Skip to main content

3 Reasons Why Copier Sales Reps Help Your Dealership's Brand

 

When people ask you about yourself, what are the first few things you share?

Aside from where you may live or whether you are married with kids, one of the first things you are most likely to share is your job title or what you do for a living. There’s a good reason as work is a common thread in most of our lives. Sharing with someone where you work and what you do gives them a good idea of what’s important to you. This is just a part of normal "get to know" conversation.

In previous posts, I have shared how important personal brand development is to copier sales reps. In a saturated, highly competitive and somewhat commoditized market, a quick Google search can turn up multitudes of information regarding your dealership and the sales reps who represent your corporate brand.

"Personal branding is about managing your name - even if you don't own a business - in a world of misinformation, disinformation, and semi-permanent Google records. Going on a date? Chances are that your "blind" date has Googled your name. Going on a job interview? Ditto"
Tim Ferris

Your sales rep's name, face, personal style and LinkedIn presence can be major factors in building a positive reputation with prospects and your clients. This is especially true in the complex and rapidly changing business environment where price is no longer the primary differentiator.

Here’s the problem, in the business world, it’s not enough for copier sales reps to take on your dealership's brand as their own. Instead, your sales reps need a well-defined and well-developed personal brand. Your dealership needs to encourage brand development and thank your sales reps who build their brand, as this means more business and a much improved customer experience.

Time and time again in sales meetings, copier sales reps are being told, "Run your sales territory as if it was your business. You are the CEO now go out there develop new business and take care of our clients!"

Copier Dealer Principal's, I am going to ask you all to stop and think real hard about one word for a moment...

Would you allow your dealership to operate without any web presence? Of course you wouldn't. Your website is the window into your dealership portraying your brand in a business professional manner out into the community.

If you are encouraging your sales reps to be the CEO's of their own territory and you know how important your corporate website is to your brand then why on earth would you allow your sales reps to operate their business with incomplete, non-branding LinkedIn profiles?

I ask you, as dealer principals; place yourself in your client's shoes or for that manner a prospect's shoes. Based on your first impression of your sales reps LinkedIn profiles or for that matter any aspect of their digital footprint would you hire and bring them into your company? Tough to digest? 

Here are 3 Reasons Why Copier Sales Reps Help Your Dealership's Brand

 

1. Your dealership has very little personality without your sales reps 

Lets face it we currently operate in an business environment where connections and relationships are the most valuable assets a business can have. Your clients and prospects make choices about the copier dealership they want to work with and buy from based on how well they connect with your sales reps. Copier sales reps with a strong personal brand behind their dealership brand make it easier for clients and prospects to make a meaningful connection.

The personal brands of your sales rep's help to humanize your dealerships brand. This is so huge and a key way to distinguish your dealership from your competitors, especially when you all sell a perceived commodity.

2. Loyalty is built when clients or prospects identify with a sales rep's personal brand 

When your sales reps develop a strong personal brand people will pay attention. These strong personal brands of your sales reps will help your dealership build a loyal client base. Helping your sales rep's build and develop their personal brand is a key strategy as the dealer principal. The value your sales rep's have to your dealership isn't just measured in their sales results but also the impact they have on your dealerships clients.

Foster the culture and the environment to help your sales reps build their personal brand. Encourage them to professionally network, speak at not for profit groups, volunteer out in the community and most importantly have them build out their online presence with their LinkedIn profile.

3. Your sales reps personal brand helps to build your dealerships culture 

Encouraging and allowing your sales reps to build their personal brands will have a positive effect on recruiting and your retention efforts. It definitely portrays something positive about the culture of your dealership and provides a clear window for prospective sales reps to gauge how they will fit into your business culture.

Retention is also easier when you celebrate the personal brands of your sales reps rather than squashing them behind your dealership's brand. Think about it from your sales rep's perspective, wouldn’t they  rather work for a dealership which helps them build upon their brand to help align with the modern buyer rather than being coached to sales methodologies from years gone by?

Now more than ever before personal branding by your sales rep's is not only important to their success but to the success of your dealership. 

Your sales reps are front and center, the face of your dealership. You can help by fostering a sales environment full of skill set development, mindset building, self-development as well as a growth minded atmosphere. Provide to them the tools necessary to perform at their highest level.

