48 Hour Inventory Clearance (June 25 – June 26)
Owning your sales territory
Find the needs of local customers, educate them on the problem and offer solutions.
Today’s sales approach is vastly different from even a decade ago, but the method of owning your territory still remains the same. Home field advantage is held in high regard when it comes to sports. Teams fight and claw their way through the regular season to make sure that when it counts they’re playing in front of the home crowd. Similarly, in sales, winning over local customers has a definite edge over competition.
However, as local competition heats up, your sales game must also. There has been a significant increase in the amount of competition in the water industry as people begin to realize how important of a resource it is becoming.
“The residential water filtration industry is a unique market in that it is quite massive and yet, there is a substantial number of competitors — from both a manufacturer and dealer perspective,” says Kate Marcotte, marketing leader, 3M Purification Inc. Residential Water Filtration. “From one-man shops to global companies, the competitive landscape continues to proliferate. Increasing difficulty in navigating the water filtration space will continue driving the need to highlight competitive advantages and product differentiators to win and retain customers.”
The needs of the average household have also changed. Today, people are more focused on becoming environmentally friendly and staying within certain health standards. It is important that the hometown water dealer find the needs of its local customers, educate them on the problem and then show them what can be done to resolve the situation.
Knowing your area
The needs for water treatment, whether residential or commercial, are not going to be the same in Washington as they are in Illinois, for example. While some of the same issues may exist in both states, dealers must do research to identify the local trends. If you know what’s causing the most problems in your area, you’ll be able to advertise the essential messages that people are looking for instead of just making random sales pitches.
“In some areas, [as an example], people are looking for ways to treat chlorine and hard water without the use of traditional water softeners that use sodium chloride or potassium chloride because these types of systems have been banned in those areas,” notes Dan Jimenez of Santa Clarita Water Conditioning.
As a result, while people on the West Coast may be looking for a hard water solution, a recent report shows that residents in Florida are dealing with trihalomethanes. Staying abreast of the news and happenings in the water treatment industry will allow you to target areas that are in need of a solution that you may have in stock.
“The competitive edge varies drastically from dealer to dealer and even factors such as geography greatly impact how dealers can most effectively market themselves,” adds Marcotte.
Educating your customers
Your job is to sell a product or equipment, but it’s also important to make sure the customer is aware of what they’re buying. Educate them on the situation and what is needed to handle it in case it comes up again. This will not only save you the hassle of fixing something later, but will increase your standing in the community as a reputable source.
Jimenez asserts that supplying the greatest treatment package that will cure the problem, and doing so in a relatively affordable manner, is essential to gaining success in your territory.
“An interesting situation exists in this Information Age in that consumers feel they are informed and yet they often do not have the full story. In some cases, they are misinformed completely,” shares Marcotte. “While consumer awareness is without a doubt a necessity for industry growth, an informed consumer often means a more difficult sale for a water dealer. Salespeople must be more knowledgeable than ever and arm themselves with accurate data and information.”
Something almost everyone in any region is looking for today are ways to help the environment. Almost every dealer and business in the U.S. is looking for paths that will help our environment become more stable and customers want to build a better future for their kids and grandchildren by purchasing items that will have a positive impact on the environment.
“People are looking for maintenance-free water treatment systems that are environmentally friendly and cost effective,” adds Jimenez.
If you’re not already using this angle in your sales’ pitch, make it a priority to have it labeled on every product, ad and website. And don’t just say it, educate the customer on how it will have a positive impact and let them know what they’re buying.
How to reach your area
The biggest difference in sales today is how dealers reach out to customers. With social media and the Internet there are many different outlets that allow you to gain maximum exposure with minimal cost.
Even with so many opportunities to sell your brand, Marcotte says getting your name at the forefront is one of the hardest things to do. “It is the reason companies have entire teams dedicated to marketing and public relations. Building a brand — a recognizable brand — takes time, persistence and more time.”
She adds that many companies don’t have a huge marketing budget and aren’t able to flood their market with advertisements. That being the case, it makes it even more important that what money you do spend on advertising is directed to the right people. That comes with knowing your territory and the needs of your targeting audience.
Jimenez mentions websites, blogs, advertising in newspapers, directories, door hangers, direct mail and door knocking as potential avenues for advertising. Along with these you can include social media sites, such as Twitter and Facebook, email blasts and online advertising.
But, instead of just using these devices to draw attention to your name, use them as a way to gain an understanding of the needs of customers. Send out a survey to the area to find out what kind of problems people are dealing with. Ask them on Twitter and Facebook, which will cost you absolutely nothing, to gain a better understanding of what solutions are needed in your area.
Owning your sales territory is vital to the success of the company. Find out what the problems are, educate the customer on the issue and offer a treatment solution that’s best for them. Following these steps and portraying good customer service will spread the word around your hometown, giving you the home field advantage.
Author: Jake Mastroianni, Assistant Editor, Water Technology Magazine
Critical Sales Factors
What has the greatest impact on sales—is it low price, convenience, saving time or low environmental impact? What is going to get consumers’ attention and inspire them to spend their money? Any or all of the above factors impact sales; however, none are effective without proper presentation. Sales are often made because of a presentation.
