Clients count on your dependability to deliver

I spend a good deal of time working with sales professionals to help them figure out what it is they really sell.

This is not because they don't read their own brochures or know what products they have available. It's simply because customers don't buy your products and services.

Customers buy the difference that you make, and oftentimes the difference you make is not associated to the specification of the products or services that you sell.

Sometimes the vital difference is the experience of working with you; sometimes that is the most valuable and unique offering you bring to your customers.

Think about it. How many of your products are absolutely unique to you or your business? How many of your products or services provide the only resolution to your client's problem?

Let's face it: Most of us have a competitor who may have something similar to offer.

When the iPhone was launched, only AT&T could provide it. Verizon, Sprint and US Cellular all offer smart phones, some with touch screens, some without. Many phones and phone companies can provide the facilities of an iPhone — just not on an iPhone.

Yesterday, I was working in the field with Jeremie Cribben, a truck parts representative with Eggimann Motor & Equipment Sales of Madison.

Throughout the day, Cribben's customers reminded us multiple times that it is the experience of working with him that wins Eggimann their business; it isn't truck parts and repair and maintenance workshops.

What customers value

Of course the parts that are provided need to do the job for which they were purchased. All the specialized repair shops need to complete quality repairs.

Yet, when we talked with customers about their business and why they buy from Eggimann, not one of them mentioned parts or repair work. They talked about reliability, dependability, timeliness and attitude.

One great example was Cathy Walters at United Liquid Waste Recycling of Clyman. Walters is in charge of parts inventory for more than 40 vehicles and trailers. She was recruited to her position in October of 2007. As a woman in a very male-dominated environment, she needed to quickly earn the respect of the mechanics who repair the fleet.

When we arrived, she showed Cribben a motor — in parts — that needed replacing. Cribben asked about the motor's use, and Walters took him into the repair shop to show him the vehicle.

She shared with a great deal of pride the fact that the vehicle had been designed and built by her colleagues. She described its functions and the scope of the work that it was able to perform.

Walters took us back into the stores, and told us about the progress she had made in the previous six months in organizing the inventory.

She shared how she had identified more than $7,500 in obsolete parts and that she had negotiated a return to the supplier for a small re-stocking charge, resulting in a credit of more than $7,000, and opening up more shelf space for current parts.

Walters told us how delighted her boss was when she spent less than half of her substantial parts budget in the previous month because of the way she had reorganized the stores.

Walters also shared that she works with several parts vendors, so that she can be sure that whenever she needs anything in a hurry the vendors will be responsive.

"If I haven't bought anything for three months I can't expect them to jump through hoops for me if I suddenly need something in a hurry," she said.

To my mind, any vendor who would not jump through hoops for an inventory manager that has Walters' budget to spend each month wouldn't deserve her business, even if she hadn't purchased anything for six months.

What struck Cribben and me the most about our conversation with Walters was how excited she is to do her job well. As she told us about her successes and the improvements she is making, she glowed.

She is proud of what she is accomplishing. She sees a bigger picture than the confines of her own role. She recognizes the impact of her company's services on their customers and the communities in which they work.

She values her role in supporting her colleagues in making their contribution to the company's success, and she wants to work with vendors who want to help her do well.

Meeting client's needs

Walters shared with me how hard Cribben works to meet her needs. How he asks good questions and truly tries to understand how to be of great value to her.

She knows she can rely on him to do what he says when he says he will do it. She knows he will be honest in answering her questions and quoting delivery dates, pricing and terms.

Yes, he can provide the parts she needs, and he is committed to demonstrating to her that she can depend on him so completely that she need not maintain close ties to the other vendors in the future.

One call to Cribben or to the Eggimann store in Madison will solve almost all of her parts problems, so she can focus on doing her job.

Find the Cathys among your client base, and demonstrate your commitment to helping them succeed in their job. You'll see your sales grow, and you'll have lots of fun working together to accomplish more than just your sales goal.

Jacqui Sakowski is president of Sakowski Consulting, a Middleton-based sales coaching, training and consulting company.