Lessons from the tradeshow floor Are you just riding on visibility?

If fnlrtNc THE tradeshow floor at the recent V Y International Builders Show in Las Vegas, I was excited and stunned. While much of the business world thinks of 2008 as the year that started the big economic downturn, many of us know it started in January 2006, because that's when we started feeling the effects. But the story's been changing, and this year brought new excitement to the show.

Companies are leaner now-whether it's operations, administration or sales-but they're finally growing. And what stunned me about this new growth is that there's still much anxiety just beneath the veneer of excitement (excuse the pun.) Just past "Everything's great" and "We've got it all figured out now," not to mention "We're doing better than last year," there's a growing concern and shift in the way that c.e.o.'s are thinking about 2013.

I heard these two questions most often: (l) Is our company capable of adding enough new growth to meet corporate objectives? and (2) Can our current sales staff grow and keep pace with the changing market demands?

I spoke with a company founder who was genuinely concerned that while his business was growing, so was the market in his space. He had a sinking feeling that he wouldn't be able to take business from the competition without lowering price. Yes, all boats are being lifted by the new tide, but, he admitted, it's ultimately not a success formula.

In my last article ("Recruiting in the New Sales Environment," Jan., p 22), I talked about the shifting sands under salespeople and the new, standard skill sets which must come with every hire, including the ability to stand apart from the crowd. With those observations, combined with many executives' concerns in the building materials industry about growth and people, I spent the second day at the Builders Show talking to the sales staff and management. There were five questions worth sharing with those who will make a living in 2013 selling building materials:

How do we know whether sales force improvement is fantasy or reality?

Yes, sales are up. But are sales increasing due to organic growth caused by better selling skills, stronger prospecting, perfect positioning statements, insightful problem-solving, needs analysis, thorough qualifying, well-timed proposals, and excellent closing skills? If you aren't sure, you may be going along for the ride or even being taken for a ride.

How do we take business from the competition without lowering price?

This is the true test of our ability to stand apart from the competition. To have the customer pay more attention to us than anyone else requires the ability to have a conversation that is more than just "What do you need?" and "How much is your budget?" To gain the full attention of your customer, above all competition, you must have a business discussion where you can drill down to find a hidden or indirect problem which your product will solve.

For example, you could think about the price of your decking vs. the lower price of the competitor's decking. We're probably good at calculating the cost of their decking problems and tacking it onto their price. But who's the person dealing with those problems at your customer's company? What is that person's regular job? And what is he or she not doing when distracted by and/or dealing with those problems? And, how important is the job that they're supposed to be doing? And what is that costing you? Now you're onto a different discussion, which will help you stand out from the crowd. And now your higher price is less important.

How can we fend off the competition's full court press on our existing accounts without meeting their price?

This is an account management problem. Having long-standing accounts can lead to complacency. If you're like most LBM salespeople, you have hundreds of potential customers in your territory, but maybe 10 of them account for most of your sales.

Ever seen a basketball team up by 30 points and still lose the game? The Celtics lost to the Knicks that way in a 1986 game. You could see the Celtics' meltdown and if you're a fan, it put a pit in your stomach. They stopped having fun. They stopped taking chances. They stopped playing to win and starting playing not to lose. Don't do that with your customers. Once each quarter, act like you're competing for their business all over again.

Gan our salespeople leverage relationships with existing customers to sell the entire product line?

The answer is that some can. but most cannot. The follow-up questions are: (a) Can those who cannot do that, learn to do it? (b) Are there hidden issues causing them to get in their own way? (c) Is the little voice in their head telling them that their customer needs to diversify, that we can't be all things to all people, that we're good at some things and not others, or is there another excuse you're hearing?

If the products you're carrying are right for the market, then selling skills are standing in the way of growing sales within your customer base.

What are we gettang out of this show?

That's a great question. Some are gleaning much from it; others see little result. The difference was in the staff's mindset and understanding as to why they were there. If the purpose was merely to be visible and support for the industry, then there was commonly disappointment with the show.

When people with whom I spoke were actively looking for new qualified opportunities, they had a different experience. Without an active, thoughtful show strategy, the default of using it as "visibility" results in just the opposite effect. Call it the Denial = Visibility model. The denial comes from the preconceived notion that you cannot really sell at the Show. But you could have, and that's a topic for another article.