It’s the holiday season and no matter what is going on in the world you cannot help but be infused with the spirit of the season.  I usually take this opportunity to connect with friends and associates in the trade to review how we have done this year and discuss what we can think about doing together in the New Year.   I recently had the opportunity to sit down with one of our retail customers over lunch and although the conversation covered a myriad of topics, the one that I found most interesting was the one on relationship building.

For almost 10 years I was associated with a company that in its heyday was considered to have one of the best products in its category and to be one of the leaders in the development of branded seafood.  Since that time, as invariable happens, the competition increased and became more sophisticated - both in what they offered and how they went to market.  Competitors were able to eliminate the quality differential that existed and in many cases surpass it.  There is no doubt that this had an impact on sales, but for this retailer this supplier still reigned supreme in his stores.  Admitting that the company’s product offering was not what it once was and by most measures was middle of the road, my friend stated that the reason they still continued to do well with this product line was service.  If you called any one of their stores and asked the seafood associate if they had the company’s sales rep’s number, not only would he be able to provide it but in most instances comment that he had just seen them in the past few days.   This could not be said for most of the competitors. 

This attention to the store personnel resulted in the stores themselves getting behind the company’s products.  The store personnel would talk it up during promotional periods in order to maximize results and make sure it was well stocked and placed in the case.  Although corporate can dictate product selection - at the end of the day, my friend stated, it is up to the stores to make the sale.  By focusing on selling multiple layers of the organization, this salesperson was able to maximize results.  The salesperson was building and maintaining loyalty in the face of stiff competition.  Although this type of selling requires time (and consequently money), the results, if entrusted to the right hands, can be well worth the investment.

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