How to Get Your Resume Noticed

April 13th, 2011

     If you have been on the job hunt lately, you have undoubtly noticed it is more challenging than ever to even get an interview.  The overwhelming large pool of job seekers has contributed to this problem, but so has the multitude of ways people can find job postings and easily submit their resume to potential employers.  When was the last time you applied for a job in the comfort of your own home, during odd hours, and wearing your pajamas!  Employers are quickly overwhelmed with hundreds, if not thousands of applicants, within a few hours of posting an open position.  They cannot interview all the candidates.  So how do they select who to call for interviews?

     The employer knows the skill set that they require for a candidate to be able to perform the job, what personality traits fit well with the company, how much experience they require, and have some type of profile of the type of individual who has the  best chance to be successful in the job.  With all this in mind, they peruse through the vast resumes selecting the ones that fit the criteria and that stand out.  How can you best position yourself to be one of the resumes that doesn’t get met with the delete button?

     The first thing is never just send a resume attachment.  Either in the email body, type a cover letter or have one attached.  In the email is better (one less attachment to open.)  This cover letter needs to be properly addressed to the particular employer and not a generic letter you send to everyone.  It needs to be customized for each position you are seeking and used to point out why you are the perfect candidate for this position.  Pay close attention to the job posting and what the employer is seeking and use this information to know where to focus.  For example, if the employer in the ad says that they are looking for someone with experience managing other employees, be sure to briefly explain how you fit that requirement.  The cover letter should not be more than 3 paragraphs.  It should not serve as your resume, just a brief advertisment to your more detailed resume.

     Job seekers should also have more than one resume.  Too generic of a resume does not usually help your cause.  Also, don’t send a resume to an employer that tells them you are seeking a job for outside sales if you are applying for a human resources manager.  Perhaps you have the skill set to be a human resources manager, but you have been employed in sales for the last 5 years, so your resume focuses on that experience.  It may help you for sales positions, but it certainly won’t help you get an interview for the HR position.  Try to develop a resume for each different category of jobs for which you are wishing to apply.  You should focus on highlighting  only the experience, skills, education, and examples that best fit each type of position.   There is nothing wrong with omitting certain jobs you held that have no relevance.  If a question arises about time gaps, that can be answered in the personal interview.  It is my personal belief that a resume should talk more about your experience and skills than serve as a list of employers and educational institutions.

     Here are some more eye-opening suggestions that may help some of you who have struggled to get the interview.  Be careful about listing dates that can make it really easy for the employer to figure out your age.  If you believe that your age has more to do with your difficulty in finding a job, leave off the dates you attended your high school and university.  Don’t list every job you have held since college.  List what is relevant in highlighting you for THIS JOB and leave out the rest.  If you have been jumping from job to job or had a few that didn’t work out and you left after a very short period of time, leave it out of the resume.  If questions arise, they can be answered in a personal interview.  Remember, getting the interview is the goal.  Another suggestion is to focus more on giving examples of your successes in the resume over a listing of jobs.  For example, if you are very skilled at helping people through a crisis situation and this may be something that is important to this particular job, give a brief example of a situation where you were faced with this problem and how you resolved it.   Do this type of thing for all the aspects of your personality, experience, skills, etc. for which you have a good measureable example.

Here is an example:

SELECTED ACHIEVEMENTS

EXPANDED a small territory with $75,000 annual sales by establishing strong business relationships with over 500 customers.  RESULTS:  Annual sales of $2.5 million which were 19.4% over the goal assigned in 2010.

     You have to consider a resume full of examples similar to this highlighting your accomplishments is different than most of the resumes they are receiving and it will be more likely to help an employer see you as a top candidate for the job.  Good luck with the job search.  I will soon add another blog about the interview itself.

Kim Lawrence aka “The Tapelady”

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Accounts Receivable and Collecting Money

March 18th, 2010

A few days ago I was having a conversation with someone about what other career path I would pursue if I sold my business or suddenly found myself in need of a job.  I thought about what other skills, besides sales, that I have developed after running my own business for the last 11 years and came up with accounts receivable manager.

