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Managing The Supplier's Salesforce Effectively
Ellen Bristol, President,Bristol Strategy Group
2001 Do not copy without permission of the author
Salespeople and supply managers often lock horns when they could
cooperate, producing betterresults for both parties. These two
business functions dont always enjoy a happy marriage, when
theyreally need to. As a supply manager, you can improve the
situation, by learning to identify and managefour types of sales
behaviors. You can develop techniques for making those behaviors
work for you,techniques you can put to work immediately so that you
-- and your suppliers -- can work less andachieve more.
Some supply managers have described their function as the same
thing as sales, just inside out,suggesting that Sales and
Purchasing are or should be - like Fred and Ginger on the dance
floor,twirling together in perfect rhythm. Why then, do so many
sales people drive supply managers, andthemselves, up the wall? Why
do they try to avoid the Purchasing Department at all costs, or
camp outthere day and night? If sales and supply management are
mirror images, how come they dont always
know how to get along?
Over the years we have observed thousands of sales people at
work, either as peers, subordinates, orclients, with wide
differences in skill, talent, stamina and interest. Weve seen all
too many who simplycouldnt get it right when they dealt with
Purchasing. Weve also known quite a few who were brilliant
atworking with supply managers and whose performance reflected that
brilliance. We now believe thatsales people fall into one of four
categories, from the perspective of supply managers. As a
supplymanager, if you understand these categories, you can manage
the reps who call on you with less painand strain, freeing up your
time to achieve your desired results.
The Four Categories of Sales Behavior
1. Those who deny the existence of the Purchasing Department.
Think of these sales reps asatheists. They deny that Supply
Management exists in the first place, and can mess things up asa
result of their determination to go around you.
2. Those who doubt the existence of the Purchasing Department.
Think of these sales reps asagnostics. They doubt that Supply
Management exists, but theyre not entirely sure ofthemselves. They
can be convinced, but can still create confusion until theyre
converted.
3. Those who believe that the entire world revolves around you,
the Supply Manager. Think of thesefolks as fundamentalists. They
believe in the literal interpretation of the purchase order.
Theylldemand an inappropriate amount of your time and attention,
and ask you to intercede or resolveproblems that are not within
your control.
4. Finally, those sales professionals who understand their
proper role with Supply Management. Theyget the match between your
needs and goals, and their own. These are the true believers,
the
sales people you love to deal with, and the ones youd like the
other folks to emulate.
Is it your job to train sales people? Ideally, it isnt. But you
will be a lot better off if you take it on. Learnto manage the
supplier sales force indirectly, for the sake of your own sanity,
and to meet yourbusiness goals. Actually, you have to do it,
because Sales isnt teaching its people how to work withyou in the
first place. The function of Supply Management has changed
dramatically in recent years,but the sales department has not kept
pace.
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Sales continues to function pretty much the way it did when E.
K. Strongs classic The Psychology ofSelling, was published back in
1925. Current sales training programs and books emphasize the
samepersonal, tactical selling skills, often adversarial in nature,
that have been around forever. When thesemodels were first
introduced, the purchasing function was viewed as routine and
predictable. But now?Purchasing is literally altering the way the
world does businessPoke around major corporationstoday, and youll
find signs of a sea change in thinking about the role and
importance of managing thecost, quality, and delivery aspects of
acquisition. Purchasing and supply chain issues are high on the
agenda of most senior management teams.
i
But the sales function has lagged behind. Its still anumbers
game, based on tactics and product of the week. Killer instinct is
still prized, and so is thetheory that all revenue is good revenue.
Senior management wants the numbers, but continues tomeasure and
motivate the sales force the same way they did thirty years
ago.
Sales people are rarely trained in Supply Management issues. If
they learn about them, it is oftenOJT informally and on the job, or
under the direction of an experienced mentor. They are
commonlyencouraged to avoid the Purchasing Department, work around
it, and ignore it. Too few sales peopleunderstand what drives
supply managers, how they define success, or how to align with
them. Theyare, however, very much aware that many businesses are
reducing their supplier base significantly.The average sales person
views this trend as dangerous, seeing it as a serious loss of
sellingopportunity. One result is to sell harder and more
indiscriminately.
Few sales reps really understand when to work with supply
managers and when to work with end-users. This means that supply
managers spend disproportionate amounts of time coping with,
dodgingor otherwise tolerating a supplier sales force that is out
of alignment with the supply managers goalsand measurements.
