Needed Changes

We need to make some quick changes to our business or we may be near the end of a 35 year run. We are aging, we are mired in the old ways of doing things, we have little imagination, our competition gets better and better.

We have lived in a retail world where we expected people to find us and what we had to offer. This worked when we were the only choice in a rural area. Now we are faced with Amazon, New Egg, CDW, etc. Even the big boxes are having to rethink there strategies as they lose market share.

How do we compete with this? Amazon was able to lose millions of dollars for years as they built their business. Venture capitalists were tolerant of the loses because they understood what a giant could be built. Now they are reaping the profits of their trust in that business model. We don’t have venture capital. We can’t afford to lose money as we change our business.

This is really giving me headaches. How do I move us where we need to be when our resources are so strained trying to keep our present business model afloat. It is the death knell of all small businesses. Business slows so you cut employees and/or inventory. Customers don’t get the help they need or find the products they need so business slows even more. So, you are forced to cut more which adversely affects sales. Pretty soon you’re business is gone.

These are some of the problems.

Without an influx of cash to ease us over the needed changes the transition is perilous. As an example, I need to hire at least 5 people and we can’t afford to hire anyone. These people must pay for themselves immediately and I realisticly see it taking 12 – 18 months before they are operating at full strength.

Another example, retail is dead and the sooner we exit from the retail business the better off we will be. Problem, retail has been our business, it’s what we have trrained our employees to do, it’s a big part of our image, Only one portion of our business has any experience in outbound sales. Changing the culture of the other parts of the business to understand we have to go after customers is difficult.

Another example. One of my key salespeople is not adept at change. He works hard, takes care of his customers, but needs time to change directions. I have begged him for the last two years to take advantage of a team concept (teaming up with another customer service rep) to help him service accounts. The team approach allows more touches per customer, more time for the salesperson to work his customers, more opportunities to open new accounts, etc. He can’t wrap his head around this concept (and we don’t have the right people for him to team with) to make this work. The people he needs to work with now don’t understand the concept any better than he does. To make it work I need to hire a team member for him that can inspire him to reach for greater heights.

Another problem. The outside salesperson who most understands what I want to do is semi-retired. They are taking care of their accounts but don’t have the energy or time to do the hard work I need done to open more and more accounts. I wish I could have had this person 20 years ago.

My other outside salesperson is pretty much a lost cause. They have an idea of what a salesperson should do and this cripples their effectiveness. They must run their route to the minute, they will drive past a potential big customers to be sure they are at a small customer at the same time every week.

My inside salespeople do not know how to break out of their daily routines (and because of retail duties it makes this hard to do even if they knew how to do it or had the inclination to try) nor do they seem to want to try. One of them is giving it a good try but she needs more time to be effective, more organization to be effective, and, please, an attention to detail.

The other portions of the business depend on this group of salespeople to sell their proiducts and services as well, all with little to no input.

How do I blow this up and make a real sales organization?

I think my semi-retired salesperson could be a good trainer. This may be the best way to use them until they are ready to fully retire. But for this to work I need to hire a few good people they can work with, another story for another post.

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