This idea would surprise many, including myself, because I disliked getting involved in money matters when I was in sales.  I distinctly remember being instructed by a professor in college that taught a salesmanship class that sales people should not be involved in collections.  Whenever my bosses would ask me to talk to a customer about past due invoices, I would say that they shouldn’t put me in that position.  Their response was that there wasn’t anyone who had a better relationship with that customer than me, so I needed to ask for my contact’s help in getting paid.  They were right in that – I had to admit.  Much of the time, when I inquired with the customer about the problem, I was told that the person doing collections for my employer was rude or something along those lines.  The solution often involved me promising the accounts payable person that I would personally handle any collection questions in the future.  In doing this, I quickly learned that the accounts payable person was just as important to get to know and build a relationship with as the buyer.  As a salesperson, you would never think to be rude, insensitive, or overbearing to your buyer for fear of losing their business, so why would you treat the person who signs the check any differently?  Ever heard the saying, “You attract more flies with honey instead of vinegar.”?

When I started my own business, I kept that same philosophy when it came to collections.  I decided to be cautious going in and check credit references on new accounts that wish to pay on terms.  If the references indicated issues, I would approach giving credit with caution – sometimes telling the customer that I could not give them terms at this time.  C.O.D. or credit card would be accepted.  I felt that extending too much credit to a risky client wasn’t a risk I was willing to take – especially early on when cash flow was so critical.

I decided that my “policy” for collections would begin when a customer was two weeks late with a payment.  I would give the A/P person a call to inquire about the status of payment on the invoice and to make sure as to whether there might be any issues with the invoice.  This phone call is always curtious and professional.  Based on what I was told, I would follow up again if the check had not arrived within a few days of when they promised to send it.  If an invoice went more than 30 days past it’s due date, I would be sure to point out that fact and ask for the A/P person’s help in getting the matter resolved.  This would continue until it was either paid or the invoice reached 60 days past its due date.  The phone calls would be made about once a week.  I rarely have a collection situation go this long. (Maybe 2-3 a year.)

I listen and pay attention to what the A/P person says as to the reasons for late payment.  Since I am a low risk taker, when I hear comments about how bad business is or that there are financial problems, I often make the decision to cut off credit to that customer or at least reduce the credit limit.  I also weigh in how often and how long I have had to work hard to collect payment.  There are some people that just pay a little slow all the time every time.  When the pattern breaks for the worse, I see that as a red flag.  I recommend you use your own judgement about what is acceptable and workable for you.  Larger companies with loads of cash may be less concerned about allowing companies to stretch them out as compared to a small business with a tighter cash flow.

When a past due total reached the 90 day point, I moved to written correspondence.  I would send a certified letter to the accounts payable person and the registered agent for the company (a registered agent is the person that is listed as the principle of the corporation or LLC with the Secretary of State in your state, which is public information) detailing the past due invoices and set a deadline for payment.  I would attach copies of the invoice, signed delivery receipt, and customer statement.  I recommend at least a two week time frame for the deadline.  Since most of my invoice amounts are lower than the allowed amount eligible for small claims court in my state, I indicate that if payment is not received by the deadline, I may be forced to file a claim in court.  You don’t want to be rude or too threatening here.  You still want to encourage them to help you resolve the matter without having to go to that extreme.

If I still did not receive payment by the deadline, I would go online to the Small Claims Court in my district and print out a claim form.  I fill it out and attach copies of all the documents and take it to the JP office.  There is a fee to pay for filing the claim and to have the registered agent served.  It varies from county to county, but should always be way less than the cost of an attorney.  Usually within a week, the customer is served a notice by a constable.  This action may seem pretty serious to some, but it has been extremely effective for me when I have been forced to do so.  It is rare.  I think in 11 years I have filed a claim no more than 4 times.  Most people will pay you before it gets that far.  I can tell you that I have never had to appear in court.  Once a Justice of the Peace gets involved and requests a response from the defendent, the customer will pay you.  In all 4 cases, I was paid in full by the customer and settled the case before the court date.

