Selling National Accounts

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Over the course of 25 years in the uniform and apparel industry, I have been involved with many different types of accounts: private, industrial, state and federal programs, etc. Of the various types, one of the most lucrative always has been the direct sale to a company or business – especially one that is of the national variety. It is also one that can require the most work and creative thinking. To approach a national account, one must be prepared to the nth degree. It is important to know what type of account you are working with and what are the parameters for servicing such an account . They vary from company to company and from industry to industry. You need to identify what is required to guide such an account in a manner that benefits both their program and your business.

It does not do any good to go after an account of such size if you cannot service it properly due to space, financial restraints, able bodies, etc. Not all sales are good ones if you cannot handle all aspects. It is important to identify what you are capable of and what you can do to expand those capabilities. I have worked with many dealers over the years that have gone after large programs only to find that they are overwhelmed once all of the details and requirements are realized. If you find you can take on this type of business and you become successful with it, you will realize several benefits from it. Obviously the growth of your business just by the nature of the beast, but along with this comes the added marketing value. If you can approach prospective customers and point to XYZ as one of the accounts you handle, it is that much easier to peak their interest in you and the services you offer.

When considering going after a national account ask these eight questions and identify your capability to handle and control them:

Have you done your research?
Know all you can about the account and the people involved in the decision-making. You should know their uniform needs and requirements better than they do when going in to make a proposal. Do not be afraid to contact people in executive positions. Save yourself time and headaches by speaking to people that can give you immediate answers and feedback. There is little to be lost and a lot to be gained by finding and talking to the right people. You can find out a tremendous amount of information just by obtaining various reports about a company’s size, sales and number of employees. Are they union? Do they have any type of stipulations as far as where their apparel or accessories are made? All of this should be known before you approach them. It helps you know the direction you need to take and also helps in your decision-making as to whether this is a viable account for you to pursue.

What is the cost to your company financially?
Can you afford to take the business at the outset without putting too much strain on your current business? Often times the cost of bringing in inventories and adding personnel to handle the new business chokes off the funds needed to maintain the current business in house. This can lead to the service levels dropping in all aspects of your business.

Do you understand all of the variables connected with the account you are trying to land?
Have you taken into consideration the amount of sku’s required to service not only the core business but also those out sizes-the extra smalls and the 5XLs? These are usually inventory items that you sit on for a long time, but if you don’t have them or cannot turn them out in a quick fashion, you can have a problem with the account as a whole. Very seldom does an account tell you what a good job you are doing, but they will let you know in a hurry if Joe Employee cannot get his uniform because you are out of stock or didn’t cut the extra sizes. This is your responsibility even though you may have entered into the program using the account’s “numbers and usages.” Right, wrong or indifferent, this is never their problem.

Do you have a knowledgeable staff?
Can you walk into a meeting with the director of purchasing, a CEO and a president of a company and answer all of their questions? Are you prepared enough to guide them in the direction that is best for their program? You must know more than your account about what types of apparel will work best for them and why. The decision makers have reached the position they are in by knowing their jobs and knowing how to get things done. They are looking at you to handle this program for them, this is supposed to be your specialty, so know what you are talking about and be able to back it up. A very important point here: DO NOT MAKE PROMISES YOU CAN’T KEEP. Do not tell the people to whom you are making the presentation things you think they want to hear. Tell them the truth and tell them the reasons why some things are feasible and some are not.

Are you using your clients’ and your own resources properly?
If you are a dealer going after a national account, talk to your vendors. Pick their brains and use their experience. Most of the people in our industry have been involved with these types of accounts many times. They know how they work and how to make them work to their advantage. Sometimes you can work out a schedule of delivery that works for you financially in terms of quantities and timing. Don’t be afraid to take a vendor into an appointment with you, especially when it comes time to close the deal. I have found that a potential customer appreciates the fact that I don’t profess to know everything about everything. If it is an outerwear, issue bring in the vendor you intend to use. If it is a matter of specifications, you can then lead the account to build the item in a way that benefits you and your vendor. I have been on both sides of this issue. As a vendor, I have been there to guide both the account and the client as to what types of fabrics and garment construction would best serve them. You don’t want a sheer silk blouse for a flight attendant who is pushing a serving cart! It looks great and designers love to spec them, but they are not practical or cost effective. On the other side of the coin, I have more than once taken a vendor in and let them do the presentation of their product. I always let the client know that I have a working knowledge of the product but am not an expert. This has always proven beneficial to me, and I have had quite a bit of success in working this way.

