Truck Parts and Service | Heavy Duty Trucking, Aftermarket, Service Info
Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/782919
25 Sales & Marketing That's been the status quo at Six Robblees' for many years, says President Andy Robblee. "We have a jingle, 'Sweet Add-A- Line' [sung like 'Sweet Caroline], that we always refer to," he says. "It helps our people remember to always suggest those additional sales." Though they lack the jingle, Long Is- land Truck Parts' President Bobby Naples says his sales team is trained to do the same. By taking advantage of supplier- led training courses, Long Island Truck Parts has trained its sales staff to identify parts that require kits or additional components during a transaction. They then instinctively know to present that information to the customer, which Naples says doesn't always equate to a sale, but does strengthen the customer to distributor relationship. "It might not lead to a sale today, but we think it leads to other business," he says. If nothing else, it eliminates a bad ex- perience, Robblee says. "If [a customer] drives 30 miles for a part and we don't ask him about the related part and he has to drive back he's going to be frustrated." These constant reminders help to keep customers aware of a distribu- tor's capabilities. Truckers are busy; just because they purchased one part from a distributor one time doesn't mean they'll always remember where they got it. "I can think of many times where we've told a customer what we can do — they maybe have even used us for it before — and then they'll say, 'I didn't know you do that,'" says John Ferry, gen- eral manager at TransAxle. "Customers are human. They forget sometimes." Like Robblee and Naples, Ferry says his sales team works diligently to com- bat that. "It's like mak- ing the bed. You have to do it every day," he says. And training isn't the only way to build such a habit. You also can incentivize. Commissioned inside sales people drive proactive sales efforts at Long Island Truck Parts. "It's not like it's huge, but it's a mo- tivator for our guys," Naples says. "They want to help our customers and they want to be rewarded for doing a good job." Another tactic that helps expand ex- isting customer sales is data analysis. Sales may be naturally fl uid, but that doesn't mean distributors should blindly accept major swings up or down the sales rollercoaster. Researching the purchasing habits of customers is a good way to recover lost sales and fi nd new opportunities. That area in particular has become a point of emphasis for Westrans, says CEO John Williams. With the introduction of a new cus- tomer relationship management (CRM) tool for its sales team and corporate focus on sales analysis, Williams says Westrans has set out to better understand the needs and purchasing trends of its customer base. "You lose about 5 percent of your business each year from existing custom- ers and you have to fi nd ways to recoup that," he says. The program is still in its early stages, but Williams believes the resources will allow his salespeople to better track customer conversations and needs, so they can preemptively respond and suggest parts before custom- ers call about them, or even recognize they need them again. "[Our people] have been asking for it because it's what they want," he says. "You don't want to always do the same old, same old when meeting a customer. You want to be able to bring them more [information] to help them." He adds, "This will give our people the ability to do their jobs better." In the case of sales analysis, it's impor- tant to also recognize that distributors don't have to go it alone. Many aftermar- ket suppliers are performing the same w w w . T R U C K P A R T S A N D S E R V I C E . c o m F e b r u a r y 2 0 1 7 | T R U C K P A R T S & S E R V I C E Open house events are a great way to showcase a company's services and product offering. If [a customer] drives 30 miles for a part and we don't ask him about the related part and he has to drive back he's going to be frustrated. – Andy Robblee, president of Six Robblees'