ADDING VALUE - BRINGING VALUE A Presentation from (your name) to (principal’s name)

The pressure is on * Everyone wants to add value * Everyone wants to reduce cost * Everyone wants to become more effective and efficient * Our customer’s solution is not the way!

Responding to the current challenge * You have to take their request to deal direct seriously * You have to act in the best interest of your company * Giving in to the request is not in the best interest of your company, nor of theirs!

What we all have to do * Provide a better product * Bring more value for less cost * Solve problems, present solutions Communicate how what we offer solves the customer’s problem * Put the most competent, best motivated salespeople on their account

Serving the customer at their locations * A cost of doing business, not an option * How to pay for it is an option -- payroll or outsource

Why you made your decision to outsource * Better market penetration * Solutions selling through product synergies * Predetermined sales cost that goes up and down with sales * More “feet on the street” * No cost until there is a sale

Should outsiders second-guess your decision? * You chose reps as your solution to cost- effectiveness * We are not an added cost, but an alternate method of field sales compensation * You chose reps to field more and better salespeople, and serve your customers better, at less expense

Dollars and sense reasons for outsourcing field sales * You pay only for results, not for effort * Your costs are predictable, and go up and down with sales * You have no sales expenses during the long nurturing process * You save on overhead - offices, automobiles, computers, benefits

More dollars and sense * You eliminate the “soft costs” of administration and managing people * You avoid legal exposures and expenses of compliance with local laws and regulations * You have to train only on product * You get more feet on the street * You get more skills and experience

Your advantages continue * You get a more stable sales force, who are not looking for promotion to another territory or the home office * You get better market intelligence through our multiple exposures * You get better penetration with people and departments that a single-product sales force might not be calling on

And that’s not all! * You offer the customer a systems solution, based on our knowledge of the other products they need * You get more product exposures, through more people presenting your line

What the customer loses if you go direct

The customer forfeits * The efficiency and time savings of a multiple-line call * The established stable relationship with someone who already knows both corporate cultures - yours and theirs * The rep’s ability to bridge inter-departmental communications gaps

More customer benefits * Our long-term commitment to the territory and to them, based on all the products we offer * Our ability to be more objective in advocating for them to you * Our consultative approach and systems solutions

Why the customer’s reasoning is fallacious

They misunderstand the rep’s function * We are NOT a channel intermediary adding cost without value, we are YOUR sales force, simply paid on a different basis * We do not take possession, nor mark up price * We are not a barrier to communication, we are a facilitator of communication, reaching higher and wider in both companies

Have EDI and the Internet obsoleted us? * On the contrary, they add to our value, handling routine so we are more productive * EDI facilitates tracking, re-orders for current products, but NOT technology introduction * It can’t train customer personnel, help negotiate contracts, analyze alternate solutions, nor deal with exceptions

High tech can’t replace high touch!

Will eliminating the rep eliminate the rep’s commission? * You’ll have added cost, not less cost, because of higher overhead factors and the need to take on “soft costs” we now assume * You chose the rep route for economic reasons - and you know the economics of your company better than the customer does

Will using direct employees give you more control? * The important thing is results, not control * Today’s focus on core competencies leads to outsourcing * They outsource many functions for best results -- why shouldn’t you?

Won’t your direct salesperson have more product knowledge? * Products don’t exist in a vacuum -- the multiple line rep focuses on the product being designed, and on its whole bill of materials * Reps relate the specific need to the total situation, and bring a solutions approach involving related products * Reps access answers from many sources

This is not about US * This is about the value YOU provide, with our involvement, to our mutual customer

They have the right to run their business But not yours!

You made a good decision to control costs and bring value to the customer by outsourcing Stick to your guns!