An example is the presentation of a meal. The picture on a menu and the narrative or description by the wait staff influences what is ordered. The same is true when buying clothes. How the mannequin looks or how the clothes are coordinated on the shelf either entices people to stop and shop or carry on. The presentation of a home from a picture, writeup or view from the curb will motivate the prospective buyer to either want to see more or pass. Attention is captured, impressions are made and decisions are influenced by presentations.
Society has become conditioned to expect more than a stranger’s say-so, and will not believe an item is the greatest simply because the advertisement said so. People are ever more cautious, requiring evidence and endorsements before making a decision to buy. Additionally, the majority of people are tactile or visual learners; subsequently, it has become more important than ever that presentations are interactive, tangible and fast paced.
Consumer attention is captured and kept by those who do the best presentations. When presenting a concept, product or service, there are guidelines that should be considered. Although some of these are rather elementary, these points are often missed and deals are lost, particularly in water treatment sales.
Everything counts. Everything done, said, shown and implied
will either help or hinder sales. The presentation must be relevant to that particular customer’s specific desires and needs.
1. What is the objective? The objective is to help a family receive all the benefits of conditioned water. This is achieved by identifying what benefits a family wants and presenting those benefits to them. This is done one family at a time. The only customer you have is the one in front of you. The presentation is done for that family, not to that family. It’s all about them and for them.
2. Who is the prospect? To help customers get what they want, it is first necessary to know what they want. Discovery is an essential process to understanding how the customer makes buying decisions, what they do now to receive the benefits of conditioned water and how that is working for them. This is the pertinent information you will need to make the connection and relate with your customer.
3. Think it through. Plan the presentation from concept to completion, including the timing, setting, type of customers, visual aids, questions, follow-up answers, potential problems and the outcome. Planning and preparation are critical to success. Use and follow a well-planned presentation. As an example, having the customers wash their hands to compare the feel of conditioned water only works properly if you have a mini that works, the ability to hook up the mini to a tap and use real soap; furthermore, you need to be in a hard water market. You need to plan each section and segue from one section to another following a logical order.
4. Break it down. Presentation content should be broken down into specific segments or points and benefits relevant to that specific audience. Ask questions and confirm understanding or agreement after presenting each point or benefit throughout the presentation. If you are presenting water that smells better than their tap water, ask if they can smell the improvement in conditioned water. If you present a difference in taste, ask if they can taste how conditioned water would be a benefit. If you present the difference in how the water feels, ask if they can feel how conditioned water would be a benefit. These are small, clear and easy decisions for the customer to make. It is important to close or confirm one point before moving on to the next. This process opens, confirms and closes each point before segueing to the next point, which makes the summary obvious and clear.
5. Plant seeds. The subtle things you do not say or do are as powerful as the things you do. Consumers are informed and intelligent. They do not need to know everything you know about water. Nor do consumers need to be reminded of the many disparaging things they may have heard or seen in the media about tap water. Stick to the aesthetics and let the customer experience the benefits firsthand so they can make an informed decision based on the positive benefits presented.
6. Use visuals. Present or demonstrate facts, data and evidence using the senses that the customer can relate to and that will stir their emotions. Ask questions to gauge the customer’s understanding, agreement and experience. When presenting savings, demonstrate how they will save money with conditioned water and a drinking water system and, more importantly, demonstrate the savings for them, so their decision will be based on their experience from your interactive presentation. Then ask if they can see how conditioned water will save them money. Utilize tangibles and their senses.
7. Impressions. Consider the entire presentation—look the part, dress appropriately for the audience and come prepared. Visual aids such as a demonstration kit and flip book must all be professional. Everything said, done or brought is part of the presentation and either adds or diminishes credibility.
8. Practice and rehearse. Nothing makes perfect like practice. Once the presentation is laid out, practice presenting it. Practice the flow, emphasis and pauses. Practice the questions and answers. Practice how to use the test kit and each of the tests. Practicing and rehearsing creates quality and the opportunity to improve before anything is presented, when it counts. Know what to do, say, ask and when to be quiet from the beginning to the end of your presentation.
9. Why you and your company? Credibility is either earned or lost based on the knowledge, relevance and connection made with the customer. Demonstrating an understanding of the problem and experience in delivering a solution suited to the customer wins their attention and earns their business. Knowing the issues pertaining to the water in their particular market brings you closer to them and the whole point of the presentation is to help them make a decision that is right for them.
10. Outcome. Every good presentation follows a logical flow, identifying points and benefits relevant to the customer’s interest and wants, with a result. The objective is to provide the customer with knowledge and first-hand experience to help them make an informed decision best suited to their needs. Ask the customer if, based on their experience, this is the kind of water they would like to have.
A professional presentation such as a television commercial can tell a story with a call to action in 30 seconds. A live presentation should certainly be able to make a point in 10 minutes. A comprehensive presentation with multiple points such as an in-home sales presentation should be less than an hour, allowing the customer time to ask questions, make a decision and look after the paperwork. Keep it short, concise and to the point. As you can see, a great presentation is not an impromptu show, it is a tactical process.
In many cases, it is beneficial to have a “leave behind” for the customer so they have a reminder of the highlights or key benefit points of the presentation to refer to afterward. My preference is their copy of the sales agreement.
Finish the presentation with a summary of what was presented, highlighting the key benefits and points that were relevant and of particular interest to the customer. Confirm with the customer that these are the benefits they want and then help them get it.
By: Ric Harry
Water Quality Products Magazine