For you sales guys

I get it that your job is to blow smoke up clients rectal regions. That's how you make your money. Just know that unless you have actual field experience, and not the knowledge you gained from a pamphlet or a seminar. Odds are you probably don't know Jack about the product or equipment. At least compared to someone with over two decades of actual experience in the field. You will get schooled if you have zero clue what your talking about. Especially when you make an attempt to talk down to said experienced guy.
I'm sure none of y'all do that.
Just a bit of friendly advice.

I've sold paint equipment and related stuff since 1976. I learned about it from working in the shop repairing guns and pumps and spraying stuff in the field when I was working installations. I recall the first time I was trying to sell something - don't remember if it was a heated airless or electrostatic or maybe it was air assisted airless but way before HVLP came out. Anyway I was setting up the stuff for in-plant demo and the old painter who was about 2.5x my age said: You going to to teach me how to run a paint gun? I said no sir, you probably run one about a hundred times better than I can and maybe I'll learn something by watching you paint. I'm going to show you how this one works and what adjusts what and then let you run it to see how you like it.

I do draw the line though when one of them tells me he "just wouldn't take for a good pair of water pump plars" when it comes to taking a fluid nozzle out of an air spray gun and then bitches when it's spitting and sputtering.

There's been plenty of places I refused to sell an electrostatic gun because someone had blown smoke up someone's rectal region but the shop environment and personnel was just flat not capable of keeping that technology working.
I told them they better just stick with their silver gun they could chunk across the dirt floor to the other side of the rack of red iron they were painting and soak the whole thing in a bucket of thinner overnight like they been doing.

IMO, the best sales guys were once techs or managers in their field.

They know what it takes to get things done.

This year I didn’t know anything about our product. So I started selling myself. Worked out great

Hey Rick...you are so danged smart dude

My job is to take solutions to my client that make their job easier and move product for them through print, technology and consultation - they make money and so do I. Printing business experience started when I was 8 years old...in my same roll for 34 years. I guess all I do is blow smoke up someones azzz...you must know a bunch of dumb azzed chotzkee salesmen or something. Most of the reps I know are banking and helping others. You may want to get out of the bazaar mall you are walking through.

I sell, invoice, install all myself. Sometimes even collect the payment. I am 4 departments in ONE!

Jon
That's what I do. Been spraying most my adult life. This guy is freaking clueless. We have two paint departments. One guy with a little over three years experience. All he does is spray clear lacquer. I handle everything else. I walked up on the sales guy telling our other paint guy stuff that was completely wrong. So I intervened. I don't think the sales guy likes me now.
Shoot I'm getting tired of spraying anyway. Maybe I'll start looking into some of these industrial paint suppliers. And become a sales guy.

5. You’re also VP of great depressions.

Point the finger at me, you have 4 pointing back at yourself.

You sir are one of the most depressing people on the TFF. I rarely see anything positive come out of your post. Hope you have a great day!

I sell beer. I've drank a lot of beer. Am I qualified?

Lol!! Get em' BBT!!!

You sold me, I want beer right now.

Depends on what beer you are selling...

Never knew that the salesman's job was to blow smoke up any prospspective client's rectal regions. Just know that unless you can actually write a complete sentence, odds are you probably got your grammar lessons from the OT. Just a bit of friendly advice.

When was the last time you had a promotion?

I used to be a glue salesman but I couldn’t stick to my word

Thanks Mr. Grammar Nazi. Going guess you're a butthurt salesman.

Gonna guess you didn't buy the girl scout cookies.

I will admit you have a right to your opinion. And also admit there are sales people who don’t know what they are doing.

What you need to back the heck up is thinking it’s all or most. I sell fuel equipment and that is not something “oops my bad” will go far. I feed my family, pay my taxes and help over a hundred people solely on my ability to do my job right. The people assembling the equipment, the guy who boxes it up and ships it and the accountant who keeps it all straight. Nothing happens until I do my job right. I dominate what we do by knowing what I’m doing, giving far better support than any of my thirty competitors.

And I’ll show you some jack wagon body guys that make your business look bad, does that make us even?

Yeah. I really don't get the girl scout cookies reference. I guess I missed something along the way.

Go sniff some paint in your booth and you might get it.

I certainly do not suggest that you go into sales...you goober are the butt hurt person here as exhibited by your original post...don't get out of the booth, you belong there.

Misery loves company!

Some angry little Phillies in here. Love it when cats hate on sales.

Most anti sales people don’t grasp the concept

You show up to work at 8:00 punch in, do your job and go home. Hourly or salried you’re going to get paid. Good day, bad day, doesn’t matter you get paid.

