06.25.09

The Devil is in the Details

Posted in The Devil is in the Details at 3:32 pm by Administrator

A few days ago I had the opportunity to witness a meeting between a distributor sales rep and a commercial flooring contractor. The purpose of the meeting was to address pricing inconsistencies and project quotes. With confidence the rep explained that his company had reevaluated their pricing structure and the commercial flooring contractor would benefit from the changes. He excitedly showed the new pricing only to find that it was higher than the old price list. Oops! Back to first base, no one was impressed… and he blamed corporate.

One of my great sales & marketing mentors always told me “the devil is in the details.” Whether you are a sales representative or executive management, failing to give adequate attention to the details can doom a product launch, a sales meeting or any other business activity designed to drive sales. Some companies spend time continually frustrated by lack of sales and try to beat the sales force into selling more product without taking the time to honestly evaluate the details of the product, pricing, marketing, inventory and their overall market strategy. Here are a few ideas that can improve sales, morale and focus.
· Survey customers regarding specific products or issues. This only works if the company is serious about using the information to make the necessary changes.
· Survey inside and outside sales regarding specific products or issues. Make the survey anonymous so they can give honest evaluations. If positive changes can be made, let the employees know that what they suggested was acted upon.
· Only launch a product or promotion when every detail is in place. “Soft launching” a new product because the inventory is not available leads to frustrated dealers and sales reps and usually the product has to be re-launched at some future date.

The devil is in the details but the good news is that when every “I” is dotted and every “T” is crossed everyone can sell aggressively and with confidence all of the time.

May you and your family have a blessed and Happy 4th.

Brian Boek