Fall 2012 - Trailcon

SALES AND
SOCIALIZING
DON’T MIX
....continued from the cover
Mark Gallant, director of transportation,
Home Depot Canada; Michael Buna, transportation
innovation manager, Walmart
Canada Corp.; Don Smith, fleet equipment
manager, Canada Cartage Limited Partnership;
Lance Norman, vice-president,
APPS Transport Group; Daryl Clancy, vicepresident
of sales, Challenger Motor Freight;
and Alan Boughton, president of Trailcon
Leasing Inc., will participate in the session,
titled “How the sales game has changed.”
“In the old days, everything was face
to face,” recalls Boughton. “You didn’t have
cell phones or the Internet. Now our sales
teams are more about RFQs, RFPs, online
bidding, e-mails, and other means of electronic
information exchange, so face-to-face
meetings are less frequent, but become
more important.”
The Internet has had a tremendous impact
on how sales are conducted, agrees
Gallant. “We used to put out a bid package
in a manual way,” he says. “We’d get the word
out through many different channels, and
process it somewhat manually on a desk.
Now, with the Internet, there is a great ability
to standardize the process of putting out a
bid.” That has not only sped up cycle times
dramatically, but also allows the customer
to compare the fundamentals of the various
bids more easily, he notes. It has increased
transparency for suppliers as well. “It’s not
just word of mouth, and ‘do you know three
suppliers’ anymore; it’s easier to cast the net
out and get the right sample of suppliers.”
For their part, salespeople can use the
Internet to research prospective customers.
“The Internet has helped educate everyone,”
says Smith. “People who were scared to ask
questions before because they didn’t know
can now easily learn on the Internet on their
own if they care to invest the time.”
After all, customers demand much more
of salespeople today. “There is a much
higher expectation of the quality and value
“Before, you may have dealt with a department
that had four people, and it now has one or
two. Therefore, you have less face time, and
some of the people you are dealing with are
jacks of all trade.” — Alan Boughton, President, Trailcon Leasing Inc.
behind the sale,” says Gallant. “There needs
to be a very clear path to value and not just
a path to a sale. It’s more than a glossy
brochure, and it’s more than a cold call.
There needs to be some thoughtfulness behind
it. And of course, it has to be legitimate.
You wouldn’t be selling fish to somebody
who doesn’t eat fish.”
Fortunately, salespeople have kept pace
with this evolution, adds Gallant. “It’s a
change in expectations, but I believe it’s
been met with a proper change in the industry
where the sales are higher quality.”
The recent poor economy has brought the
need for informed salespeople into even
sharper focus. “People are doing more with
less,” says Boughton. “Before, you may have
dealt with a department that had four
people, and it now has one or two. Therefore,
you have less face time, and some of the people
you are dealing with are jacks of all trade.”
And that means that the sales staff also must
wear different hats and be more knowledgeable
about all aspects of the process. Otherwise,
the customer is more likely to base his
or her decision solely on price.
That tendency is a continuing challenge
for suppliers. “The economic crisis has created
an industry of people scared to make
long-term commitments,” says Smith. Many,
he argues, are concerned only with shortterm
profit, rather than long-term success.
“The cheapest supplier tends to get the business.
It may win you the business, but will it
help you get a contract extension” he asks.
Boughton agrees. “Changes in personnel
and business decisions driven by the lowestcost
mentality have forced a dramatic shift
in the manner in which companies represent
and deliver their products and services.
I have found it much easier to sell a superior
service, as no amount of lunches or golf
games could ever overcome poor service or
inferior trailer quality.”
4 REPORT on TRANSPORTATION