A salesperson who ensures they are truly well informed about every aspect of their business can develop stronger partnerships and a more equitable relationship with customers. FIDI Secretary General Jesse van Sas explains why
When I started in this lovely business some 35 years ago, I got trained on the job.
This means that I had the privilege of witnessing two surveys done by an experienced salesperson, after which I was thrown into the deep end and had to face, and book, potential customers all on my own. I’m not sure this was the best methodology, but I survived and I’m still around today to tell the tale.
In our industry, we pride ourselves with on- the-job training, as the best way to educate new hires or existing staff members. Wonderful, and we should continue to offer this to our staff, as full immersion into the complexities of our business. It is our legacy, and there are great and sometimes hilarious stories to tell about this. Feel free to share yours.
But we cannot ignore the blind spots of this method. Our opponents (and, yes, procurement and HR are often opponents until we close the deal and they become customers or, even better, partners) are more and more sophisticated, and often way ahead of us in RFP negotiations and techniques.
They practise tactics that we are often unaware of, and which aim at getting top services for a minimal price, with almost all liabilities on the side of the providers, and the least possible commitment on the customer side.
We often complain about corporate customers or RMCs even, treating the movers or DSPs as mere ‘suppliers’, always ready to jump through hoops and bow to the requirements imposed by procurement teams. But if you want to develop a real partnership with your corporate customer, and establish a more level customer-supplier relationship, then we need to up our game, and earn their respect.
We need to become more educated in sales, procurement and finances; become aware of how the land lies, and how we can best address these challenges. Not by gut feeling, or superficial and outdated knowledge, but by continuous training by specialists.
This business is under constant pressure to outperform in operations, to comply with the latest trends, to invest in technology, to respond instantly to any requests, and doing all that for the smallest margin, if there is a margin at all. The Q2 2024 results from our FIDI Global Business Confidence Barometer shows that costs are up and that movers are frantically trying to balance this in their sales prices (see article, page 29).
There is a famous Dutch song from the 70s, called How strong is the lonesome cyclist, in which the author sings: ‘How the businessman laughs with satisfaction and without compassion, who finds his competitor defeated, himself almost bankrupt.’ Let’s not be that businessman. Let’s move away from top-line revenue focus, get a true understanding of how P&L works and how it affects a balance sheet, learn to analyse financial documentation, and how payment terms affect the bottom line.
The FIDI Academy is not only investing in corporate sales training, but also in the basics of financial management. We need to learn how to swim faster, before getting into deep water.
Jesse van Sas, Secretary General of FIDI Global Alliance
