Sloppy Selling Sucks

Sloppy selling has always been a personal bug bear of mine. So many sales people think that "sending" the communication is all they have to do.

Newsflash: that's what we call marketing.

The sales process (and there's more than one step) actually involves doing more than sending an email and hoping for the best. That's just sloppy.

Last week I recieved just such an email, from a completely unknown person, at a (sort of) unknown company. It was, you could say, a "cold call" but of an electronic variety. I won't tell you what they wanted to sell, but I am (most definitely) in the market for buying their services. In fact, annually, I spend tens of thousands of pounds every year on the kind of service they offer.

The interesting thing about this email is that the company office is just three doors down the corridor from my office...... heck, I probably already know the sales person to say hello to - albeit from a watercooler (read: kitchen, coffee machine) type moment.

So I replied and said "Why not pop along the corridor and we'll talk."

And I'm still waiting.

Apparently 3 doors is a step too far.

Note to sales people: the objective of your first (introductory) contact, whether by phone or by email, should always be to get permission to move to the next stage. The second stage is your opportunity to sell.

Failing to follow up is just sloppy sales. And it sucks.

Every Little Helps..... The Bottom Line

I've been a bit too busy to blog recently. No excuses, work has been very busy recently and, in a recession (as they say), work is work.

But the news today, that inflation was falling, has compelled me to write. Even if it's just a little blog.

Stephanie Flanders, the BBC's economics editor, has today published her blog off the back of a "surprise" announcement that inflation has fallen, when it was largely expected to stay still.

Her article is a startling insight into the possible whys and hows this has come about.

Interestingly, however, she pins the most likely reason fairly firmly on the major supermarkets, both for the unexpected fall in inflation, and (in some respects) for partly causing the "squeeze" in the first place.

Graphs depict how wages (50% of the cost base in retail) have stayed relatively stagnant while food prices have risen sharply in 2008 & 2009. So where did all that extra money go?

Well, retailers margins we are led to believe. Or profit, to you and me.

And quite possibly the evidence is there:

Tesco announed pre-tax profits up 12.5% up in October 2010.
Sainsbury's announed pre-tax profits up 8.1% in November 2010.
Asda announced a leap in profits of 58% in October 2010.

Stephanie suggests consumers are starting to fight back, with over 40% of us now purchasing via discounted offers, as opposed to full price. And, if it's helping drive down inflation, I'm rather inclined to agree that as consumers we should be making a point of driving supermarket prices down.

It is a recession and every little helps, you know.

Free Estimates

Free Estimates.

This phrase has always intrigued me. Frequently seen adorning the side of labourer's vans: Free Estimates.

Is this really a unique selling point?

To be honest, if the best you can do is only "estimate" the price, and you're the professional, then surely I shouldn't be expected to pay for that?

Is there anyone out there who does charge, I wonder?

Is there Ever an Excuse for Poor Service?

Feedback on yesterday's blog post Trust Games has got me thinking: is there ever a legitimate excuse for poor service?

It intrigues me that more than one person (on and offline) has defended Tesco's "security led" approach, claiming it "makes sense" that they protect their store and their goods on offer from petty thieves and serial shoplifters. I don't deny that it does make sense.

My customer "experience", as one of the many millions of law abiding, big spending Tesco customers, however is continually tainted by this security led approach. The first person who greets me, for instance, in the Tesco store is the security guard.

It is possible, however, to run a major retail business with multiple lines and stock with good street value without making the customer feel like they are entering some sort of homogenous police state. Ask Marks & Spencer: they've been managing it for years. Anyone noticed Morrisons' security team? I haven't. How about Asda? Nope.

They are there in all three cases, but they are not "present" as part of the customer's retail experience.

So, back to my original questions - is there ever an excuse for poor quality service? Does the old trio of "Quality, Price, Service: Choose Two" still ring true? Or can we have all three?

I believe we can, and without much extra effort or cost. So how could Tesco improve?

Well, the changing rooms are easy: Pop a person on clothing to man the changing rooms - it's what all the other fashion retailers do.

The automated tills are easy too: weigh the customer's bag before they start packing. That way they are not trying to juggle car keys and their shopping at a set of tills that have clearly been designed by men who also haven't sussed that women carry handbags (that's a story for another day).

The CD cases, again, I think are easy: HMV seem to manage with a simple, unobtrusive, stick on alarmed bar code sticker.

So when it comes to quality, service and price, I want all three.

