I am at home thinking about my job, which is now a virtual position. I am hoping that my social media does not expose my Capital insurrection or my scantly clad dances. My company is a family run business that is in its third generation. If I did not have this job, I don’t know what I would do. Simultaneously, despite free donuts on Fridays, the job is a mind-numbing Groundhog Day type experience. I do the same things every day, as I work in the sales department on the phones.
The products are good, but not great. The customers are the same people every day. They are the ying to my yang. By that, I mean they are the procurement people at the manufacturer’s representatives we sell our products in the open market. They are equally enthused about their days.
I have talked to my boss about building promotional contests and promotions with these equally bored customers. He replies that he wants better productivity, more calls per day, and a higher sales percentage per my time on the job. After all, my commissions will go up if I get more sales.
Something is missing. Fifty percent of my thoughts are that I should be doing something different. Forty-nine percent of my thoughts are that I should be finding new ways to excite my customers. One percent is left to wonder what I would do if I won the lottery.
What does this have to do with promotion? After all, the inside sales representative is doing their job. Arguably, their boss is also doing their job. How can anyone be faulted for not promoting their products?
Let’s rewind. What if there were promotional events that were intertwined with this experience? What if a contest was had once a month for the manufacture’s representative with the best result (i.e. a Kohls gift certificate). What if the manufacture’s representative were promoted on the web site as a representative of the month? What if the company had a monthly video blog that announced the best sale and its intended purpose?
On the surface, every one of us understands the initial benefit of this type of promotion. Yet, it is never done because there is never the underlying support for such an effort. Advok8, my company, could be contracted to promote such an effort … each and every month. I wonder, how would this impact sales?
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