Column: Respect the Traveling Salespeople

While Peter Smith understands the tremendous demands on jewelers’ time today, he points out that it only takes a minute to be civil to traveling salespeople.

Peter Smith TheRetailSmiths@gmail.com

I was in Pennsylvania this past week and my colleague and I stopped in to say hello to a retailer “friend” whom I have known for about 15 years. We had a few minutes to spare between calls with two of our customers.

Peter Smith has more than 30 years of experience building wholesale and retail sales teams. He currently is president of Vibhor Gems.

When we entered the store, we were approached by an employee who could not have been less welcoming.

“How can I help you?” she demanded, summoning her most authoritative voice and demeanor and aiming a disgusted look our way.

I indicated that I just stopped in to say hello to my friend, stretching the association somewhat as we’ve never actually shared Christmas cards or attended family events with one another.

“He is not here … do you have an appointment?”

“No,” I replied, “I just wanted to say hello.” I handed her my business card and we left the store.

I hadn’t quite experienced anything like that since I worked for Montblanc back in 1994, when I visited a store in Connecticut one day and the retailer was so nasty that I had to remind myself that I had in fact showered that morning.

My colleague and I left that particular store, and we both agreed that the experience had been disturbing. Was it possible, we wondered, for that woman, and that store, to flip a switch between delivering a great customer experience and a nasty experience to non-customers?

We weren’t sure if the way we were treated was consistent with the wishes of the owner, or if the gatekeeper had taken it upon herself to serve as “chief swat-master,” bound and determined to repel any and all visitors who even remotely appeared interested in selling them something.

The irony of us having stopped in to simply say hello between visits with our own customers was of little consolation. We were, quite frankly, disgusted at the incivility.

I understand that retailers can feel overwhelmed with the number of calls and visits. There are so many demands on retailers today and they’d never get anything done if they were to carve out time every time a salesman paid a visit. That said, what does civility cost?

The experience got me thinking about what the men and women of our industry have to endure on

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an ongoing basis as they traverse their various territories.

Not only must they contend with the very real security issues that are an ever-present danger when visiting jewelry stores, but many of them have to pay their own way, with flights, car expenses and hotels consuming an ever-larger share of their hard-earned dollars.

There are fewer and fewer people coming into our business and I know only too well how incredibly difficult it is to find good traveling salespeople. It is not a profession that attracts young people and it is certainly not a job that is easy for those people who have made a career of representing the various jewelry and watch lines.

With the decreasing number of jewelry stores, and the seemingly ever-increasing number of trade shows, it has never been more difficult for road salespeople to make a living.

I understand that retailers can feel overwhelmed with the number of calls and visits, scheduled and otherwise. There are so many demands on retailers today and they’d never get anything done--let alone sell anything--if they were to carve out time every time a salesman paid a visit. That said, what does civility cost? How difficult would it really be to offer a bottle of water and a sincere apology if you do not have the time to meet with a sales rep? Do the hard-working men and women of our industry not deserve some modicum of respect when they pay a visit?

I don’t imagine that our experience in that store was the norm. I’d like to believe that most retailers are respectful and considerate of traveling salespeople and find a way to politely decline the offer to visit if they do not have the time or inclination to do so.

I have one friend who has long plied his trade in the Southeast who recently said, “I call to make an appointment and they won’t return my calls. Then when I show up, they tell me I need to call and make an appointment. What am I supposed to do?”

He is a hard-working guy and he cares for his profession and for his retailers. He has been robbed by the Colombian gangs on at least two occasions that I know of and yet he still he puts himself in harm’s way day in and day out because this is his job; it’s what he has always done.

So, if you see him, please give him a welcome smile and ask him if he’d like a cold bottle of water.

Peter Smith, author of Hiring Squirrels: 12 Essential Interview Questions to Uncover Great Retail Sales Talent, has spent more than 30 years building sales teams at retail and at wholesale. He currently is president of Vibhor Gems. Email him at peter@vibhorgems.com, dublinsmith@yahoo.com or reach him on LinkedIn.

Peter Smithis an industry consultant, speaker, and sales trainer, and author of 3 books on sales. Reach him at TheRetailSmiths@gmail.com.