It is my experience that most accounts payable managers will instruct their personnel to stretch where they can.  I am often surprised when I learn that a company lets their customers pay in 2-3 months and be okay with it.  I am less surprised when they then have financial pressures of their own.  There is another old saying, “The squeaky wheel gets the grease.”  If you don’t make an effort to collect money when it is past due, it will become a problem for you later on.  Writing off bad debt is not a tax deduction I wish to take yearly.  Do you?

Kim Lawrence (aka The Tapelady)

www.tapesolutionsinc.com

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The 80/20 Rule Debate

March 17th, 2010

In business school, I learned about the 80/20 rule.  For those of you who don’t know, an economist named Pareto wrote a principle referred to as “the law of the vital few”.  It states, “For many events, roughly 80% of the effects come from 20% of the causes”.  This principle is often used in all aspects of life from mathematics to personal growth.  In business, it often means that 80% of your revenues come from 20% of your customers.

It has been my experience that a salesperson or a company’s sales effort should give much attention to their top 20% customers.  You should definitely know who they are and devote the necessary time to learn about their business and build a relationship with them.  They should never doubt how much you value their business and that your door is always open to them.

However, I do not believe that a salesperson or company should “put all their eggs in one basket”.  I have seen too many businesses fail because they counted on one or few BIG customers to keep their business successful.  When something happened to that “BIG” customer or they lost the business to the competition, they saw a pretty sudden death.  The economy in the United States is mostly driven by small business and not BIG corporate America.  I hate to think what it would be like to have to depend solely upon corporate America to take care of my needs both personally and professionally.  I would probably spend 80% of my day holding on the telephone or trying to figure out which are the right buttons to push to reach who or what I need!

The smaller customers are important, too.  You never know when a company that is small today may be BIG tomorrow.  If you wish to grow your business, you will need to pay attention to the other 80%, as well.  One thing to remember is that your competition is seeking to do business with Mr. BIG, too.  You won’t win them all.  You won’t always keep them all.  If all businesses cared only for the Mr. BIG’s out there, the small guy would never be able to be competitive enough to become BIG someday.

About 5 years ago, one of my key manufacturers made the decision to cater their efforts solely to their biggest distributors.  They were only going to offer their “best pricing” to the Mr. BIG’s.  My business was still very young at this point, and I was not a Ms. BIG, so I was told that my pricing was going to change.  When I received my new price lists, this manufacturer had raised my cost on many tapes by as much as 65%!  Obviously, I argued with them about the unfairness of it all, but it landed on deaf ears.  Fortunately for me, I didn’t put all my eggs in one basket, so I set out to replace every product that I bought from the manufacturer with another one who would be happy to earn my business.  I was successful in doing so and the customers approved the changes.  This move resulted in that greedy manufacturer receiving no business from me for over three years.  It took about that long for them to figure out that this decision to cater to only the Mr. BIG’s wasn’t working out the way they had hoped.  They came back to me wanting to know what they needed to do to get me to represent them again.  I gave them a list of my demands and they met them!  The crazy thing is that just a couple of months ago, I was notified by this same company that they were going back to only offering their best pricing to the Mr. BIG’s again!  How soon we forget!

When a customer makes a comment to me like, “I know this is not a big order”, or “I know I’m not one of your biggest customers, but …”, I tell them that all my customers are important to me – BIG or small.  I appreciate it when my vendors offer great service and effort to me – even if I am one of their BIG customers or not.  Well, I guess I need to start shopping for a new tape line again…. gotta go!

Kim Lawrence (aka The Tapelady)             Tape Solutions, Inc. www.tapesolutionsinc.com

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Three Reasons To Let a Customer Go

March 8th, 2010

Is there ever a legitimate reason to tell a customer you cannot help them?  The answer is YES!  As a business owner and career-long salesperson, I never like to be put in a position to decline business, but there are at least three very good reasons to let a customer go elsewhere.