Do you know your vendors lead times?
Make sure that all facets of the project can be brought together in a timely fashion, it does not benefit anyone if you can only supply part of the program at the outset. Scheduling is very important; here again you can rely on your vendor’s experience. If the outerwear is an eight-week lead-time and the ties are a two-week you need to know this and correlate it with delivery and pricing proposals.

Do you know your competition?
Make certain that you are presenting apples to apples. More than once, a sale has been lost because one person was offering one thing and you might be offering another. You can’t sell a Cadillac to someone who is looking for a Taurus price. Here again it is important to know the customer’s needs and requirements. Do not be undersold because you have presented a better product and did not realize that the customer is not knowledgeable enough to realize that all oxford shirts or all khaki pants are not created equal! KNOW THE ACCOUNT. Get in front of them and guide them. Be prepared to back up the reasons for offering the products that you have presented. If it is not a bid situation with customer-provided specs, it is up to you to develop written specs and guidelines for them to work with. This also enables you to guide them in a fashion that benefits you and your vendors. A good example of this is several years ago when the 3M product Thinsulate came out, we wrote specifications including a “micro fiber” of a specific size and loft etc. Consequently we were the only ones at the time that knew what the specific product actually was and were able to bid on it because the outerwear manufacturer was on board with us and we built the only legitimate bid-required samples and had the only true cost. Everyone else was presenting oranges to our original apples! Do not be afraid to challenge specifications, many times they are written by people that do not have a working knowledge of how or why certain things are done. Point out things that can cause problems in manufacturing. Too often people will have samples made without taking into consideration what is really feasible in a production line. Don’t get caught in this. It can be a very expensive oversight. If a customer signs off on a sample that has been tailored in a sample shop but is not really conducive to a production line, you can have a serious problem both in delivery and cost!

Are you ready for the commitment?
Taking on this type of business is a major business decision, especially if the account is using items that are embroidered or have some sort of identifying treatment. This is not inventory that you can pull from or for your other everyday business. It may be a fabric specified just for them or a shirt that normally is a one-pocket style they want two pockets on. These types of things constitute both warehouse and handling concerns as well as financial concerns. It is the age-old story you can’t sell it if you don’t have it, but can you afford to have it before you sell it? You do not want your other business to suffer to such a degree that you endanger it. That business is what got you to where you are today. Also involved with the commitment are personnel issues. Do you have enough people to handle the new large workload-customer service, warehouse personnel, administrative people? Is the salesperson handling this sale knowledgeable about the various items involved? You cannot sell what you don’t understand. Have someone with experience handle this account, or else send the person involved to mills to learn about the piece goods that are to be used, send them to a vendors factory and have the vendor give them an education about their product. The time and cost of doing this is well spent.

National sales can be a lot of fun even though they are a tremendous amount of work. There is nothing like the excitement of sinking your teeth into something large and complex and seeing it come to fruition. Paying attention to detail is vitally important. Once you get things under control and have your customer service people working cohesively with manufacturing and sales, the smooth flow will be extremely rewarding. Once you make the commitment, don’t look back; learning to overcome obstacles and bumps in the road are invaluable teaching aids for you in how to grow your business and make it run efficiently and profitably with a great sense of satisfaction. So enjoy your new ventures. The hair you pull out usually will grow back and you will have a bigger and more profitable business.

Above story first appeared in MADE TO MEASURE Magazine, Fall & Winter 2002 issue. All rights reserved. Photos appear by special permission.
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