And I don't think security is a valid excuse for not delivering on them.

Trust Games

I'm going to pick on Tesco. I know it might be an easy target.


Not unlike many British people, I spend a lot of money in Tesco. In fact, taking groceries, petrol and clothing all into consideration, my average monthly spend probably hovers in the region of £500 (or, for arguments sake lets call it £6000 per annum).


Now, if I was spending six grand on a business purchase, I'd have certain expectations. I'd expect quality. I'd expect good service. I'd expect there to be a level of trust between me and the supplier.


Tesco seems to take a different approach.


Want to try on clothes? You need to ring for an assistant to unlock the changing room first.


Want to go through the self service checkout? God forbid you have anything in your own canvas shopper apart from fresh air.


Want to buy a £3 DVD? Make sure it gets taken out of its security box at the checkout first.


Perhaps I'm missing something, but if you spent £500 a month with your local Prada store (not that £500 would go terribly further than a couple of pairs of shoes and maybe a scarf), they'd be serving you with champers upon your arrival every month, and waiting on you hand and foot.


So. Every little helps? I'm not so sure.


Very little helps. Perhaps.

Why Advertising Sales Reps could Learn from Online Dating Sites

I'm one of those lucky people who receive regular (by which I mean several calls a day) from a variety of advertising sales reps.


This is, in essence, a good thing for my business. I buy a lot of media so it makes sense that I know about opportunities and the various different media that are out there.


It is interesting to me, however, that many people who work in advertising "sales" have a lot to learn about how to sell. And there are a few lessons they could probably take on board from some of the leading online dating sites.


The first one is to know what your target is. Boys or girls? Agency or client? If you have no idea who you're selling to, how on earth are you going to appeal to them? This may actually involve looking at their "profile" or, in my case, the company website.


The second is knowing what you have to offer to the other party. Good sense of humour? Loving and caring? If you want someone to care about you (or your product) you need to know how it's going to benefit THEM, not you.


The third is knowing that you ain't going to do it on a first date. To be honest we've barely even got to know each other at this stage. If you want me to spend £500 over the phone, without having even seen (or in some cases heard of) your publication, it would be fair to say you're not all that trustworthy and you're likely to run out on me at first light, taking my money and never calling me again. Heck, in some cases I'll be lucky if you even remember my name.


The best advertising sales people build relationships. It's a bit old fashioned, but I'm an old fashioned girl and I like to be romanced.


You just can't do that over the phone.


When it comes to media, I am ultimately looking for the perfect match.com.

I'm Just the Messenger

It only takes a couple of minutes to fully ruin someone's night. And watching it happen can be just as upsetting.


That's what I discovered last night on a trip to the theatre.


We arrived early. Time for a pre-theatre drink and a natter.


But within seconds of arriving in the bar, we knew something was amiss. Staff were thin on the ground, those that were there were playing an admirable game of avoiding eye contact (you know: when they deliberately look everywhere, appear alert, but yet somehow never manage to scan the room in your direction?).


And then it happened. They arrived.


At first they waited to be noticed. And waited. And waited.


Then there was the kerfuffle with whether they had booked or not. We know there was a kerfuffle because we heard the manager ask the waiter loudly, and in a tone of voice that could only be regarded as irritated, "Have they booked?"


And it would appear they had.


So they were kept waiting. And waiting.


Then the manager announced (again loudly enough for us to hear, and therefore their waiting guests) that they "were late".


The unfortunate waiter was despatched to deliver the news to the couple.


They weren't happy. But they didn't go away (as I suspect had been hoped) but waited to be seated. And waited. So the waiter deferred to the manager to "have a word" with them.


The manager, possibly understanding the difficulty of the situation, left the room. And the couple waited. And waited.


After a while, the manager came back and explained to them, forcefully, that they were late. That they couldn't have their dinner (note this is 50 minutes before the performance begins) and that she was "just the messenger".


And I wondered: who's in charge here anyway?


Have restaurants lost the ability to feed people in a 50 minute window?


After being reluctantly seated, and pushed to hurry their order (and yes, I was now watching proceedings with great attention). The couple got up and walked out.


With a flourish they stood up, whipped on their coats and loudly dragged their chairs back.


Regrettably. The manager didn't seem to care.


The couple's night was undoubtedly ruined. But more so the theatre restaurant's reputation.


We were, as you can imagine, not the only witnesses.


So, in future, if you're "just the messenger", make sure you know what message you're sending. And to whom.