1.  Bad credit risk.  Unless you are in the business of finance, extending terms that are beyond your comfort zone are generally not a good idea.  Allowing customers to pay you a month or more late has to be hurting your cash flow and setting your company at a higher risk of increasing your bad debt expenses each year.  If you allow terms on your invoices, don’t be afraid to be active in collections when a customer is late paying you.  Listen to what the reasons are that accounts payable tell you as to why they are paying beyond terms.  If you hear statements like, “We are really scrapped for cash right now, so we are paying all vendors at 90 days instead of 30.”, it may be time to cut that customer’s credit limit down to zero.  It may mean they will stop buying from you, but would you rather risk never getting paid?  Are you so desperate for their business that you will allow them to set their own terms?

2.  Difficult customer.  This is a reason that really involves much thought before I would take action on it, but sometimes it is the smarter thing to do.  If a customer is extremely difficult to please and you have exhausted every possible solution, telling them you cannot help them may be the best thing to do for a couple of reasons.  They could be putting out bad feedback about your company that may not be true which could harm your reputation.  With so much activity in social media these days, it doesn’t take much effort for someone to spread a bad word and it get around.  Another reason would be because your return on investment is zero or less because of the expense of the effort made to please the customer.  At some point, you just have to cut your losses and run.

3.  Set them free to test the waters elsewhere.   I know some of you are looking at me crosseyed on this one, but hear me out.  Even if you have done everything you can to bring value and loyalty to a customer, sometimes they lose sight of what you mean to them as a vendor and see greener pastures when a competitor comes in the door with a cheaper price.  Many times over the years I have refused to meet a competitor’s price because I knew “it was too good to be true”, but the customer couldn’t see that.  I backed out, leaving the door open, and waited for the shoe to drop.  More than not came back and ordered from me again within a relatively short time without me having to lower my price.

Let me hear from you.  What has been your experience?  Are there any other reasons why you would not do business with someone?

Kim Lawrence (aka The Tapelady)

www.tapesolutionsinc.com

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Find What Motivates You

March 1st, 2010

If you took any psychology course in college, you may remember Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs.  You may also remember learning about Pavlov’s behavioral studies.  It was both scientists’ desire to learn more about behavior and what motivates certain behaviors in humans and animals.  Maslow concluded that a human’s very basic need is physiological and then a feeling of being safe.  As babies and small children develop, of course, they long the physical contact of their mothers and the feeling of being warm, tummy full, and safe.  Then the need for love and belonging sets in.  As a child matures and they become more social, they have a need to build their self esteem and find where they fit in society.  The last level of need is self-actualization.  At this level, humans become more problem-focused, gain an appreciation for life and personal growth.  Humans are a “perpetually wanting animal”, says Maslow.

What makes you aspire to grow more in both your personal and professional life?  Is it money and success?  Is it envy?  Is it emotional needs like a longing to be like or loved?  Is it a desire to be complimented and commended?  Is it a competitive nature?  For many of us, it may be a combination of all these things.

Whatever it is that motivates you to set and achieve your goals, it is important to know what they are.  It is imperative for a manager to determine what motivates his employees in order to push them to continue to improve and reach higher.  For many of us, money is a big motivator because we realize that with financial success we can gain many freedoms to do other things that bring satisfaction and happiness to our lives.

Let me hear from you.  What drives you to excel?

Kim Lawrence (aka The Tapelady)

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Facts About Tape from a Tape Expert

February 25th, 2010

The owner of Tape Solutions, Inc. (www.tapesolutionsinc.com), Kim Lawrence (aka The Tapelady), has over 27 years of experience in the adhesive tape industry and is considered a “tape expert”.  She shares much of her knowledge with her customers in a way that her customers better understand terminology that can be difficult to understand.

