Value Added Partners.org

Supplying value

Bring supplier reps on sales calls to add real value for customers.

by Paul Markgraff

It’s a classic case of putting theory into practice. Fictitious distributor Primo Industrial Supply sales manager Kevin Fitzpatrick taught his outside salespeople all about selling value. He has shown them before-and-after case studies, explained the value of documented cost savings and demonstrated the power of the win-win-win sales strategy.

But he recently hit a snag. His salespeople understand the concept of selling value, but they are unsure how to take the first step toward selling customers on the concept.

In our last issue of V-Mail, we posed this problem for readers and asked what they would do were they in Fitzpatrick’s shoes. Answers varied, but a common thread ran throughout: Distributors that involve their suppliers generate value for customers.

The supplier approach
Wes Delnea of Crown Industrial Supply in Chicago recommends the supplier’s rep be part of the sales call. After all, he says, what better way to show value than by bringing the distributor expert and the supplier expert together with the end user to find productivity improvements on the plant floor.

Delnea says cutting tool maker Sandvik and storage solution provider Kennedy Manufacturing Co. are two suppliers with the savvy to document cost savings for customers. He identifies Sandvik’s Productivity Improvement Process (click here for story) and Kennedy’s Lean storage presentation/plant survey as two worthwhile examples of supplier-generated value.

“Fitzpatrick should use the resources he has access to, namely the supplier reps that call on his company,” says Delnea. “The customer benefits, his sales staff gets educated and the supplier gets a sale. It’s your typical win-win-win.”

Dave Thompson, president of Kennedy Manufacturing Co., agrees that supplier/distributor experts can bring real value if they work together, but it must be a capable supplier.

“The challenge for Kevin is to identify both the supplier and its representative that understand the concept and are prepared with the proper tools,” says Thompson.

Chuck Connors, president of Omni Services in Worcester, Mass., says he would ask his salespeople to conduct role playing exercises in a friendly and fun environment. Coupled with that, he would involve select supplier sales reps to participate.

“Then, each salesperson would select five target accounts with a ‘who-what-why-where-when’ approach to value-added opportunities,” says Connors.

Asking a supplier to become part of the equation was not the only method suggested by readers for introducing customers to a documented value-added selling approach. Christopher Sill, account manager for Fehr Bros. Industries, explains that the key to value-added selling is seeing value from the customer’s perspective.

“If the customer will benefit from the direct contact with your supplier, then bring him in,” says Sill. “However, the value really lies in providing the customer with a person he can trust and he believes has his best interests at heart. Value comes from understanding the customer and his business processes and integrating yourself and your company seamlessly into those processes.”