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In Selling It's the Last 3 Feet That Count
Says W . L. Stensgaard at Sales Executive Meeting
L. STENSGAARD, President,
w L Stensgaard and Associates.
Inc., Chicago and President, Point of
Purchase Advertising Institute addressed
the Sales Executives at their Annual
Convention pointing out that hard sell-
ing must again be resorted to for fu-
ture growth in business volume.
Merchandising, he said, has been de-
fined as "The right goods at the
right price at the right place at the
right time." As complex as this may
seem in a world of today—we sure have
the goods and plenty of it. The above
formula leaves out one very important
ingredient—the most impor.ant . . .
"customers . . . people," and their de
sire or willingness to buy.
So we must find the idea--the tools
with which to get the selling |ob done
—to move the goods we can make—to
keep the wheels of our entire economy
turning at the rate to avoid depression
and unemployment. America is grdat
because of selling . . . and now again
the ability of selling will undergo a
severe test. We must regain our stam-
ina and ability fast—no time to waste.
We're Getting Too Lazy
We have forgotten too much and we
have learned many lazy, inefficient ideas
and ways that must go! First we have
forgotten how to really sell and sell
hard. We also have overlooked or for-
gotten the need for good selling tools.
We have a little saying "Selling begins
when the customer says NO" — and
that's what too many people are saying
now. We have chosen one way or one
tool method which lacks follow-thru.
Most plans neglect "The last 3 fete"—
where the goods, the customer, the
money and the salesperson come togeth-
er. Yes, that's also the place where the
sale is lost or switched. That's the place
where merchandising tools should go
into sales action to insure the success
of the advertising and selling plan. All
other advertising does the job of pre-
selling but at "the last 3 feet transac-
tions are made." To us "the last 3
feet" is face to face in the store—house
to house—with the distributor or dealer
-—or mail order. People can come and
go and pick and choose—in this free
enterprise—with no obligation to buy.
Time the "Tops" Became
Sales Minded
"It's high time the "tops" of busi-
ness who want sales success for their
product and company become sales
8
minded—not alone production and op-
erating minded. It's high time every
step of selling the product be consid-
ered carefully to avoid sticking to meth-
W. S. STENSGAARD
ods that won't work when the people's
and dealer's resistance is high like now.
"Begin by being open minded—don't
say "that's not our way" or "it won't
work." Consider any good idea but vis-
ualize it all the way thru to the spot
where it's sold to the customer. Don't
let it lodge with distributors or in ware-
houses or with dealers—keep it moving
—and be sure your plan gets the re-
orders earned for your product. Keep
assortments exposed — avoid "out of
stock" for lack of open to buy caused
by other slow moving goods. Know
facts and figures at dealer level.
"A selling plan begins with the prod-
uct—let's assume it is right and com-
petitive. What are the consumer bene-
fits—discover and find a way to tell that
story well—but remember "the human
mind thinks in pictures not words" so
make sure all can visualize it clearly—
every benefit from the consumer side—
not just your side. Get benefits on pap-
er—in ads—and in every media you
choose—but most of all so your sales-
men can show—tell—demonstrate—and
sell with "know-how" and enthusiasm.
Be sure the benefits are there for all—
the distributor, the dealer, the salesman
and for you—but again most of all for
the consumer.
What Merchandising Means
"Merchandising means product, price
lines, discounts, units assortments, more
of best sellers, less of slow sellers, based
on experience. Merchandising means a
plan for initial inventory, investment,
rate of turn-over, gross profit plan, sales
per square foot in retail (more corn per
acre) and cost per transaction with a
goal for volume related to objective for
final profit picture. Good merchandis-
ing knows the "target plan"—30% of
items or lines do about 70% of volume.
In distribution the same is true, about
30% of dealers or salesmen do about
70% of volume. To a great extent that's
all related to people. Spend less time
on the fringe areas of selling—more on
the target. Good branded lines mean
repeat business and require stocks in
depth to avoid lost sales. Selling to-
day is low pressure—not high pressure
—old time high pressure methods won't
work—America is too smart and too
big — but — aggressive, well conceived,
hard hitting plans will work if they
bring benefits to all concerned. There
can be no substitute for work again in
your selling plan especially at "the last
3 feet—the point of sale."
17 Billion Saved Last Year
Ability to buy—is not any indication
of willingness to buy. People saved
over 17 billion dollars last year—al-
most 8% of their income after taxes—
and it's continuing this year, 1952. Let's
ask ourselves . . . Why? The answer is
we didn't do a selling job. We did not
give selling or salesmen the tools. We
cut and are still cutting budgets. We
were not in training . . . we were not
ready, and as a selling nation we are
not ready yet. Some companies are do-
ing better than others—some are too
large and complex to change methods
and plans soon enough—others are old
and tired. As long as we have full em-
ployment and good prosperous times
for individual income as we have now
others will go ahead, but most all must
do better and soon.
Showmanship in Selling
"Orders and reorders at "the last 3
feet" are very important to success in
selling. Your salesmen, the distributor's
salesmen, the dealer's salesmen, must
each have good merchandising and sell-
ing tools. These must not be experi-
mental but tested and proven by exper-
ience. Guesswork in the development
and coordination of selling plans is
costly. Too many plans that now are
left with distributors fail since they do
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THE MUSIC TRADE REVIEW, JUNE. I952