We offer these insights to you, the professional supply manager,
to allow you to perform moreefficiently and effectively as you
learn to identify the atheists, agnostics, fundamentalists, and
truebelievers among the supplier sales reps that warm up your phone
and your visitors chair for so manyhours every week.
Managing the Four Types of Sales Behavior
They DENY the existence of Purchasing: Supply-Management
AtheistsThese supplier reps tend to be fairly junior (they have not
been in sales very long anywhere) orhave little experience selling
to major corporations with a formal Supply Manager. They may
alsohave been told to avoid getting trapped in Purchasing. This
causes problems when they try to goaround Purchasing, and
inappropriately engage the attention of an end-user, creating
conflicts,extra work and pooper-scooper management time devoted to
cleaning it up and doing it over.
What to do? Pre-empt the problems by training your end-users.
Give them written guidelines aboutworking with Supply Management
and when to refer vendor reps to you. Include your definitions
ofsuccess, and the ways you are measured in these guidelines. Do
not assume that the end-users inyour company already understand
what drives you; spell it out. Make sure they know when to callyou
into a selling situation, and when its legit to develop the
relationship without you. Help themto understand that a sales
person who is driven by self-interest, and who ignores your
companysvalues and procedures, may not be a good choice. Encourage
your end-users to share yourguidelines with these reps, and convert
them.
They DOUBT the existence of Purchasing: Supply-Management
Agnostics. Supplier reps in thiscategory may also be relatively
inexperienced, but something tells them they better keep
theiroptions open. They are less resistant to working with Supply
Management than our friends theDeny-ers, but still on the
proverbial fence. Theyll call on Supply Management and on
end-users,
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without trying to create a partnership, or find the boundaries
between the two. They may notunderstand your objectives, metrics or
definition of success. In the long run, however, these salespeople
are motivated to figure things out. Although they may create the
same kinds of problems we
just reviewed, they can be convinced.
What to do with these reps? Use similar techniques. Provide your
end-users with the guidelinesdescribed above, and give the same
guidelines to the supplier reps themselves. When you work
directly with these supplier reps, talk about your success
goals, measurements and metrics withthem. Educate them about the
role you play in the decision. Try to get yourself and the rep on
thesame side of the desk. Assume that the rep needs to be educated
about the role of Purchasing inyour company, for the product
categories he or she represents. Remember, few sales reps
aretrained to work with Supply Managers, and they dont understand
you or your requirements. Theyare only trained to sell, sell, sell.
Shorten their learning curve.
Their world REVOLVES around Purchasing: Supply Management
Fundamentalists.At first glance, supply management fundamentalists
may seem like the best reps you could want -until you realize how
much of your time they demand. They oversell, they don't know how
to takeno for an answer and they assume you have more authority
than you do.
Reps like these can benefit from the techniques you employed
above, plus some direct intervention.Tell them directly that they
need to listen to you, respond to your signals, and understand the
role ofPurchasing at your company. Again, remember that few sales
reps have been trained to dealdirectly with Purchasing, and they
may believe your role in the company is quite different from
whatyou know to be true.
They GET it: Supply Managements True BelieversThese true
professionals are the best partners you can have. They understand
your role and itslimitations, they know how and when to respond to
you, where and how to work with end-users andsenior management, and
understand no when they hear it. When these reps show up,
youbreathe a sigh of relief.
Is there anything you need to do with these wonderful people?
Yes, there is. Use them as atemplate to define the Ideal Supplier
Rep.
The Ideal Supplier Rep
Its much easier to deal with difficult supplier reps when you
have such a template in mind. Instead offeeling frustrated, you can
point to the difference: this behavior is aggravating; that
behavior isbeneficial. With such a template, you can guide the more
junior or less compliant reps to work with youmore effectively.
Base the Ideal Supplier Rep Profile on the behavior of your
favorite True Believers.Identify the characteristics they possess
that you like the best. Mention factual information about
theproduct categories and price points you seek but dont stop
there. Emphasize, in elaborate detail, thesoft characteristics that
you like best, especially items concerning the reps relationship
skills. Use
the guide informally as a basis for discussion, or even include
it in a more formal presentation. Andconsider offering to train
your own companys sales force in how to work with Supply
Management.Your insights will benefit them.
We believe that the time has come to align Sales and Supply
Management more closely to improve theperformance of both parties.
Both of these business functions are strategic to the companys
goals andobjectives. Both functions maintain the companys financial
success and market position. SupplyManagement cant exist without
its supplier reps, and the reps cant exist without Supply
Management.
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