There are many adhesive tape manufacturers located in the United States.  All of the major players, such as 3M, Intertape, Tesa, Shurtape, and Cantech do not sell to the end user.  They utilize a number of authorized wholesale tape distributors located all over the United States in order to sell their products to the end user, typically businesses, school districts, and government.  The distributors purchase products from the manufacturers, who usually have large minimum order requirements, and bring into their warehouses to sell.  It is up to each distributor what products and sizes of adhesive tapes in the manufacturer’s line they wish stock.  Many distributors, like Tape Solutions, will carry multiple manufacturer’s products.

One of the most interesting product categories is double sided or double faced tape.  This term refers to a tape that has an adhesive applied to both sides of the backing, i.e., double-faced film tape is a poly film (the backing) that has an acrylic adhesive on each side.  Most double faced tapes have a removable liner applied to one side.  Many people confuse a liner with the backing.  The liner material is usually a silicone-treated paper material, but sometimes they are crepe paper or film liners.  You can get just about any backing material, such as paper, films, and cloth, in a double-sided version.

One of the more unique double sided products is a ultra high bond tape (which is a cross to 3M’s Very High Bond or VHB tape).  UHB tapes were manufactured to replace other methods of joining two surfaces together where a permanent bond is required.  These other methods this tape can replace are metal fasteners, such as screws and rivets; welding; and glues and epoxies that require long cure times.  UHB tapes can be used in extreme conditions, such as outdoor and transportation applications where the tape needs to withstand varying temperatures, moisture, UV, wind, and vibration.  They come in a variety of colors, sizes,  and thicknesses that can adhere to glass, plastics, metals, and wood.  Many people categorize this product in the foam tape family, but it isn’t your traditional foam tape at all.  UHB tapes are made from an acrylic polymer material that is all in one.  There is no seperate backing and adhesive, but instead a thick material that bonds to a variety of surfaces.  The UHB product line is designed for applications where removability is not desirable.  They are very permanent and after 72 hours it becomes almost impossible to break the bond.  Common uses for this type of product are in outdoor signs, construction, manufacture of furniture, transportation vehicles, and much more.

Another popular selling double sided tape is adhesive transfer tape designed for use in an ATG dispenser.  ATG tape is a handy product to have around for a variety of uses when you need to assemble pocket folders, create invitations, scrapbooking, and much more.  Removing the liner is done by the dispenser, so all you have to do is roll out the adhesive onto your surface and adhere to the other surface. 

Another product that Tape Solutions carries that many people may not necessarily think of as a tape is hook and loop (like Velcro or velcro tape).  You can purchase hook and loop tape in a sew on version or with adhesive.  The sew on versions come in a variety of colors and the adhesive version comes in black and white.  You can buy hook and loop seperately at wholesale prices.  Hook and loop is also available in circles of various diameters in black and white, as well.

Various types of masking tapes are also another adhesive tape category that is very widely used.  Every major tape manufacturer has a broad line of masking tape grades that start from the lowest cost economy-grade products all the way up to high temperature masking tapes that can withstand exposure to over 300 degrees.  Painters tape is a popular product for both the industrial and construction markets, as well as, the homeowner who is doing home improvement projects.  Blue painter’s tape has become increasingly popular, but those who use it should know that it is probably overkill for indoor painting use.  The reason is that the blue painter’s tape is manufactured for outdoor painting.  It is designed to be applied and left on a surface outdoors for up to 14 days and still remove cleanly when the paint job is done.  It is more expensive for that reason.  There are many good quality indoor paint grade masking tapes, like Shurtape CP107, that will do a fine job masking off windows, door frames, trim, etc. for much less cost than the blue outdoor masking tape.

Everyone has uses for duct tape, so we can’t leave out the cloth tape category.  Duct tape is also another product that every major tape manufacturer produces in many different grades, styles, and colors.  Silver duct tape is the most popular, but you can find it in just about every basic color from black, white, red, and blue to olive drab.  We even have a couple of companies that provide a camouflage duct tape!  Another type of cloth tape is called “gaffers tape”.  Gaffers tape is often used in the audio/visual industry; trade show industry; film, music, and TV production industry; theatre arts; and photography.  The biggest difference between gaffers tape and regular duct tape can be seen in its appearance.  Gaffers tape has a non-glossy surface so as to not reflect light.  It also will remove cleanly.

