While supplier representatives can be invaluable for your business, they could be hindering your ability as the owner and manager of the business. They could be stopping you from seeing your business differently. There could be too much of them in your business indent enough of you.
My challenge today: Take a break from reps visiting your business. If they have products to pitch, get them to email.
Have a rep free month and see what decisions you make about buying that might otherwise have been made by a rep.
The goal here is for there to be more of you in your business and what you sell. This does not mean less buying from the companies the reps represent.
If you see, say, eight reps a month for 30 to 60 minutes each that is four to eight hours back in your pocket for the month, time you could spend on your business in tasks that reflect more on you than on the rep.
Your major competitors spend less time at the local store level with reps than you. This is a competitive advantage for them.
Suppliers reading this who are frustrated, here is your challenge: come up with processes for more efficient use of newsagent time. Rep visits at the local store level are inefficient.
I’m lucky to see 6 a year. It doesn’t worry me.
I love ordering online for just these reasons. I seek out what I feel we need as opposed to seeing what ever product a supplier is pushing at the time. Reps who do some merchandising while with us are of the most value and are welcome providing we are expecting them. Those who blow in unannounced and expect us to stop what we are doing to give them time are often disappointed….then there are those who don’t turn up for appointments that we have made time for, very unprofessional in these instances.
Define ‘major competitors’ please.
Take your pick Linda, department stores, supermarkets, national chains with the same categories – where buying is done nationally or at the state level.