Know-How Exchange : Strategy

Moriarty, thanks for your comments. Let me give you some more information and and maybe you can can give me some ideas. We manufacture a toilet support for wall mounted toilets. Wall mounted toilets will only support up to 350 pounds without breaking away from the wall. When a toilet breaks away from the wall the person using it will be injured and will sue the facility. Our product prevents this.
We need a spiff program to motivate distributor sales pros to sell more. Any suggestions?

Hey, it's great to hear back from you. Now I have to admit that toilet fittings falling off walls is not the first thing I worry about when getting up in the morning. My ex built houses, so I have a good idea what goes into making a bathroom - and commercial ones too.

So tell me: how often does a toilet actually fall off a wall? What would you say to the guy who's just jumped out of his van on a rush job to buy stuff for a new office bathroom?

To my mind selling through suppliers isn't going to work too well. I could be wrong, only as I say, this kind of thing just doesn't happen. Okay, so it does, and you have the product to sort it - only it's not the sort of thing that would go on our list when specifying for a job (which became one of my jobs). Whether it happens or not, do people think about this?

Because to me this is the crux of the issue: who is concerned enough to use one of these fittings? Who is it that gives that sort of guarantee? Especially in a world where prices are nailed so hard the china comes from China not Wisconsin or wherever it might get made. Most folk are out cutting corners, not making their sales pitch harder by mentioning toilets falling off walls ... they'd loose the pitch if they did.

Targeting the kind of firm that thinks in terms of quality and service has to be your #1 priority.

I mean, do any move off the shelves at all?? Forgive me if I sound doubtful, only we do live in the real world where the plumber has seen his income halved in the last ten years. Anything he can save on a job is in his bank balance - and he isn't worried about the occasional toilet that falls to the floor, that is the sort of thing that just happens.

The friend I mentioned above had a product that in truth fell into much the same category as yours. It could have sold, in modest numbers, had he sold it to people who actually wanted it rather than assuming that everyone wanted one and therefore he didn't need to bother selling it. I have dealt with the real world enough to know what sold for me, and what didn't. I used English paints and English colors here in Holland, and believe me they were popular - once people knew about them. One of my problems was getting it known at all! Believe me in that competitive market I simply didn't stand a chance against the fixed ideas created by the big brand names. Mind you if I'd known a quarter of what I do now, I might have dug myself a nice little niche (and thereby retain my job as an interior decorator).

Don't get me wrong - I'm all for a good idea. Just don't expect everybody to see it with your eyes.

Does this stream-of-consciousness babble say anything to you? My feelings are that you need to find the guys who need your product, because they will be your best advocates and referrals in a very conservative (and hard hit) line of business.

Moriarty,
Thanks.
Facility managers are aware of the danger of wall mounted toilets. Last year two of our distributors sold over $200, 000.00 each. If our distributor salespro will show our product to their customers and prospects on a regular basis they will make sales. Any ideas on how to motivate them to do so?

Okay; fair do's as the Aussies say. You've sold significant numbers of these things. That's way more than the guy I mentioned ever did. So well done for making the stuff move - well done for getting something onto the market that I would have suggested wouldn't have a chance!! But then, we were at the sharp end that got clobbered on price every time - or certainly a lot of the time.

I want to know: what are your buyers buying them saying to their customers that lands them the job because of these products. Is it as direct as you suggest, or is there another angle on this because if there is, this could be your breakthrough.

You mention "on a regular basis" again this is an issue of no small importance. What's behind their acceptance after 3-8 times of seeing the product, why isn't it the first time? Again there's something in this that tells me that something else needs to be said.

If you have sold as many as you have - and again well done - who precisely is buying them and why. Less the "why" more the "who". Because these aren't just anybody, they are real people with real needs and you are filling a need. somewhere in all this is the key to your getting yourself a real USP* and the recognition that you deserve - and if not sales then definite, concrete interest on the first introduction. Because that's when customers phone you rather than you give yet more to salesmen. What's more, they are your best salesmen as they will spread the word in ways that a salesman never could. Are you getting my drift on this?

I'm not taking this from the salesman's perspective but from the purchaser. Knowing whose likely to buy is way more important than just putting it in front of every passing dog-walker. Find out who they are, and you will be able to determine your market size and a turnover that is genuine and factual rather than imaginary and hopeful. Not every owner of a toilet is going to be worried or interested in these affairs of yours, and it's important to realize this (unless you get lucky and the whole thing takes off - and that does mean "lucky" - what's more that entails all sorts of logistical problems for you as a small business).

What kind of guarantee can you offer with this product? Ponying up beforehand can have magical effects on sales without even lifting a finger - what's more it need not be something you have to pay out on very often. Yet the benefits can be very large indeed.

*If you haven't met the USP, it's time you did. Because you have something that does make you stand out from the crowd. A unique selling proposition is something that only you can give. My apologies if I don't go too deeply, they're digging up the road again and I can't really think!

Back to you Moriarty,
As you know when presenting a new item to a customer it is usually on the 5th sales call before they buy. Persistence is they key. Our largest market segment is hospitals and nursing homes. As I stated before any facility with a wall mounted toilet is a prospect. Many people to day in the USA or weighting 400 lbs or more. And when they sit on a wall mounted toilet it is going to break and they are going to be injured. And they are going to sue. Facilities have fire insurance to protect them from loss yet most never have a fire. If that is the case why don't they cancel their fire insurance. Our toilet support is like that insurance policy. A facility may never a wall mounted toilet break but if they do they will be sued. It happened to the Trump Taj Mahal in Atlantic City, NJ. They settled out of court with a 74 years old lady for 1.2 million dollars and just think for an investment of $325.00 or less they would have saved that big settlement. No, every facility manager will not buy a toilet support. But when he is hit by a large lawsuit he will wish he had. Probably more information than you wanted.. But I hope this will help you understand where I am coming from.

I have to admit that living in the Netherlands, I don't meet so many overweight people. Sure, some are - how can you put it - pudgy? They aren't anywhere near 400lbs. As to the insurance angle, the costs of litigation and the rest, that much is fairly clear to me. The issue of insurance is also clear to me. However your point about the institutions who are buying these things, that's a very different matter. So thanks for clearing that up.

Are your salesmen cold calling?

I agree that in many cases it is the fifth sales call - but wait! I'm not suggesting cold calling. Who is making the decision to purchase normally? How can you get to them **before** they get that sales call? You can get your foot in the door (so to speak) through Google's display network (all those ads you see in online newspapers, magazines, anywhere that has sponsored ads). Targeting is something of an art, with sales of $200,000 you should be able to run a sensible campaign - small to start with as these things are scaleable. You can use every angle you like in terms of emotional strings - and see which comes out tops.

The point about using the display network is that people don't have to be looking for the thing you're selling. They will notice an ad that tackles all of the issues you've raised - and for a very reasonable cost. You can generate leads for your salesforce to follow up - which is way more powerful than just phoning around. Either that or you can automate your sales to some degree until they want to be contacted. Building an email list from such leads is fantastically powerful.

Does the price include fitting? Can you license plumbers to fit them with a guarantee?

What are your thoughts on this approach? It's not the usual way of things, it is fast and it is effective at generating hot leads who phone you.