Sales Tip: How to get new products in front of your customers

An interesting thing about our industry is that three of the four major flags start the year off with a sales meeting highlighting the previous year’s successes, the introduction of some new products, and a promotion-packed trade show. The result is that you and your territory competitors are all loaded with significant inventory … and invoices.

So, let’s develop a plan to profitably move more inventory to your current customers and maybe get some new customers too.

First, check out your competitors’ websites to learn what they are promoting. This will help you understand if any of your newly purchased products are really “new.”  Now, answer these questions about those “new” products. Who are the target users of these products? Everybody? Body shops? Front-end technicians?

Now, fire off an email or text to those target users including the literature and a comment or two of your own. Don’t post the price since your competition will surely get the information from one of your customers. A second email/text of the same info four to five days later will keep the product fresh in their minds as you make your sales calls. As you make your calls, be darn sure you carry those products you’re hyping and show them to those target customers.