Vinyl tape is also a product that is often used for applying to floors.  It is available in a number of colors, many of which have meaning in OSHA standards, so they are acceptable to use in warehouses and manufacturing plants to help improve safety.  Vinyl tapes are also used for color coding, decorating, and even as a masking tape when you need a product that is chemical resistant.  Of course, many electrical tapes are made from vinyl and are manufactured to be resistant to weather, high voltage, and some are flame retardant.

Tapes used in the electronics industry, such as polyimide film tapes (like Kapton TM), are a very specialized product that is available from Tape Solutions at wholesale pricing.  They also carry copper foil tape, static-free or anti-static tape, and cleanroom  tapes.

Electromagnetic shielding is an application for copper foil tape and it is available in both regular acrylic adhesive and a conductive acrylic adhesive.  Other metal tapes available are aluminum foil tape and lead foil tape.  Tape Solutions also offers a metallized polyester product that gives the appearance of metal, but is a thin plastic film that is available in silver, gold, black, red, green, and blue.  It can be used for reflective shielding, decorative trim, micro film splicing, and some photo sensing applications to detect splices.

There are so many different types of tapes that you can find at Tape Solutions that we haven’t mentioned here.  Check out the website for packaging tapes for sealing boxes, protective film tapes for windows and carpets, and so much more.  In addition to the tape items, you can find both reclosable bags or “baggies” and flat bags of all sizes.  Stretch film, labels, tape dispensers, bubble wrap, kraft mailers, tape pads, spray chalk, barricade tape, safety vests, safety knives, and marking flags at www.tapesolutionsinc.com .

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Overcoming Obstacles

February 23rd, 2010

Throughout life we have situations and obstacles thrown in our path that we have to overcome before we reach our goals successfully.  One has to learn how to treat, react, and resolve each obstacle or they will never accomplish anything in life.  I know very few people who have had success handed to them on a silver platter, so almost all of us have to work towards our goals and dreams – or they stay just that – a dream.

I grew up in a small town and experienced much of the great and the bad of living in such an environment.  The bad experiences, mostly social ones, created great unhappiness and I never really learned the best ways of dealing with being bullied and picked upon.  Most advice I was given by adults was to just “ignore it”.  My solution was to be as perfect as I could be so that people could struggle to find things with which to tease me.  That obviously is not something I would recommend to any young person, but it is how I handled it at the time.  I knew I would grow up soon and be able to leave and start “my real life” somewhere else, so I used that as my inspiration and set my goals accordingly.

I knew I needed a college education and worked to have to best grades in order to be accepted in a major university.  I was accepted to study marketing at Texas A&M University.  At orientation, the incoming freshman class was told that almost 50% of us would not make it to graduation.  I was told that the scores on my entrance exam indicated that I would have issues and the chances of me making it were slim.  I decided I wasn’t going to let someone else tell me my destiny.  What I accomplished was in my control and I would not let myself fail.  I did struggle in a few classes my first two years.  It seemed that they were always the subjects that had classrooms of 200+ students and I didn’t learn well in such a large environment.  I also had never really learned proper study skills in high school and had to figure out on my own how I could successfully learn and grasp the material in order to score well on tests.  I did figure it out.  I never failed, dropped, or quit a class.  My grade point average may not have been over a 3.0, but I did get my degree in four years.

When I graduated, the job search was difficult.  Unemployment was over 8% and many large corporations were on hiring freezes.  I was told by a couple of recruiters that I was applying for jobs that were not for females.  I was told that I was competing against people who had experience.  Once again, I was not going to let someone else tell me that my goals were not attainable.  I made it a job to find a sales position where I could excel and get experience and after two months, I did receive an offer.