I was out the door at 5:00 a.m to make a meeting in Alice at 8:30. The guy we’re doing the project for decided he’s going quail hunting and was gone. I did my job right, but made zero income. Most people can’t grasp that concept.

That's the bad part of it fo sho!

“Nothing happens around here until somebody sells something”, said every successful business owner ever.

“Sales cures everything”!

I was a sales representative until I bought this company. Probably were several out there that knew more about the industry than I, but none would out-work me. I was personable, took time to learn the industry, tenacious and truthful. I have hired and fired dozens of sales rep's since I bought the company through the years. The 'I know everything about the industry' type has failed and succeeded. The 'green newbie' has succeeded and failed as well. I can get them product knowledge, and take them to the customer base. They have to come with hunger, discipline, tenacity, and confidence. I've had guys with tons of experience fail, because they couldn't or wouldn't keep the pace. I've had 'greenies' that hit the ground running, that I had to train-up that knocked the cover off the ball. And I've had the reverse of that as well. The highest compensated professional behind lawyers and doctors is salesmen, and they typically earn far more earlier than anybody. But it's a very disciplined game. The biggest downfall I see of salesmen is either not willing to go find business - put some bugs on the windshield, or those that are 'big game hunters' and only pursue the giant projects. Interacting with customers, I tell them to do as the old saying goes: you have two ears and one mouth - use them accordingly. And also to be a 'guide' to customers. Let them tell you their problems, wants, and needs, and then guide them to how you can fulfill their request. No smoke blown anywhere around here....

When you really stop to look at it....we all are selling something.

Even ourselves....we "sell or say" we are better than a replacement, if you don't keep preforming like that...you are without a job and back to "selling" yourself with a resume.

This cat gets it. Grit and work ethic are king. Sales ain’t rocket science.

So you're saying you have actual field experience. Which I mentioned in the original post. This guy obviously did not. What he was telling our other spray guy was wrong.

Rick, I don’t care. I’m not butthurt. I don’t get butthurt very easily. In all seriousness though, I have been in sales a long time. I take it seriously. I hav never lied to a customer. (I’m not saying we have never shipped something late, or I haven’t made a mistake. I have never intentionally told a customer a lie.).

Professional salespeople are a pretty unique bunch. They work hard. They are disciplined. They aren’t just punching a clock. If they do their job right, they are an asset to their customers.

On the other hand, there are plenty that are sleazballs. My take is that you came of sounding like they are all the same. Then you said you ought to do it. Looks like you ruffled some feathers of some folks that have spent some blood, sweat and tears at their craft.

Again, I don’t really care. Doesn’t bother me. I’m tired of working for the week anyway. I have been to a couple of different states this week, and I’m whipped.

I'm not anti sales. I know their are a lot of really good sales men and women. This guy was not in my opinion. He just didn't have the knowledge he should have. I could tell he was just quoting stuff he memorized. When I started questioning him he started stumbling over everything. This guy has been the rep for the company I work for for several years. I've been with this company for seven months. They have been fighting the same problems for years. Since I have been there, I have fixed several of those problems. Most of these problems stem from this guys product. Plus several procedures that he suggested to my employer.
I have been doing what I do for a very long time. Started wet sanding in my grandpa's shop when I was about 6-7. Just to be with grandpa. Took paint and body for three years in high school. Two years was all that the school allowed at the time. My shop teacher wanted me back the third year to basically be his assistant around the shop. After high school I got out of it until I was 22. Been pretty much doing it ever since. Minus a couple times I tried my hand at something else. There is much I haven't sprayed. There isn't a gun I haven't used. There isn't a product I haven't used. I know the chemicals. I know the equipment. I've sprayed in just about any condition you can imagine. I can take anything from bare metal to a finished product. I can do body work. Fiberglass work. Even fabricate a little. My best skills are in the booth. I enjoy what I do. Always have. Sure I may be a little twitchy here in a few more years. Probably die an early death from all the chemicals. Sometimes I'm even a little spacy. But I do what I enjoy and make a pretty decent living. I have very little stress at work. I know my business. This guy does not.

To you sales guys on here. I'm sure most of you do know your product and you're really good at what you do. I sincerely didn't mean to **** all y'all off. I was talking about those other guys. Be honest. Y'all know they're out there in large numbers. I offer a humble apology. I should have taken more time and explained my position a little better. I was on a short break. I typed it up quickly, as I was still shaking my head over the conversation I had with the guy.

I hope I explained it a little better in this post. Cut me some slack. I'm just a dumb painter. You know all those fumes and all. Also the blowing smoke up the rectal region was intended to be in jest.

And you didn't ruffle my feathers either. I just like stirring the pot.

