Sales and Marketing

So I have recently been participating in an internship at a local credit union and I have realized a few things, people do not know how to sell.

One of my responsibilities was to help with a competitive brand analysis and as part of it I researched and shopped the local competition. During my visits I did not find a single credit union that did everything the sales process asks for. First off when I dealt with sales I would make sure that if a potential customer came in to ask about any account or loan I would direct them to the right representative that could answer their questions and set up the product. When I was the one doing the selling I would make sure to probe to find out what was needed and not just list off a "laundry list" of accounts or services. After the chat I would be sure to do the most important part of the sales process (the most overlooked part), I would ask for the sale. I would not let the potential customer out of the branch without asking if they would like to open the account.

I went into ten different credit unions and not one asked me for the sale. Everyone assumed I only wanted information and that if I decided to open the account I would be back. The customer is already in front of you. Most times if they walk out they will not be back. Of course there are a few that will be back but what I was really shopping for a new financial institution and what they had to offer was appealing but no one asked me if I wanted to open the account at that time. I would then go to another place that would not be any better and they ask me to open the account and I do it, only because they asked for the sale.

One part of sales that many do not understand is that to get your consumer to listen to your message is the hardest part. If you have them there AND in your place of business but you let them go, you are literally watching sales go out the door. The easiest thing to do is to get in the habit of saying, "Would you like to set that up now?"

The other part of sales that is apparently hard for some people to grasp is the relationship selling. I went to a branch today to make sales calls with one of the managers and the sales call turned into a counseling session. The manager decided that she did not need to make her sales calls and only wanted advice on how to perform the calls better. What I gathered from our visit is that she does not believe in the credit union's products. She is afraid that her products do not match up to other institution but what she needs to know is that banking products are almost exactly the same across all institutions and what the person is really buying is your service. If you believe in the product and your company the consumers will trust you and and will purchase your products. This is the same for any industry.

Remember to sell is to believe.

When Nascar takes Sponsorship too far.

So one of my favorite things to do is watch NASCAR. As a Marketing student I also love to see the "creative" ways they bring in sponsorship dollars. Every race has a sponsor, the cars have multiple sponsors, there are official drinks, delivery companies, and even motor oil; not to mention the mid-race trivia and the restarts that received sponsorship. It seems that NASCAR knows sponsorship.

The one thing that does surprise me is the possible sponsorship of a car in an upcoming race from presidential hopeful Barack Obama. Now the Senator is only considering the sponsorship but lets look at how this could work out. NASCAR is very republican. For the most part the large demographic is southern conservative so this is a crowd that typically will not even give a democratic candidate the time of day. This would be great exposure for the presidential hopeful, if they get it right (which I will come back to).

The team they are in talks with is a part-time team. It sounds like the proposal is for one race, Aug. 3 Pocono. This could possibly be a nice way for Sen. Obama to boost his image with the southerns, those who cling to their guns and bibles. He needs their support to get a good showing and any votes he could take away from McCain would only be in his favor.

The big problem with this is that the team races Toyota cars. Even if Sen Obama is not directly sponsoring the make of the car, being associated with a car that is taking away jobs from Detroit could potentially be a downside for the Senator. He has spoken numerous times in Michigan about bringing jobs back and this would not be a good way to show he is committed to the American auto industry.

On top of that the driver that would be sponsored is Ken Schrader. He is by no means a top driver... hence the part-time status but the big drawback to sponsoring his car is the fact that he is Republican. He has donated to numerous Republican campaigns in the past so how would it look if Obama was sponsoring someone who would be potentially donated to Sen McCain?

This is a difficult spot for Barack Obama's campaign team to be in. What are the pros and cons of this sponsorship and is it worth it? I believe, if done right (i.e. right driver, car), it could be a big boost amongst the so-called "NASCAR dads." It could help his campaign by being visible to a demographic that consistently votes Republican. I guess we will see what his decision will be and what outcome it could have.

True Ethics?

So this last semester I took a class called Business Ethics. Now don't get me wrong, it is a great class but can you really teach ethics? The rash of unethical business people in the news shows us that indeed there is a problem and it needs to be fixed but is a classroom the right way? Don't get me wrong, I am all for a more ethical marketplace. Ethics is a win-win for everyone. I really don't think ethics in class is going to help as much as society thinks.

So the biggest reason I think teaching ethics will not work is the definition, "the rules or standards governing the conduct of a person." Answers.com These standards come from within. They are, or should be, taught to us while we are young and strengthened as we grow. Parents and school teachers growing up should be the ones to teach ethics, not university professors. This isn't to say that if you grow up in a broken home or if you are an orphan or go to a bad school that you will not be ethical but I an just stating that there is a better chance that ethics will be instilled. They can be brought up later in life but not always is it going to be through a classroom setting, in fact I would venture to say that most of the time ethics will not be learned in class.

Many times ethics are gathered from ones spiritual beliefs as well. Religion is a big part of life for any culture and always brings with it a certain code of conduct. The need to please the god of any religion is enough to keep some from unethical behavior. This is the big reason many colleges receive great rankings for their graduates. Students from religious private universities are supposed to be more ethical and it stems from that belief in an after-life. As we have seen this is not always the case. Ken Lay of Enron fame was the son of a minister and he still had a few problems with ethics, which brings me to my next point.

The old adage that everything is for sale fits well with ethics. How much will you sell your ethical standards for? When ethics are "learned" in a college classroom, without any help from some epiphany, it is usually only a matter of time until these ethics are "sold" to make a buck or rise up the corporate ladder. Really the way I see it is that learned ethics are only temporary. Now this isn't the case 100% of the time but I feel it is pretty good. Unfortunately many people now are selling out their ethical standards. The need to make a quick buck or to grow your business portfolio has become a bigger draw for some than keeping their standards. The mortgage crisis has proven this with the number of loans that are now deemed to be "bad" loans but at the time were the mortgage industry's cash crop.

Maybe the day will come when we will not need to teach ethics in a classroom. It will take a change in the society as a whole. Can we change? Yes. Will we....

First post.

Well I am fairly new to the blogging world. I figured I would try to contribute a little to the internet and also learn something in the process as I always learn more when I try to explain my views.

I recently returned from a three week long trip to Europe for school where I was privileged enough to learn more about the cultures in five different countries along with being able to learn how various companies conduct business in the international market. It was a great time and not only did I learn a lot from the companies but I also learned a lot from the other students I met.

One very common thing in Europe is the length of the business meeting. The people are very friendly and would much rather sit down and chat over a nice long lunch than have a short and sweet appointment. The art of schmoozing is alive and well across the ocean. It was interesting to me as I have been in sales for quite some time and we have become accustomed to quick visits that are very meaningless. We will talk about the weather or the family but typically we use this as pure filler until we get to the sales pitch. I truly respect the European culture as any visit you have is truly and warranted visit. They truly want to know with whom they are doing business.

Things were so much more laid back which is nice. It is true that Americans just want to move on to the next appointment and not worry about all the filler but as we grow into a truly global society, things will change... at least when we are in the other country. I do not see this approach working in the states because of our fast food culture. We want to know whether or not we have the sale and we do not want to waste any time. Unfortunately sometimes time is just a cost of doing business.

Well for now this is all I have to put down but fully intend to keep this blog updated. If you have any thoughts feel free to post them! Thanks.