Home Center Merchant

SETTING: Office of the sales promorion manager of a regional home center chain. The two characters have never met. The salesman has waited 25 minutes beyond the scheduled appointment time. He enters. The man beyond the impressive-looking desk is speaking on the phone. The man motions to the chair. The salesman sits. The man is on the phone another five minutes.

The Man: (Hanging up) "Sony ro keep you waiting, the manager's meeting ran a half hour over and I've had to put out some fires at the newspaper."

Salesman: "I understand . mav I call vou Bill?"

Bill: "Please do."

Salesman: "There sure is a lot of activitv here."

Bill: "Yeh. we keep busy. Now explain to me again what you told me on the phone. What are you trying to sell me?"

We will prepare a full-color mailing piece offering your customers a brand name paint sprayer for its regular price. $,49.95. your customer just mails back ttre order form u.ith his charge paymenr. The $49.95 gers charged to his account."

Bill: "Then?"

Salesnnn: "You send us the order and we drop ship the painr sprayer right to his home."

Bill: "O.K.. nou *'ho gets what?"

Salesman: "There's 1O% profit at $-19.95. We take our expenses off the top for the sprayer. the production of the full-color starement stuffer. the handling. packaging. and shipping. Once our costs are covered we split the profits 50/50."

...Silence...

Salesnnn: "Here is a list of retailers '*e'r.e worked with before. Ask them for a recommendation and remember you're not ins€ning anything uith vour statements no\r.

and you've nothing to lose and los to gain. We're got a strong track record."

...Ivloresilence...

Bill: "Nope. it sounds like a good idea. bur uho needs 1'ou'l' lirdal: I fird myself raking on opposire roles. ln ml work as a consultant. there are programs I rccommend to retailers that arc historica.lly' successful and profitable. T}rc1' should be implemented by my office or other ou6ide sen'ice companies. But. too often the retailer reacts just rhe way I did many )€an ago. And too often the program ne\€r gets staned. Sometinres it takes an experienced executi\€ a $hile to recognize that the arailabilitl of talenr on board is no guarantee that a project u'ill erer get surtd or finished.

"We hare paint spravers. and I can have my ad people prcparc a mailing piece. And someho'* ue'll get the orden processed and shipped. There's nothing thar you can do that we cani do."

Salesman: "You're righr. There is nothing that w€ do rhar you can'r do. Except! We'll do it. You will always find l0l other priorities thar prerent you from completing the program."

Thal scene tmk place manl'yean ago. I ,Aas the Bill. The salesman was righr. One vear later I had him on the phone and gare him ttrc go ahead. We ran a rery successful and profitable staternent stuffer.

An1' program stands a bener chance to succeed '*hen the ones rcsponsible receirr no benefit until ir's completed.