amount of calls it can receive so the Buyer can’t leave a message.  Hopefully your voicemail can take an unlimited amount of calls.  Otherwise you’ll never know what opportunities you missed out on. 

9.  The Sales Rep’s voicemail recording time is limited.  The Buyer attempts to leave a message but the recording time runs out before the message is completed.  The Buyer must now call back and leave another message.  Sometime we do, and sometimes we don’t.  Even worse in this day and age, some Sales Reps do not even have voicemail set up on their desk or cell phone! 

10.  The Sales Rep does not leave their contact information on the bottom of their e-mail signature.  A Sales Professional should ALWAYS leave their full name, job title, telephone number (be it a number with an extension, a direct number or a cell number), e-mail address and website address at the bottom of every e-mail they send or quote they provide!

Here’s a tip from the Buyers Desk that you may not have been aware of:  Buyers like Sales People who are Leaders in their profession.  Buyers like Sales Reps who demonstrate and emulate the characteristics of a Leader.  To a lesser extent, Buyers can be regarded are leaders in the commodities they buy, the decisions they make and the projects they manage.  But from a buying and selling standpoint they can’t do it alone and certainly not from the Sales side of the desk.  That’s why Buyers prefer to conduct business with individuals who represent and follow through with the traits and characteristics of a true LEADER; an individual who possesses a positive business influence in the direction and support of others that results in the accomplishment of a common goal.

In order to be truly successful, Corporate Buyers need effective Leaders in Sales whom they work with on a regular basis, whether it’s the Sales Manager, Vice-President or the actual Sales Rep.  Without people on the Sales side who can see the big picture, ensure product is the best value and delivered on-time and can prudently resolve project issues, Buyers are forced to work twice as hard to ensure things are effectively handled on BOTH sides of the desk.  Unfortunately, most business scholars will tell you that highly effective leadership is a rare commodity.  So how do you know if your own Sales Manager is a Leader?  What characteristics does your V.P. of Sales retain that enlightens their leadership?  And what traits do you yourself possess that lets the Buyer know his workload will be lightened and the success of the project is attainable?  Here’s a list of characteristics that Buyers look for.  True Leaders in the Sales Profession . . . 

1 . . . are humble and are in business to Serve.  Buyers prefer Sales Professionals who are down-to-earth and unassuming about their accomplishments and abilities, as well as the company they represent.  No one likes to buy from a loud-mouth.  If you’re selfish in your goals, thinking only from your side and not the clients, then you are your own worst enemy.  Insincere compliments and actions are easy to recognize.  And are you in it for the money only or are you in it to assist your company and the client to reach their financial goals as well?  True Leaders in the Sales profession are self-effacing and go out of their way to achieve customer satisfaction.

2 . . . are non-judgmentally motivated.  Do you judge other people on what they fail to do for you?  Or do you try to see things from their perspective and try to understand why they make the decisions they make?  Do you have a constant desire to improve or do you simply justify your shortcomings?  Do you think you know it all or do you consider other ideas with the contemplation that maybe their idea is the right one?  Do you think you’re somehow a genius in your field or do you observe and learn from others?  Do you listen and consider, or do you half-listen and do what you like?  Do you expect others to go the extra mile to solve your own problems?  Are you really interested in the facts and do you gather them unemotionally?  Do you calmly listen and approach others or do you kick and scream until your way is accepted?  True Leaders in the Sales Profession remain positive when dealing with others and always at least consider the other point of view. 

3 . . . aren’t afraid to face and solve a problem.  Buyers prefer Sales Professionals who aren’t afraid to tell them the truth:  your product isn’t working per the contract specifications; your product is going to be late; your service department can’t meet their commitment; your price at the end of the project is over the client’s budget.  Now that you’ve admitted the problem, what are you doing to solve it and ensure it doesn’t happen again?  Are you waiting for someone else to fix things or are you going above and beyond the call of duty to resolve client issues, even if you have to complete tasks that are not your responsibility.  Are you e-mailing people to gain information or give direction, or are you personally calling them on their phone (desk or mobile) and even communicating in person?  Are you getting the right people involved immediately?  A true Leaders in Sales stays focused, uses effective communication, tells the truth and does what it takes to correct errors. 

4 . . . continuously improve.  Buyers prefer Sales Reps who refuse to accept how things have always been done when it simply doesn’t work.  True Leaders accept change, accept new paradigms and are considered revolutionaries in their field.  Leaders in Sales find ways to improve their sales presentations and marketing.  They look for ways to enhance their quote packages.  They challenge their own engineering and design teams to improve product and delivery.  And they are constantly finding new ways to educate their clients, co-workers and their own sub-suppliers.  True Leaders in Sales are constantly looking for a better mouse trap and always question the “we’ve always done it this way” approach. 

