Recently I’ve talked to several Fabricators who read my article “Your Best Customers Are On Someone Else’s Prospecting List,” and many are trying to solve the issue the WRONG way.

Here are some of the questions I’m getting asked:

• Can your CRM remind my salesperson to visit a customer quarterly and then send me a confirmation report?
• Can I record all their phone calls and use AI to review the conversations?
• Can I ‘geofence’ their phones (GPS tracking) and get an alert when they drive into a customer’s parking lot?

Honestly, every time I hear these, I can’t help but think—maybe we should also check if they’re a foreign spy! BAHAHAHA!

I always reply, “Yes, we can do all those things – but none of them will work.”

If you feel the need to micromanage a salesperson to that extent, it might be time to find a new one. And if you try to micromanage a great rep, they’ll be polishing their resume by the end of the week.

Let’s also be clear – landing new customers isn’t 100% the salesperson’s responsibility. Their role with prospects is to be available, accessible, and a creative problem solver.

Let’s unpack this in the context of working with a Builder, K&B, or Interior Designer:

• Available – “{Prospect}, I’m here to help solve your countertop challenges. I can help you secure better pricing, faster install dates, more material variety, or simply better communication.”
• Accessible – “I’m here whenever you need me. I can get you answers right when you need them and always be your go-to person to get things done.”
• Creative Problem Solver – “I know you want better pricing. How about I research a different material that fits your needs? -or- “I understand you need this installed by a certain date; let me run it up the chain. I can’t promise miracles, but I might be able to offer you some options.”

This might seem like a complete approach, but it’s missing some key insights we’ve learned over the years that drive real sales success.

{insert-not-so-subtle-plug-here} Here are some of the special tools and reports we equip all our Fabricators’ Sales Reps teams with:

1.      Current Customer Health – Which accounts need extra attention? We provide a ‘health score’ for each customer: Are quotes trending up or down compared to last year? When was their last bid? What percentage of quotes aren’t turning into orders—and why?
2.     Keep Score – How many new customers were added last month? How much did they spend? And are your reps’ compensation structures set up to reward these wins?
3.     Give Prospects a Reason to Switch – Switching fabricators is a big risk. Arm your Sales Reps with a strong market advantage: “We install in 7 days,” “Commit to X square feet and we’ll give you the best price,” or “We send text updates directly to you or the homeowner.”
4.     Make Problem Solving a Regular Conversation – Ever put a list of expired quotes in front of a customer? It’s amazing what they’ll reveal:

• “How can we help you close more of those big orders?”
• “What can we do differently to help you win more deals?”
• “ Let’s discuss recent shifts in the local marketplace and how to navigate them together.”

These regular conversations show you care. “I’m your sales rep, and I want to help you close more business. How can we better support you to drive more sales for both of us?”

Takeaway:
Yes – supporting your Sales Reps may require some operational changes, but don’t you want to stand out in the marketplace anyway? So, if you’re ready to shut down the CIA branch of your business, try these ideas out. And if you still insist on tracking every move your sales team makes… at least give them a cool codename like ‘Agent 007 CM,’ ‘Quartz Crusader,’ or ‘Granite Gladiator.’

Recently I’ve talked to several Fabricators who read my ‘Your Best Customers Are On Someone Else’s Prospecting List” and many are trying to solve it THE WRONG WAY.

Here are questions I am getting asked:

• Can your CRM remind my salesperson to go see their customer quarterly and send me a report it was done?
• Can I record all their phone calls and use AI to review the conversation?
• Can I ‘geofence’ (GPS Phone Tracking) their phones and get an alert if they drove into a customer’s parking lot?

In my mind I’m always thinking, we should check if they are a foreign spy too!! BAHAHAHA!

I always respond with –“Yes, we can do all those things – but none of them will work’

First, if you must micromanage a salespersonto this degree – it’s time for a new one. And if you do this to a good rep, they’ll be polishing their resume that week.

Let’s also be clear –getting new customersisn’t 100% the Sale’s Persons responsibility.  The Sales person’sjob to prospects is to be available, accessible, and a creative problemsolver.

Lets unpack each of these as it relates to a relationship with a Builder, K&B or Interior Designer:

• Available – “{Prospect}, I’m here to help you solve your ‘countertop’ problems.I could help you get better pricing, faster install dates, more material variety or provide better communication.”
• Accessible – “I’m here whenever you need me. I can get you answers when you need them. I’m always ready to be your go-to guy/gal to get things done”

This may feel conclusive bit it’s missing some important things we’ve found over the years that really help Sales Reps success.
? {insert-not-so-subtle-plug-here}. Here are some of the special tools and reports we equip all our Fabricator’s
Sales Reps teams with.

1. Current Customer Health – Which accounts need attention? We provide a ‘health score’ for each customer. Are Quotes up or down compared to last year? When did we get their last bid? What % of quotes DON’T turn into an order and why?
2. Keep Score – How many new customers were added last month? How much did they spend? Are the rep’s compensation structures setup to benefit from this?
3. Give Prospects a Reason to Switch to You – There is a big risk for a builder or K&B to switch to a new fabricator. Arm your Sales Reps with a strong market advantage: “We install in 7 days”, “Commit to ‘X’ square feet and we can give you the best price’, ‘We text updates directly to you or the homeowner”
4. Make Problem Solving a Regular Conversation – Ever tried putting a list of expired quotes in front of your customer? It’s amazing what they’ll tell you.

-“How can we help you get more of those big orders to close?”
-“What can we do differently to help you win more deals?”
-Discuss recent shifts in the Local Market Place and how to navigate it together
These regular conversation shows you care. “I’m your sales rep and I want to help you close more business. “How can we better support you to get you (and us) more sales.”

Take Away:
Yes – to support your Sales Reps, this will take operational changes. But don’t you want to stand out in the market place anyways?

So, if you’re ready to shut down the CIA branch of your business, try these ideas out. And if you still insist on tracking your sales guy’s every move… at least give him a cool codename like ‘Agent 007 CM’, ‘Quartz Crusader’ or ‘Granite Gladiator’.