Coach and guide your sales reps to create their professional brand. Think of their online and offline reputation in the same manner you think about your dealerships brand. When a prospect is considering a purchase or a client to continue to do business with your dealership, the reputation of your sales team for delivering value and their social proof is mission critical.

"It's important to build a personal brand because it's the only thing you're going to have. Your reputation online, and in the new business world is pretty much the game, so you've got to be a good person. You can't hide anything, and more importantly, you've got to be out there at some level."
Gary Vaynerchuk

It always isn't about this...

But rather this...

 

It is my commitment to help copier dealers grow, win and develop a team of brand building sales machines.

If you enjoyed please share your comments. Look forward to connecting and starting a conversation.

Check out more at the Social Sales Academy blog site.

Please enjoy my other posts on LinkedIn Publisher and on SlideShare

I appreciate getting the opportunity to share my LinkedIn stories. Integrating the use of LinkedIn was my “game-changer” in the highly competitive copier world. With great pride I transform and coach copier sales professionals to grow net new business by helping them tell their story and communicate on LinkedIn. My commitment is to help independent office technology dealers thrive in a changing marketplace. You can follow me on LinkedIn, Twitter, as well as at the Social Sales Academy 

Add Comment

Comments (4)

Newest · Oldest · Popular
Art Post posted:

What happened before LinkedIn, is that any rep who was looking to leave either kept a book of contacts or was stealing data with the customer base list. 

I'm a big fan of co-op dollars being used by the dealers for getting their reps the premium subscriptions.  Just need manufacturers to embrace that idea also.

I was vetted the other day by a prospect, and you know what, I was happy that person paid a visit to my profile. I now feel that I'll have a better chance of helping that prospect because of references, endorsements (don't mean much, but the more the merrier) and of course my profile.

BTW, are you at ITEX this week?  If so, try and catch up with John Anderson

Art, sales reps are front and center. This will always be that way. Trust and environments of positive culture will always win. Operating any business with fear of what will happen or lack of trust is a recipe for constant turnover.

Sure sales reps come and go but management has to foster a winning culture. Sales reps LinkedIn profiles show their dealership as where they work. 

No I will not be at ITEX .

Build the brand, speak to the brand, live it, walk and drive traffic to it.

What happened before LinkedIn, is that any rep who was looking to leave either kept a book of contacts or was stealing data with the customer base list. 

I'm a big fan of co-op dollars being used by the dealers for getting their reps the premium subscriptions.  Just need manufacturers to embrace that idea also.

I was vetted the other day by a prospect, and you know what, I was happy that person paid a visit to my profile. I now feel that I'll have a better chance of helping that prospect because of references, endorsements (don't mean much, but the more the merrier) and of course my profile.

BTW, are you at ITEX this week?  If so, try and catch up with John Anderson

Art Post posted:

Larry, just a question for you.  Could it be that principals and owners don't want their sales people to be awesome with LinkedIn?  My reasoning is that many might would consider this to be a danger to their client base if the rep were to leave.  Just a thought

On the flip side, building your brand as a sales person gives you the unique opportunity to carry your contacts along for life, even if you change jobs, and industries.  

Wouldn't dealerships and reps want to be awesome at everything they do?

Art, you bring up some valid points, however; what was happening before LinkedIn? Sales reps will continue to come and go. It is up to the dealership and management to provide them the foundation and the tools to be successful.

Think about this Art, copier dealer principals have invested decades, countless hours, and millions of dollars to build their brand reputation in their local market but the sales reps are front and center of the dealership.

With a quick search a prospective client can learn or not learn something about a rep based on their online presence. Vetting sales reps out is starting to happen based on incomplete and non-branding, credible LinkedIn profiles.

Invest in your reps and provide them the foundation to succeed... don't you think they may stay? If not and you provided them the foundation to succeed don't you think they would share the positive time they had at the dealership?

Larry, just a question for you.  Could it be that principals and owners don't want their sales people to be awesome with LinkedIn?  My reasoning is that many might would consider this to be a danger to their client base if the rep were to leave.  Just a thought

On the flip side, building your brand as a sales person gives you the unique opportunity to carry your contacts along for life, even if you change jobs, and industries.  

Wouldn't dealerships and reps want to be awesome at everything they do?

Post
×
×
×
×
Link copied to your clipboard.
×
×