5 . . . are conservative on both sides of the desk.  Buyers prefer Sales Professionals who look out for the client’s bottom line and not just the supplier they work for.  Are your own profit margins excessive?  Can specific components or services be removed are changed out for less expensive ones without affecting quality and performance?  Will the client’s budget suffer thereby reducing the change of future programs?  Are you going back to your own sub-suppliers and negotiating reduced rates in place of accepting their quotes at face value?  Are you pointing out areas in the client’s specifications where requirements are excessive and unneeded?  True Leaders in the Sales profession spend time, money and energy cautiously and in the best interest of the client. 

6 . . . invest in their Business.  Buyers prefer to place business with Suppliers who invest in their equipment, their facilities . . . and their people.  And Buyers prefer to conduct business with Sales Professionals who invest in themselves; invest in education, invest time and energy, and invest themselves within the company they work for.  The most important investment a Sales Professional can make is in the education of their own products and services.  Sales reps must remain up to date on the technology and capabilities of the products they sell and not act simply as an order taker.  Nothing is more frustrating to a Buyer than sales people who need to ask others in their company for answers to questions the Buyer has; things they should have known.  True Leaders in Sales invest their time and energy in understanding the inner workings of their own company as well as the clients.  

7 . . . communicates effectively and consistently.  Buyers prefer Sales Professionals who clearly and concisely communicate.  Voicemails and e-mails must be short but to the point.  Issues over products and deliveries must be communicated honestly and immediately.  (Buyers would rather hear about problems upfront and as soon as possible so they can either assist the Sales Rep in preventing the problem or they can adjust their own schedule to accommodate the issue.)  Sales meeting must inform and educate the Buyer on what they want and need to hear.  Effective communication means informing the right people at the right time about the right topics with the right facts.  Equally important is follow up, feedback, responsiveness to issues and the successful completion of promises.  Communication is not just about speaking and writing.  Communication is also about behavior and integrity.  If you say one thing but do another your integrity will come into question.  And once you lose trust from the Buyer it’s difficult to get it back.  True Leaders in the Sales Profession are not afraid to consistently and clearly communicate to the right people at the right time about the right topics with the right facts.

I recently had a Sales Professional ask me something I’ve never been asked before; something that made me really think about my goals, my responsibilities and my profession in general.  The question was this:  “What do Buyer’s fear the most?”  That question caught me off guard.  If I had been asked, “What are the biggest mistakes sales people make”, or , “What do sales people do that reduce their business opportunities”, I would have immediately replied with a dozen rejoinders.  But the question, “What do Buyer’s fear most?” that had me thinking.  And I didn’t have an immediate answer.  All I could do was ask him, “Why?”  He responded, “Well, if I knew what Buyers feared most, I could assure them upfront that they wouldn’t have these anxieties with me or my company, then I would do everything in my power to prove myself right.”  Good response! 

So as I left work that day I considered what I personally fear most as a Buyer.  And as soon as I got home I wrote them down and thought, “This would make for a good Blog.”  But in reviewing the paper and revisiting my thoughts, it came to me that perhaps my fears were too personal.  I asked myself, “Did I write down things that are my largest private fears as a Buyer or trepidations that dwell in most Buyers brains?”  So before I thought about submitting a Blog, I thought I’d sit with a few of my colleagues in Purchasing and ask them about their own fears . . . not as a human being or even an employee, but as a corporate Buyer.  And when I tallied up their responses I found that most of the Buyers had five major fears.  Here they are in no particular order. 

1.  Buyers fear the thought of suppliers going out of business.  Of course not every supplier, but those who provide product that would be extremely difficult, if not impossible, to replace.  A pencil supplier goes out of business . . . no one in Purchasing cares.  That’s because there are countless companies who could ship pencils that same day.  But a supplier who manufactures a unique, highly specified component, equipment or service is not so easy to replace . . . and certainly not on the same day.  The more exceptional the product, the more time it took to get to the marketplace, and the more requirements, testing and qualifying the product had to go through to be accepted by the end-user, the more the Buyer fears that supplier closing its doors.  Generally speaking, Buyers will act more civil and go out of their way to make the supplier feel like a member of the team in order to continue receiving product.  Invoices are more likely to be paid on time and payment terms seem to be more flexible for supplier the Buyer wants to keep around.  In short, the more complex the product and the more time it takes between placing the order and receiving the item, the more the Buyer will lose sleep at night.  So take the advice of the Sales Professional I mentioned earlier: “If I knew what Buyers feared most, I could assure them upfront that they wouldn’t have these anxieties with me or my company, then I would do everything in my power to prove myself right.”  Assure the Buyer your company will be around for many years to come by sharing your corporate balance sheet.  Share your expected sales revenues.  Let them know how much business you have coming in that wil keep you in business.  Do this and the Buyer will go out of his way to keep your company as comfortable as possible. 