As a salesperson, you are told “No” all the time.  I knew persistance and learning better skills in answering people’s objections would eventually turn some of those No’s into Yeses.  After several years in sales, I asked for an opportunity to be promoted into sales management.  My bosses would have objections to moving me out of the sales field, so they would put me through all kinds of testing in hopes that they would find some reason to say I wasn’t suited for management.  When that didn’t work, they decided to give me a small amount of management responsibility, but I had to do those job functions, in addition to, handling my accounts and meeting my sales goals.  They thought I couldn’t handle the additional work load, but I did and my sales didn’t suffer.

After too many years of this double duty, I finally decided to leave.  I put much effort into planning and developing my own business.  When it came time to reveal to my employer that I was leaving, I was already prepared for the obstacles that they would throw my way.  Being prepared doesn’t remove the stress of going through it, but it certainly helps making sure you do get through it.  Even before my last day of employment, my bosses were trying to get me to agree to sign documents that would have limited my business plans.  When I refused to sign them, they unleased their full power on me through their attorney.  Because I was prepared for this, I had hired my own attorney and he was ready and waiting to stifle their efforts to prohibit me from moving forward.  Within a couple of months, my former employer gave up their effort and I was ready to open.

Everyone who has ever started a new business has probably been told by financiers/bankers and other “experts” that over 50% of new businesses fail within the first two years.  Sound familiar?  (Refer to the orientation meeting at college.)  I was confident that I would make it, because I was prepared and knew I had the skills to make my business grow and become profitable.  I didn’t have expectations that were unreasonable and unachieveable.  I didn’t expect that I would be successful without working hard.  I didn’t expect it would happen overnight.  What I did know was that I was not going to let other people set my limits for me or convince me that I would fail.

Kim Lawrence (aka The Tapelady)

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Adhesive Tape and Me, Part III

February 17th, 2010

In Part II, I shared with you the steps to a sale.  Now you have gotten your first order with your customer and they are happy with the product.  What else can you do?  Ask them for a referral!  There may be another person within their own company that can also use your product, another location of their company, or even a competitor of theirs they may have information to share with you.  Ask them if it is okay that you use their name and success story when you speak with these people.

Another step you will want to take is to inquire with your new customer about other products you may also be able to provide to expand the total expenditures with you.  With my product line, adhesive tapes, we also provide many other products that companies like to buy along with their tapes, such as stretch  film, bubble wrap, labels, dispensers, and many more.  Add-ons can certainly help you increase your sales, meet your monthly quota, or increase the size of your commission check.

Patience and persistance is a key factor in expanding your customer base and business.  A company may say “No” today, but say “Yes” later on.  I have many examples of customers who started out buying just one or two items from me, but after I proved my value as a vendor, the door opened to increase my opportunities.

Happy Selling,

Kim (aka The Tapelady)

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Adhesive Tape and Me, Part II

February 15th, 2010

In part I, I had just begun my career as a draw-on commission sales rep in the early 80’s.  I was earning 40% of the gross profit of my sales, once I met my draw.  The first month I was eligible for commission, I earned one.  I will never forget what I spent my first commission check on – a brand new COLOR TV with a remote control!  (How times have changed! … or have they?)  I was given a territory that hadn’t really been called on for over two years from any previous salesperson with the company, I worked for, so I was basically starting anew with these old accounts and prospects.  I found a system that seemed to work for me and discovered that on average it took about 5-7 calls/contacts with a customer before I could expect my first order.  That still holds true today.  I would initially go into a place and introduce myself to the “gatekeeper” and inquire as to the correct person that purchased/used my product.  Sometimes I would get to meet that person during that initial call, but most of the time I would leave my card and brochure with a promise to call for an appointment.  Within a few days, I would call to schedule the appointment.  I found success in asking the contact person if I could have a few minutes of their time in order to introduce myself and to learn more about them and their business in order to determine if there may be some areas where I could be of help to them.

