The Two Eyes of Sales

Over a half century has passed since I entered the world of business.  A lot of things have changed.  For one, the concept of selling has changed.  The value of personal contact has diminished.  Starting in the eighties, sales forces took a drastic change as a result of cost cutting.  I have seen companies that had powerful sales forces that started to nibble away at the sales structure going from having multiple company representatives (each from a different product category) calling on the supermarkets, to being reduced to a single person, then to a a part-time person, and now it appears, they want to use jobbers to call on the local supermarkets.

In my early years there were two sales forces (sales and marketing -- my thought of two eyes), where the sales forces sold the customer and the marketing departments focused on the consumer.  Most companies cannot function without both the customer and the consumer.  If your customer does not put your brand(s) in their stores, the consumer cannot purchase it.  Actually the importance of the customer's cooperation goes well beyond that of a supplier of your product(s).  The customer is all important.  They not only supply the product for the consumer, they control the in-store location, shelf space, the price, the featuring, etc.  They are all important to the life of the brand.  And yes, the consumer is all important; he/she must see your brand as a solution to his/her needs.

Many in the marketing department will tell you that marketing is not a science, it is an art and there are few people who can not only do the job but even understand it.  I say, Bull.  Marketing is all about selling.  It is not just about developing image, awareness, association, etc.  It is about sales.  The other things are just tools to selling.  If you got a great promotion that everyone likes but it does not sell the brand, (i.e. the Coke ad of Mean Joe Green and the little boy), hank it.  Every promotion should be evaluated on the basis of product moved and the relevant cost.

Today, I see reduced sales forces with heavy contact with corporate headquarters and reduced or even eliminated supermarket contact.  The marketing department is directing more and more focus on corporate headquarters and buyers than ever before.  The eyes seem to be crossing.  I support the shift in the marketing department's focus, it's the reduced emphasis on the individual supermarkets that seems to be ill-advised.

Actually I look at the sales person as the front line brand manager.  He or she operates much like the front line military officers in a war zone.  It is an early warning system and a point of purchase management.  Think about trying to fight a war with only management in the command post and nothing on the front lines.  That is how I see an organization without front line sales.  Maybe companies should look at their operations as a war with their competitors and utilize the tools of an effective army.  Fight the battles on the competitors' ground, not yours (be offensive not defensive), have a strong trained army, have a strong field command, use the best and newest technology (actually develop your technology), have the best equipment and up-to-date information.

An army without a front line command will never know what is happening until it is too late.  Usually about the time the command post is surrounded.

Just last night I met a former employee of a detergent company who was shopping for automatic dishwasher detergent.  She had to pick up seven boxes of detergent before she could find one that was not caked.  She said she wondered why they were on the shelf in such poor condition.  Well, that company no longer has front line brand management (sales).  What do you expect?  Do you think the store management is going to do your job?