2.  Buyers fear not meeting project budget requirements.  When budgets aren’t met, expected corporate profit isn’t realized.  When that happens, management gets anger, heads roll and annual raises and/or bonuses don’t happen.  We all know the outcome of budgets not met, whether it’s at work or in our own personal lives.  In a previous Blog I stated the fact that concerning the “control” of costs, the Purchasing Department is the most significant area in a corporation.  That’s because generally speaking, two-thirds of the cost of goods sold are purchased items.  Buyers are financially responsible for protecting their company.  That is, by far, their number one priority!  Knowing that, you can understand why Buyers will do almost anything to keep your prices down and the budget at expected targets.  As a Sales Professional, you need to assure the Buyer that your price IS the best you can offer.  Prove it by showing the Buyer your cost and pricing data.  Prove it by assuring the Buyer you’ve gone back at your OWN sub-suppliers and have negotiated the best possible deal with them.  And if your price exceeds their budget, work with the Buyer in finding solutions to reduce or remove costs.  Point out areas where engineering, manufacturing or the end-users are needlessly excessive in their specifications and requirements that cause your pricing to skyrocket. 

3.  Buyers fear product arriving too late.  Buyers hate the concept of “Just-In-Time” deliveries! Just-in-time, or JIT, is a production approach that attempts to improve return on investment by reducing in-process inventory and associated carrying costs.  To do this, product arrives just when it’s needed or just when it’s to be consumed.  Inventory personnel loves JIT because it reduces inventory costs.  But Buyers hate and fear JIT because it relies on suppliers doing everything nearly perfect in order for parts to arrive in time.  And if the part is late and holds up the project or production, it’s usually the Buyer who gets blamed.  Buyers would prefer having a cushion.  So as a Sales Professional, let them know how your product can be completed within a reasonable amount of time BEFORE it’s needed.  Let them know how it can be readily available upon demand.  Prove it by showing the Buyer your own production and delivery schedules.  Then make certain your company adheres to those schedules per the quality measures agreed to. 

4.  Buyers fear not meeting corporate-mandated goals and management-mandated tasks.  It’s a good idea to ask the Buyer about his own specific mandated goals with management, as well as his company’s yearly goals.  Most likely the Purchasing department has yearly cost savings goals with specific strategies on how to achieve them.  As a Supplier, you may very well be directly associated with those goals.  Not reaching departmental and corporate goals and assignments will most certainly affect the Buyer’s performance evaluation . . . not to mention his eventual pay increase or bonus.  So ask the Buyer if he has any cost savings goals and strategies for the year and how your company can contribute to those strategies.  Remember that many Purchasing Departments have internal and external programs the corporation supports.  In some cases, the Buyer may have an active interest in these programs.  It’s in your own best interest to be aware of and involved in client-mandated programs.  Make certain you can answer any questions the Buyer may ask about your involvement.  Not knowing about these programs if you’re a first-time supplier is understandable.  Not showing involvement when you’re an existing, experienced supplier is inexcusable!  It’s important to have someone in your company be responsible for these types of programs, including cost savings, minority-supplier sourcing, etc.  Some programs may directly or indirectly affect your ability to secure a purchase order.  That’s because reaching goals in these mandated programs may influence the Buyer’s performance evaluation.  If that’s the case, you need to ask the Buyer about applicable programs and how to successfully participate in them. 

5.  Finally, Buyers fear not having enough time in the day to complete their responsibilities.  Due to their legal and financial responsibilities to the company, Buyer’s are busy people who don’t have time to waste.  And no matter how good their time management skills are, there isn’t enough time in the day to complete everything that needs to be accomplished.  In many client companies, the Buyer seems to be responsible for everything!  Everyone wants and needs time from the Buyer, including suppliers, senior management, finance, accounts payable, engineering, quality and production.  A Buyer’s time is very limited.  So how you as a Sales Professional conducts business in the limited time you have with a Buyer will ultimately affect your business relationship.  Assure the Buyer you understand their busy schedules and prove it through short, constructive meetings, through minimal interruptions, through professional communication skills, and through responsible, attentive and proactive behavior.