Notes form the field – How Sales Reps Work

by Jen Linck ~ July 11th, 2004. Filed under: Publishing Basics, Sales And Marketing, Sales Tips.

NOTES FROM THE FIELD—HOW SALES REPS WORK

Every sales rep works differently—they have to be flexible in order to present your books in the way that a particular account or buyer wants to hear about them. Some buyers want to get a catalog and samples with the rep following up by phone. Some buyers never want to hear from a rep—as long as they get a catalog then they’re happy. And some buyers want to—and need to—see the rep in person.

I’d like to share a little bit about these in-person sales calls. I think it helps the publisher gain perspective to know about the process and the environment. The in-person sales call might happen at a major chain like Books-A-Million or Borders or it could happen at one of the Independents like Book Soup or Tattered Cover. The experience is different at every one—with a few things in common: the rep needs to make an appointment with their buyer (or several buyers if it’s a chain buying by category—like B&N and Borders) and he or she has to be prepared to present to that buyer.

One of the toughest parts of being a good book sales rep is feeling out a new buyer—What kinds of books do they like? What are their pet peeves? What impresses them? How much research do they need on a title? What materials do they need to see? What kind of donuts do they prefer? (OK—this last one is only true at some accounts…)

A rep’s goal is to relate information on all of the titles “in their bag” that day and make sure that the account buys the appropriate—not the maximum—number of books. The only people making money off returns are the shipping companies, so we all want to keep returns down.

The rep has to be able to get the buy he or she wants in 30 seconds or less of “pitch” time. So, if they have to spend 15 seconds explaining away a problem (price too high, uninteresting cover, author without credentials, poor production quality, lack of promotion) then they’ve wasted precious time. It is extremely important that the publisher provide the best sales materials and finished product that they can. The rep only gets one, very brief, chance for each title.

The buyer may have questions—usually tough questions about the author’s track record or the publisher’s lack of a publicity plan—but, in most cases, the buyer wants to move on to the next title. They will most likely have already made their decision to buy or not to buy. But they’ll place the order in their system much later—especially at the chain stores. Some chains can take up to 8 weeks to actually put the order in the system.

An effective sales manager of a book sales force will do everything in their power to free up their reps’ time so that they can focus on their buyers and their accounts. We want to keep the reps on the road and in the customers’ offices and stores. That’s why all of your publicity and other information is funneled through the main office where we can organize it and get it into the right hands in a timely fashion. Thanks to all you who have been cooperating in those efforts.