WHAT GRINDS MY GEARS
WHAT GRINDS MY GEARS
There is nothing worse than being hard at work with customers and orders , and having a salesman appear that hasn ’ t made an appointment .
I ’ ll be the first to admit having a good relationship with a supplier isn ’ t something to really complain about , but the truth is it ’ s all become a little pointless , especially in recent times . Initial visits are essential when dealing with something that is completely new to keep your stock fresh , but the rest can get tiring .
I ’ ve had just a small handful of sales calls in all my years of selling trophies where I ’ ve seen something new and exciting or been shown something of genuine interest . The rest of the times nearly all follow the same routine , which I ’ ve split into the usual 10 mundane steps .
1 . A trophy salesman walks in the shop without a prior appointment .
2 . We start off with small talk about how we are all looking forward to the busy months .
3 . I ’ m shown a sample of a new football trophy that I ’ m already over as I ’ ve made my usual trip to Trophex to see complete ranges , and let ’ s face it , how many more different types of football trophies does anyone need .
4 . Drink tea and / or coffee .
5 . I get asked how much I buy my budget medals and ribbons for .
6 . I ’ m told what great prices I ’ m getting .
7 . They normally want to discuss other suppliers for some reason and try to tell me how bad they are .
8 . It ’ s then my time to moan about something that ’ s gone wrong the previous year
9 . They tell me how busy they are and how far they have travelled .
10 . They leave , and I hear nothing from them for another 12 months .
After repeating this several times I ’ ve hit the point where I had to ask myself one simple question ...
... What on earth is the point in it all ?
And I ’ ve concluded that there isn ’ t , especially for us well established in the trade . Maybe if you are just setting up and don ’ t know the difference between a medal and trophy , or a ribbon and a marble block , then you might learn one or two things , but even then , trophies , medals & engraving are not something that you can learn in a morning . ( I hope to get the chance to have my moan about fresh faces selling trophies in my local area in a future issue of TEN ).
But for now , my suggestion to all firms with salespersons would be to save the money of visiting myself unannounced and perhaps send me some free of charge samples of the new items , or offer me a couple of free carriage charges , and then call to make an appointment to follow up . Or invite me to visit Trophex UK to see the range in full . It would certainly help in a far bigger way !
This feature is written by an anonymous author . If you would like to share your views on the content of this letter or would like to share what grinds your gears with us please email Jane your editor at janesoones @ hillmedia . com . All letters for this feature will remain anonymous .
22 MARCH 2022 twitter / facebook / instagram : @ trophexlive