James Smith
Advanced Electric Service, Inc.

I believe most EASAns would agree that the competitive advantage we have over others is our technical expertise. It’s what separates us from some of the big power transmission (P.T.) houses and Internet sales com­panies. I know I’m the greatest service to my customers when they let me use my experience to solve their specific problems.

I used to have a hard time decid­ing on how to dress for sales calls. Twenty-five years ago, business casual really didn’t exist. My choices were either a suit and tie or my uniform. I found out then and continue to believe today that I’m most effective as an outside salesman when I dress as a technician. If I were to dress in something too “formal,” my custom­ers wouldn’t let me go to the places where I can help them the most (places that are good and dirty).

Observing needs onsite
I’ve also found that it pays off to observe everything you can when visit­ing a customer location. For example, I was conducting an infrared scan of a customer's electrical service when I noticed that a new Variable Frequency Drive (VFD) had been installed. I asked the customer about it and reminded him that we stock and sell VFDs. I told him we would appreciate the opportunity to be considered the next time he needed to purchase a VFD. And that has paid off. 

During the last fifteen years, we've sold this customer more than $25,000 in small VFDs. We get the sales be­cause:

1. We know their systems and equipment and can provide the right product for the application.
2. We know and service the products we sell.
3. We provide training and will go onsite to program and trouble shoot if needed.
4. We stock the drives they use. 

Price has never been an issue with this customer. I'm certain that our price is competitive, but I'm also certain that there’s always someone who might undercut me with a lower price – and of course less service. My advantage is that this customer sees firsthand the value of the onsite service we provide.

Looking for opportunities 
We make certain that all of our technicians take advantage of sales opportunities when they’re onsite performing an outside service. Our value to our customers is that we’re right there, with them, helping to solve a problem. We have a responsibility to them make them aware of all the products and services we sell.
One of the reasons we offer so many products and services is that in our small market, our best opportunity for sales growth is to sell more to our existing customers. Our best salesmen are our onsite technicians. 

Categories: Technical topics

Tags: Sales

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