You have good sales people and bad. Here in the oilfield, it has been about 60 to 40 bad to good in the last year. I simply politely weed them out most of the time. There are times you have to be a jack azz to make them quit calling on you. In my industry, I can usually ask them two questions and melt them down inside of three minutes when they are full of caca. I hate it when they come in and tell me they can save me money on let’s say a valve, and they have no clue what I pay, what I use or where I get it. They then ask if they can prepare a quote, and when they do they are either not comparing apples to apples and are cheaper, or they are totally out of line on the price. They screw up by not listening to the customer, and asking questions. So then you quiz them, and ask them technical questions about the product, and get the deer in headlights look. That is an example of why sales staff get a bad rap. I want them to earn my business and provide quality products and service at a competitive price. When they say, just tell me what you pay, and I will beat it, that is not earning it. Fuel and lubricant salespeople are among the worst.

I could teach people a wealth of knowledge on how to purchase fuel. There’s a ton of ways they can put it to a Customer and they’re never the wiser.

5 cents over rack. Sounds great. That’s where they get you.

Especially since the spread between rack and street price is about .60 a gallon right now.

That, and the bid price and the midday price increase or decrease gets people all the time.

I'm one heck of a salesman, sold my wife on me.

The biggest swing is the bill of lading from the loading rack. Nobody understands the net and gross number and just pay whatever they’re told. Could be a 180 gallon swing and they’re never gonna know.

The first day we started tracking delivery at Pioneer they caught the transport driver shorting them 600 gallons of diesel.

West and south Texas fuel thieves are a talented and dedicated lot.

The funny thing is, that they tell you they are barely making $.01 per gallon on a load, and it’s really not even worth it, and then they get real sideways when they find out you bought fuel from someone else.

If you’re buying transport loads of fuel it gets really easy.
Send me a pm and I’ll hook you up with some wholesale fuel brokers that can make a big difference. If you want to know where it goes that’s my gig.

6 years field experience and I still don’t know anything, but I’m a salesman.

I don't know chit, but I've sold myself to my customer base. So, your statements are wrong. Sell yourself and you've sold your products, period. This business world is a relationship business, no matter what angle you approach it and no matter what industry it is, with exception of one, healthcare...


Oh, and BTW.....I've been blowing smoke up rectal regions for years.

I used to be a salesman for Midas Muffler but I found the work too exhausting.

I make a pretty good living lying to people.

Here comes the rant.
I'm moving jobs. To be determined, but gone nonetheless....
If you're going to offer a compensation plan, you need to think really hard where your hand will cramp when you write that commission check. "oh no, the more you make the more the company makes" Is total BS, and every time it's happened, the hand cramper has paid way more than a stupid paycheck.

I took this on in '05, it was literally zero. No customers, no income no nothing. Texas was like a hostile country, and they had no clue how to work here.

All I know how to do is put my head down and go to work. And did. In two years, their top region, to the point now where 2nd place is less than half the business we do here.

New VP shows up, has no clue how things are done, and has no desire to learn. Decides I really don't earn the compensation they are paying, so convoludes the original program, to the point the region is up 20% and I take a $80,000 pay cut.

Customers are all one voice, it's not what it's you, wherever you go, we'll be with you.

You think sitting in your corner office that what's yours is really yours? Not in the industrial market zippy, it's only about the who and who's taking care of me. I'm going to cost that cone headed idiot a lot more than the $80 grand he thinks he owns.

Now, how many others have the same story? It's a pitiful situation but one PHD morons make every day.

Pat if it makes you feel better, I took a six figure pay increase.

That will make him feel better. Thanks.

As someone who just gets by on his good looks and charm, this thread offends me

It does, always motivating to know there is still hope in this world.

Guys like you and me will never have to grind it out. Just flash a smile and ask for the POs. It’s not really fair.

The best line I ever got from a product manager on a new release:
This is so good, you can send a dog with a note and get the order....

Been there done that. I detest corporations

It's happened more than a few times. They just can't believe anyone is really worth "THAT" much...

Back in the mid '90's one of the companies we represented was a adhesive/coating supplier, was killing it, commissions were about 30K a month, 80% were with Maquilla plants in Mexico. They hired a new sales manager, screwball that came from Pittsburgh paint, a bonafide corporate shirt. He came down from Connecticut convinced that there was no way possible one redneck in a pickup could be generating that much business.

We rode from Del Rio to Brownsville, met with twenty customers, all happy to see us, tell about the improvement they've gotten, service received and new and bigger projects there were going to use with the materials.

Didn't matter "I can hire three direct people" and do even better. Convinced the owner that's what they should do, and fired my butt. Hired the three guys, in a year it was two guys, two years it was one. Then they fired the knucklehead that fired me. Sales went down 90%. Imagine that.

I'd really like to hear from someone explain how that strategy has ever worked?