The third contact is the initial sales call.  It is so important here to have a plan before you go in.  Learn as much as you can about this company and study their file.  What have they purchased, if anything, from your company before?  Why did they stop?  What competitive information is available in their file?  Once you are in front of the customer, thank them for taking the time to spend with you.  Give them a brief initial benefit statement about you and your company, then follow that with a question like,  “Please tell me about  your business and what issues or concerns you have with your (insert your product here)”.  Listen carefully, take notes, and ask more questions that will help you identify where you can be helpful and set yourself apart from the competitor.  Always ask for a tour of their business, plant, production line, or warehouse.  What you can learn by seeing what goes on and exactly how they use your product is more valuable than anything!  Once you have identified some key areas, question the customer on how valuable it would be to them if you were able to ______________ (you fill in the blank).  If they show interest, get a committment from them to do business with you if you can prove to them that your product will work.  Explain to your customer what your next steps will be in order to prove your product.  For me, that meant bringing in samples to demo or test, etc.

  That is your fourth step.  Prove your product.  If you have done your job well, you often will walk away with an order here.  Sometimes testing needs time in order to determine a result, so the 5th step is to follow up on the testing.  Usually at this point, the customer inquires about price, so the 6th step is to provide a quote.  The 7th step to follow up on the quote and ask for the order or a committment on when they will buy.

Once I got the order, I didn’t stop there.  It is so important to follow up that order with a thank you and to get feedback on how the product is working and to determine their level of happiness.  Since my product is a consumable, my relationship with customers is ongoing.  I believe much of my success was because I worked on that relationship to build trust and loyalty.  Many of the customers I earned during those early days continued to buy from me year after year.

In Part III, I will talk about growing business with these customers and finding new ones.

Kim (aka The Tapelady)

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Customer Service Should Be Top Concern

February 11th, 2010

Small or large businesses have much to be concerned about in today’s economy to be sure.  Whether your business is weathering the storm okay or struggling to find new business to fill in where your existing customers have disappeared, you still need to give the best customer service to the people who are wanting to buy from you.

Last Tuesday our phone line for the fax machine went out.  I must have dialed the service phone number to AT&T three times before I figured out what buttons I was supposed to push to check and report the problem.  I was never given an option to speak to a live person.  A couple of hours after I successfully submitted my problem, I received a phone call from a real person to verify my problem and request for a service call.  I was informed that they were very busy and it would be the following Monday before they could schedule a service call.  I could not believe my ears!  AT&T (whose service office is literally 35 yards from my building) could not do anything about repairing my phone line for my business for almost a week.  I had hoped that they were exaggerating, but it did take that long to get the line repaired.   This is a perfect example of what not to do!

I also have a vendor whom we do business with frequently that is another example (in my opinion) of what not to do.  This particular vendor has a minimum order that we have to meet to receive our product with prepaid freight.  I placed an order with them that exceeded their minimum and then a day or two later, I receive orders from customers that come from this same vendor.  The order was still scheduled for production, so I asked if I could add some items to my purchase order.  I then received a long speech (oh, excuse me, I meant explanation) as to how much of a hardship this was on them to do and it is against company policy for that very reason, so could I please refrain from adding to my orders in the future……  You get my drift.

It is amazing to me that companies with this type of attitude aren’t losing customers right and left!  We generally have multiple choices available to us when we wish to buy something, so why would we choose to buy from a company who makes it difficult or who doesn’t respond the way we need them to respond?  I have been known to go elsewhere when my business wasn’t appreciated and I am sure you have to.  Below are a few of my suggestions that every company should address with their customer service:

1)  Have options available for emergency situations.

2)  Adjust your procedures/policies when they aren’t meeting the needs of your customers and it could be costing you business.  Analyze those areas that make it difficult to modify a customer’s order.  How can it be improved?

3)  Have a real person answer your telephone.  I am not a robot and I don’t like talking to one!

4)  Get to know your customers and treat them like a human being instead of just an order.

5)  Follow through with commitments and requests and be responsive to your customer’s needs.

6)  Be knowledgeable about your product so that you can be of genuine help to your customers.  It is generally not a good thing when they know more about your product than you do!

Kim Lawrence (aka The Tapelady)

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