The second thing we did to make it easy for our salesmen to
sell new safety products was to help them get in the door
in the first place with strong advertising and public
relations support. In industry, Cadillac has a well
respected name for plastics. We wanted to capitalize on
this goodwill as well as let the world know we had the
finest line of safety products available anywhere.
We chose to advertise in both horizontal and vertical
markets, repeating our message over and over again,
"Cadillac Plastic is THE SOURCE for safety products to meet
OSHA requirements."
For some industries, such as construction, we grouped
certain products together to make a kind of mini-safety
products package. Our salesmen really liked this because
it made it easy for them to organize the call. And dollar
sales figures proved we were right.
Through our public relations department, we offered our
catalog free of charge to all interested (and potential)
customers. And our publicists worked overtime to keep
editorial interest in Cadillac's new line high. We
furnished articles and pictures and as much helpful
information as we had available to trade magazine editors
who were also struggling to understand OSHA. This paid off
in the form of a thick stack of press clippings from many
of the most highly respected and widely read industrial
publications.
Finally, all inquiries Chat resulted from advertising or PR
were carefully sorted and distributed to our sales force.
This served as a steady source of already knowledgeable
potential buyers as well as a stimulant to the salesmen who
felt pride in the recognition given to the company they
represented.
We had come a long way in our launching of the OSHA-Spec
line. Our people had learned about the products, and
orders were starting to flow in. But we still had one
problem to solve. How could we keep our sales people
motivated to sell the line?
Keeping salesmen motivated
Again, our answer was to make it easy. We kept up a high
level of enthusiasm among our people through recognition of
outstanding efforts.
The backbone of our recognition program was an internal
bulletin we named the Ollie-Gram. This was a "personal"
message from Oilie Osha written in a light, breezy style.
In our Ollie-Grams we publicized exceptional orders and
passed along selling hints. If a particular branch or
district was doing well, we spotlighted it in an issue.
To further generate enthusiasm, we created a new status of
salesman called a Safety specialist. People who
demonstrated a special flair for safety products were given
additional training. In turn, they assisted other sales
personnel in making difficult calls, selling more complex
equipment, and closing large orders.
Finally, we formed a special club to reward exceptional
efforts. We held a contest using criteria that were fair
to all people in all parts of the country. Winners were
announced monthly and were awarded membership in our
exclusive Safety-First Club. We gave each winner a gold
tie with a special Safety-First insignia, which became
quite a status symbol. Standards were kept high to keep
the group exclusive.
At the end of the calendar year, we rewarded the club
members with a special luxury trip. After the trip, a
special Ollie-Gram was published with many pictures so that
nonmembers could see what they were striving for.
For further recognition, we presented an engraved plaque to
each club member. A club roster for each year hangs in
our Hall of Fame at corporate headquarters for all to see.
In summary, there isn't much more to say other than that
our safety products introduction was the most successful in
our company's history.
So, what motivates people? Volumes have been written on
the subject and research is still being conducted. But when
it comes to motivating sales people, one thing is certain:
Make it easy for people to succeed and they will rarely
disappoint you.
----------------------------------------------------
Thotsaporn is the owner of http://www.newfinance.org where
he provides finance information and resources.
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