money, Murphy said. “I tell new sales reps, ‘This is what you need to do. I’m going to give you some accounts. They are already established. All you have to do is go see them,’” Murphy said. Murphy reiterated she has structured Murphy Sanitary Supply not around sales as much as offering support to sales reps. “What we are really doing is just telling sales people to go see people, find out what they need, follow up, and then go call on someone else,” Murphy said. “Again, salespeople need to realize there is nothing magical about selling. They don’t have to pull a rabbit out of their hats. “On a typical sales call, I might say, ‘I’m Jeannie Murphy. My company is right down the street. If we can ever help you with cleaning and maintenance supplies, let us know. We have some really incredible products. If you ever have five or 10 minutes, I’ll come back and we can chat about them. I know what you do, and there are some things that come to mind that might really help you.’ Then I say, ‘Have a good day,’ and walk out. What is key, is communicating that introduction to the right person at the facility.” While a salesperson may not make a sale initially, that one visit often plants a seed that results in future business, Murphy said. “Guess what? A year and a half later that customer might call and say, ‘I have this brochure you left and we are interested,’” Murphy said. “It is amazing what just one visit will accomplish. If a sales rep conducts his/her business in a professional Q-Star manner, people don’t forget. Microfiber Roll “Therefore, salespeople must 99.9% Removal of Bacteria look sharp. They should dress A Selection of every day like they are going to Bottles and meet the president of the comAll Purpose Microfiber Cloth Trigger Sprayers Can be used wet or dry pany, even though they are calling on facility support individuals such as custodians and housekeepers. You never know if the person walking down the hall toward you is the person in charge. He/she might notice you and ask the housekeeper, ‘Who was that Silvercloth - Ideal for the Hospital & Healthcare COLOUR person?’” CODE SYSTEM CONDUCTING BUSINESS WITH MILLENNIALS
different from many other career paths. There is no one set of rules, or job description, to go by, Murphy said. “It is not like somebody sets you down and says this is your job description. You take this peg and put it in this hole and you drive this screw here — you do this, you do that,” Murphy said. “In essence, you give a sales rep some product literature and say, ‘This is what we offer. Go out there and see if you can find somebody who will buy something from you.’” At many companies, 20 percent of the sales force makes 80 percent of the
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14 — Maintenance Sales News — May/June 2020
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illennials now dominate the workforce and are often the most resistant to in-person contact with salespeople. Sticking to her guns in the effort to establish face-to-face relationships, Murphy seems to have cracked the code on how to win over that generation. “Most of my interactions with millennials occur in a larger company setting where they have been brought into the fold, have been