Masonry Magazine July 1971 Page. 23
SMOOTH SELLING
by George N. Kahn, Marketing Consultant
RESEARCH BEFORE YOU SELL
Fred Mayerson, who handled an exclusive women's apparel line, could not convince a certain department store to buy his resort clothing line.
"This is a small town," the buyer argued. "Our customers don't go to places where they need fashionable play attire."
So Fred got his usual order on staple items, thanked the buyer and said goodbye. But he didn't leave town right away.
For the next three days he prowled around the local newspaper office and visited the only two travel agencies in the community.
Fred then returned to the department store buyer.
"I have some news for you," he told that individual. "Last year more than 300 women in this town took their vacations in such places as Florida, the Bahamas, Jamaica and Puerto Rico."
What Fred had done was quite simple. He searched the social columns of the newspaper for vacation tidbits. From the travel agencies he acquired still more information about the leisure habits of local citizens.
He had found that a good potential market for resort wear was being missed by the department store. The women were probably buying this type of clothing elsewhere, perhaps at the resorts where they paid more.
This was startling to the buyer and he said so. He also gave Fred a modest but encouraging order for vacation apparel. The order increased substantially in the following years as the store enjoyed phenomenal success with the line.
Research Pays Off
The point of this story is to show you that research pays off. Often an alert salesman can uncover a market for a prospect by diligently exploring the possibilities for consumer use of the product.
Many buyers are very conservative until they see the light. It's up to you to turn it on for them. A prospect may not realize there are people clamoring to buy your merchandise if given the opportunity.
A pet food salesman, for example, may discover how many dog owners there are in a community simply by checking with city hall. This news would be of great interest to supermarket operators and grocers.
Brand Research
The salesman has a responsibility to know as much as possible about both his own and the competition's product. This requires research also. In some cases, the company will have this data for its salesmen.
But in many instances you will have to collect this information yourself. If, for example, you are a linen salesman, you should know the strong and weak points of both your and your competitor's product. Prospects also are interested in such points as stitching, durability, absorbency and origin of the raw material. You should also know how the product is made.
Or supposing you sell tea and coffee. You should be aware of how your product is processed and manufactured, how it differs from competitors products and how it rates with consumers throughout the country.
An insurance salesman must know the benefits of his plan from A to Z, plus its advantages over other plans. All this involves research. The more research you do the better chance you have of making sales and getting repeat orders. Sometimes the digging for these facts is tedious and the urge to chuck the task for the golf course is tempting. But if you ignore this temptation and concentrate on your work, you will have a great deal more time for golfing and other recreation in future years.
Salesman vs. Company Research
It's a well-known fact that many business and industrial firms carry on their own research. These are expensive projects which attempt to determine attitude, image dimensions and buying habits. In many instances the data is available to the salesman in one form or another.
If such material is furnished to you, by all means use it. There may be valuable information which can increase your volume.
However, there is no need to feel left out of the research picture if your outfit doesn't have such data. Actually, you may be in a better position to make a consumer study than your company. As a salesman, you are on the firing line: You are in an ideal spot to learn the needs, desires and dissatisfactions of the buying public. In fact, people will probably be more responsive to a salesman asking questions than to a professional pollster.
Bob Murray, a housewares salesman, spends a few hours in supermarkets each month, talking to women about their preferences and complaints in connection with these items.
"You'd be surprised how readily they'll talk," Bob said. "And the women seemed even more eager to tell me their likes and dislikes when they learned that I sold the products. They felt they had a direct line to the manufacturer and they did."
Finding Time
In the first place, let me emphasize that I don't expect a salesman to undertake large scale research projects ordinarily handled by a team of experts and workers.
But the salesman does have time for limited research that can help him make sales. In fact, he should consider this kind of research as a part of his selling.
Much of this digging can be done by phone. A diligent salesman can obtain a large amount of information from newspaper and other standard sources. Sometimes it's wise to take out a day to check out facts that can mean a big order. One salesman once devoted three days to finding out how many boys and girls in a certain community planned to start college in the fall. Then, armed with the figures, he was able to sell an appliance store a large number of table radios and portable hi-fi record players. How come? College students are among the best customers for this equipment.
Are you taking advantage of research opportunities? A "yes" answer to at least seven questions indicates you are.
1. Do you believe in the importance of research?
Yes No
2. Have your researched your own product?
Yes No
3. Have you researched the competitor's product?
Yes No
4. Do you conduct research that will be of interest and benefit to prospects and customers?
Yes No
5. Do you take advantage of research conducted by your company? Yes No
6. Do you enlist the aid of your company office in doing research? Yes No
7. Do you try to contact your customers for attitudes and buying habits? Yes
No
8. Do you allot time for research?
Yes No
9. Do you explore consumer use of the product?
Yes No
10. Have you gained by research?
Yes No
1. The Salesman is a V.I.P.
2. Are You A Salesman?
3. Get Acquainted With
Your Company
4. You're On Stage
5. You Can't Fire Without
Ammunition
6. You Are A Goodwill
Salesman, Too
7. Closing The Sale
8. How To Set Up An Interview
9. Resting Between Hounds
10. The Competition
11. Taking A Risk
12. Playing The Short Game
13. Selling An Idea
14. Buying Committees Are
Here To Stay
15. The Automated Salesman
16. Samples Can't Talk
17. The Unexpected Letter
18. Prospect or Perish
19. How To Dislodge A
Prospect From An
Existing Supplier
20. Making Salesmen of
Customers
21. Repeat Orders Are Not
Accidental
22. Room At The Top
23. You Must Give More To
Get More
24. Running Into The Rude
Buyer