{"id":41236,"date":"2020-08-13T12:43:03","date_gmt":"2020-08-13T19:43:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/?p=41236"},"modified":"2020-08-13T12:43:05","modified_gmt":"2020-08-13T19:43:05","slug":"minding-the-margins-balancing-the-promotions-temptation-in-selling","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/feature-articles\/2020\/08\/minding-the-margins-balancing-the-promotions-temptation-in-selling\/","title":{"rendered":"Minding the Margins: Balancing the Promotions Temptation in Selling"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

It is an interesting time to be in sales across every\nbusiness sector. In the COVID era, meetings have increasingly become remote,\nand reps in all fields have been polishing up on the nuances of making a pitch\nover platforms such as Zoom and Microsoft Teams. It is a skill unto itself;\nwithout being in-person, it can be tougher to judge body language and other\nnonverbal cues that can provide a rep with insight as to his\/her approach.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Reps must walk a fine line. Between discounts, rebates and\nvarious allowances being proffered, and a deep appreciation\/empathy for the\nchallenges customers are faced in doing business during the time of COVID-19,\nthey must resist the temptation to give away too much in order to win the\nbusiness. Fortunately, they have their marching orders from sales managers and\nthe corner office.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Brad Yocum, Function4<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

In the end, it\u2019s less about dangling a price carrot and more\ngeared toward solutions. \u201cReps need to focus on what can improve the clients\u2019\nsituation and not deliver the message of promotions,\u201d stated Brad Yocum, market\ndirector for Function4 of Sugar Land, Texas. \u201c(Promotions) do not show a\nsincere interest in how we can be a resource. Promotions provide the message of\nselling a product, which is not ideal.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Mike Murray, IBS Hawaii<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Mike Murray, CEO of Integrated Business Solutions of Hawaii,\npoints out that when the company rolls out specials, it sets a flat price for a\nflat configuration. That keeps the value proposition fair to both buyer and\nseller.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe find that our sales reps try to hold the margin to the\npoint that they have lost to competitors,\u201d he said. \u201cWhen we set the price, we\nknow that the reps are offering a competitive solution that can win.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Chip Miceli, Pulse Technology<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Careful consideration and attention need to be paid to the compensation program, notes Chip Miceli, president and CEO of Pulse Technology, striking a balance between competitiveness and profitability. Manufacturers can often provide that needed push; Miceli points that Sharp has recently kicked in with incentives to make deals even more competitive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cDealers need to review each deal carefully, to be certain\nthe customer is being well-served, and that there is enough in the deal to\ncompensate the dealership as well as the salesperson,\u201d he said. \u201cThis is a\ntime, more than ever, to review each piece of business very carefully.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Ray Belanger, Bay Copy<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Ray Belanger, CEO of Bay Copy in Rockland, Massachusetts, echoes Miceli\u2019s sentiment regarding the role OEMs can play in facilitating wins. \u201cIt starts with strong relationships with manufacturers and what kinds of incentives they can provide to stimulate business,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd with the management being hands-on in terms of making certain of the profit margins in each deal proposed.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Melissa Confalone, Fraser<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

For Fraser Advanced Information Systems of West Reading,\nPennsylvania, new business is one of the dealer\u2019s key drivers, according to\nMelissa Confalone, vice president of sales. \u201cOur account executives\u2019\ncompensation plans are set up to acquire new customers,\u201d she said. \u201cThe key is\nto be aggressive on new business hardware and gain the 60 months of recurring\nclicks.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It is an interesting time to be in sales across every business sector. In the COVID era, meetings have increasingly become remote, and reps in all fields have been polishing up on the nuances of making a pitch over platforms such as Zoom and Microsoft Teams. It is a skill unto itself; without being in-person, it can be tougher to judge body language and other nonverbal cues that can provide a rep with insight as to his\/her approach. Reps must walk a fine line. Between discounts, rebates and various allowances being proffered, and a deep appreciation\/empathy for the challenges customers are faced in doing business during the time of COVID-19, they must resist the temptation to give away too much in order to win the business. Fortunately, they have their marching orders from sales managers and the corner office. In the end, it\u2019s less about dangling a price carrot and more geared toward solutions. \u201cReps need to focus on what can improve the clients\u2019 situation and not deliver the message of promotions,\u201d stated Brad Yocum, market director for Function4 of Sugar Land, Texas. \u201c(Promotions) do not show a sincere interest in how we can be a resource. Promotions provide the message of selling a product, which is not ideal.\u201d Mike Murray, CEO of Integrated Business Solutions of Hawaii, points out that when the company rolls out specials, it sets a flat price for a flat configuration. That keeps the value proposition fair to both buyer and seller. \u201cWe find that our sales reps try to hold the margin to the point that they have lost to competitors,\u201d he said. \u201cWhen we set the price, we know that the reps are offering a competitive solution that can win.\u201d Careful consideration and attention need to be paid to the compensation program, notes Chip Miceli, president and CEO of Pulse Technology, striking a balance between competitiveness and profitability. Manufacturers can often provide that needed push; Miceli points that Sharp has recently kicked in with incentives to make deals even more competitive. \u201cDealers need to review each deal carefully, to be certain the customer is being well-served, and that there is enough in the deal to compensate the dealership as well as the salesperson,\u201d he said. \u201cThis is a time, more than ever, to review each piece of business very carefully.\u201d Ray Belanger, CEO of Bay Copy in Rockland, Massachusetts, echoes Miceli\u2019s sentiment regarding the role OEMs can play in facilitating wins. \u201cIt starts with strong relationships with manufacturers and what kinds of incentives they can provide to stimulate business,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd with the management being hands-on in terms of making certain of the profit margins in each deal proposed.\u201d For Fraser Advanced Information Systems of West Reading, Pennsylvania, new business is one of the dealer\u2019s key drivers, according to Melissa Confalone, vice president of sales. \u201cOur account executives\u2019 compensation plans are set up to acquire new customers,\u201d she said. \u201cThe key is to be aggressive on new business hardware and gain the 60 months of recurring clicks.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":166,"featured_media":41237,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1650,82,87,1638],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41236"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/166"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=41236"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41236\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":41238,"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41236\/revisions\/41238"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/41237"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=41236"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=41236"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=41236"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}