Daily Dose of Sultnpapper 10/24/18> Adding Value is part of the equation
Now in the last week...
As I am now in the last week of employment in my current position I have been assessing just what opportunities have presented thus far for my future employment. I have also looked at what exactly I believe has made me successful in sales and it really boils down to adding value.
One thing that...
One thing that gets confused a lot in sales is the words associated in the process and a lot of the time when people purchase things the main focus is on what is the “price” that you will pay for the item being purchased. Two similar items that do the same thing and priced exactly the same very often don’t have the same cost to the person making the purchase when value is considered.
The price paid...
The price paid at the time of the purchase is exactly that; price. The true “cost” can only be determined by how much usage or service that you will get from that over the time of its use. Tools are a good example of this and so I’ll use drill bits as an example.
Drill bit A...
If you need to drill a hole in piece of steel 1/4” in diameter and you have 50 pieces of steel you need to do this to then cost is as important as the price. Drill bit “A” is priced at $10.00 and will do all 50 holes without having any problems and needing to be sharpened so the cost per hole drilled is $0.20 per hole.
Drill bit B...
Drill bit “B” is also priced at $10.00 and it too will do all 50 holes but unlike “A” it needed to be sharpened half way thru the job. The time your employee had to spend sharpening the drill bit has now added cost to the process, he is a $20 an hour employee and it took him 15 minutes to sharpen the drill bit to his liking and so now that has added $5.00 in additional cost to this 50 piece job. So when you do the math $10 + $5 = $15 and divide that by the 50 holes drilled you come up $0.30 per hole.
A real cost difference...
So even though drill bit A and B were the exact same price of $10 when they were purchased they ended up having a real cost difference of 33% when put to use. Drill bit B was more expensive to use and drill bit A was the better value.
My years of...
My years of knowledge and experience bring value to customers that purchase products I sell and it made feel really good on Tuesday when I was talking with an irrigation controller manufacturer who recognized this.
I have been reaching out to people I know in the industry to let them know that my employment situation is changing and to give them my private contact information so we don’t end up losing contact with each other.
I was very successful...
This particular company on Tuesday that I spoke with I have known since the mid 90’s when they started up and I embraced the technology they were using and I was very successful selling their products through the distributorship I was selling for at the time.
This company knows me...
This company and the two owners of it know me well. And we have remained friends over the years despite being competitors for the last eleven years. They also know that even though I was no longer selling their product I continued to make sure that customers I had sold the product to were being taken care of. Those projects have had years of dependable service from their equipment along with my continued support. I never made a dime off of helping those former customers but it isn’t always about the money, it is about doing the right thing.
An offer...
On that call the owner told me that I should start my own manufacturer’s rep agency and to get me started he would give me their line of equipment to sell.
I explained to him that wasn’t in the position to start my own firm right now. I did tell him though that I was negotiating with a rep agency and that it looks promising. I also told him that the agency doesn’t have a competing line to his products so I asked him if that offer of representing his products could carry with me if I went to work with this company, his answer was, “absolutely”.
Earlier in the day...
The even better part was earlier in the day I was talking with one of the two partners of the firm that I looking to go to work with and in that conversation he said.”Having you on board with us may just open up some avenues with other lines we would like to get.”
I sent him and his partner an email Tuesday evening telling them about my conversation with the controller company from earlier on Tuesday afternoon. It took less than ten minutes to get an email response back from the partner that I had conversed with earlier in the day.
The response back...
“Wow. When I mentioned earlier today about possible other lines we might be able to pick up that company was exactly one I had in mind.” So later today he and his partner and I will have a call to discuss this along with some other things we are still trying to work through.
It is a good...
It is a good feeling when people recognize the value that you bring to the table; you might say that I could be considered as drill bit “A”.
Until next time,
@sultnpapper
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A great post and I do believe a knowledgeable sales person will do a far better job that a skilled salesman, I can detect a sales pitch a mile off, but someone who gives good honest advise i will trust and buy from
Yes, young sales pitch men are really fun to jack with, you interrupt their memorized sales pitch and they get lost real quickly. Skilled guys are a little tougher to crack but even the right questions can throw them for a loop.
Ohh yes, I have to admit my warped sense of humour loves putting salesman that clearly and doing a pitch into a loop
I was just thinking, it's a good thing you are not in the UK or the EU because that 'value added tax' might just bite you on the butt.
This is all sounding pretty exciting actually. Sounds like you got more than one firm that is interested in your services. You and I both know that the only thing better than a retail sale is a good auction. You might be the next item up for bids... (I know you have a preferred place and I'm not suggesting a thing. Just that it's a nice fantasy to have two or three bidding for your services :) )
Seriously. It's a testimony to you that your former competitors are pursuing you. There's a whole bunch of character assessment in a very few words there...
Only one more thing. Are you going to dress as the Grinch for Halloween?
I make a good Grinch I'll have you know, in fact the girls bought me a shirt a few years ago for Christmas that said, "Yes, I am... "on the front and on the back was a picture of the Grinch.
Right now it is only one rep firm that is "interested"; that controller manufacturer is offering the product line for me to rep and I can take it if I want on my own, but they agreed that if I went with an existing rep firm they would sign that firm to rep their controllers so that really is big, since the rep firm already had their eye on trying to land that manufacturer, so my phone call timing could not have been any better.
The manufacturer told me he had a factory sales position open in Florida if I wanted it, but I am not interested in living in Florida. He also told me they have a position up in the New England area and we both busted out laughing at me taking that spot.
Having this offer of the product line in my pocket is huge though, because there are other rep firms that I could use that as leverage with if I wanted to play that game, but I don't want to go down that road. These guys with whom I am negotiating with right now are good quality people with an outstanding reputation and it feels like the right place for me to be.
I have known the one partner over twenty years and the other for over fifteen so it isn't like we don't know each other pretty well.
You're so right about price being different from cost. I think our world would be a better place if more folks really understood this, I didn't until I was in my thirties. I started paying a little more for things but those things ended up lasting five times as long. Redwing boots are a great example of that. You'll pay $300 a pair for them, yes, but they'll last decades if you care for them properly. I'm glad people are recognizing your value, your years of hard work and integrity are paying dividends now.
There surely is a difference and you are right too, most people struggle to get it on price and cost.
Red Wing boots are great example of quality that lasts, ask any iron worker or construction worker and they will tell you for sure.
Things are starting to take shape on the employment scene but it isn't a done deal yet, I have a phone call in an hour with the owners of the rep firm, we are still working on the deal. Health insurance right now is the next hurdle we need to get figured out. But progress is being made and I am fairly certain I will end up going to work with them.
Thanks for your continued support of the Daily Dose, very much appreciated.
Love this post! It adds tons of value! haha too corny to say?
No, honestly, thanks for sharing your sales expertise. I really enjoy learning things like this.
No, that is not too corny to say. Other things like warranty and such also add value so all those things need to be taken into consideration as well when looking at purchasing things. We as a society have become used to stuff not lasting, we have gotten where we even discard good working items for the newer models like phones and computers and it really is a shame. Cost and price though are often confused.
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haha! sir sultnpapper! drill bit A, I agree. great post, I'm so glad it is looking good for you!
Thanks @janton. Over at #steemibloggers, where are you putting most of your stuff? What catagory? I keep looking and can't find your stuff.
sir sultnpapper! Oh I've never put anything over there but then I never read the rules either, are we supposed to put daily post links somewhere?