What perfect timing for Tom to complete this article although I gave it to him 4 weeks ago especially considering Ken’s article last week.  Since my recruiting days, I have always noticed a conflict between buyers and sales reps and I thought Tom would be a great person to write about it. He was and the way he goes through the personalities below is very accurate. I placed several buyers last year and I have to say that while their job to outsiders seems super cool ( I get several emails from people who want to know how to become a buyer), their jobs are really not glamourous….especially the ones who work for the big department stores and ultimately don’t get to make the decision on what product they buy. The bottom line is that it’s a HARD job. They are basically a middle man between the reps and their bosses and are left to do the dirty work.

This is the same situation I was in as a recruiter and when everything is going well people love you, but as soon as it doesn’t everyone wants to blame you. This can make the buyer “bitter” and therefore they begin to resent their job and the people they work with. I can understand how this can happen,  what I am ultimately trying to discover by pressing this topic is finding out what is the solution. How do Buyers and Sales Reps get to a place where they are on each other’s side? I have interviewed and placed some really great buyers not only in the footwear industry, but also apparel and I must say that the one common trait I see in good buyers are ones who are analytical but also understand sales. They are able to act as a team with their sales rep and this is also true for truly good reps. I think that now is the time for both reps and buyers to figure out a way to work together successfully which ultimately helps our industry as a whole. That’s just my thoughts….now enjoy Tom’s! -Julia

The Relationship between Sales Reps and Buyers

When given the topic about the relationship of reps and buyers, I sat on it for about three weeks.  No, make that four weeks. It was not a planned stall, although subconsciously, perhaps Freud might say otherwise.  My introduction to the topic by Julia was as follows:

…write about negotiating with buyers. I think it’s a very relevant topic. Buyers never say great things about sales reps and sales reps never say great things about buyers.  I am wondering why this is….maybe you can provide some insight??

Julia’s statement about the relationship between buyers and reps is very real.

My writer’s block has come about from not being quite sure how to approach this topic. I decided perhaps the best way to understand the challenges confronting reps and buyers is to focus on the different personalities and environments that are associated with both groups.

Reps come in four broad groups: nice but inept, smooth operator, hot air balloons, and professionals.

The nice but inept sales rep is someone you would like to have for a next door neighbor. They are very nice to everyone. Unfortunately, their personality does not translate to productivity because they are also very unreliable. They tend not to last for very long if their sales manager is doing his/her job. The buyers become frustrated fairly quickly and the ensuing complaints eventually result in the “need to make a change”. Their theme song is “Why Can’t We Be Friends” (Tower of Power).

The smooth operator is also known as “Slick Willy”. They look for the shortest route to success with all of their motives aimed at getting the numbers. They tend to like mirrors and could care less about anything but themselves. The good ones become known as big hitters because they can deliver numbers in the short haul, and senior management will often love them for this. They are always looking for the next big score and lack any kind of loyalty to the brand they represent. These reps tend to do well for a short period of time and will move around often. The really good ones become politicians! Their lives revolve around “Money Money Money” (O’Jays).

The hot air balloon type of rep is the really dangerous one: they talk a big game and don’t deliver. Buyers are always leery of sales reps in general because of this group. When in a meeting, they are impressive and quite believable. Outside, they cannot be found or are overflowing with alibis and excuses. This group is eventually exposed as all talk and no substance. They tend to not be at a company for very long, but also stay in the industry for a long time because of their ability to sell themselves. At some point, they end up in another unrelated field of selling once their reputation has become known to everyone. Those who have worked with the hot air dispenser would most associate the song “Liar” (Three Dog Night) with this person.

The last grouping of sales reps is by far the rarest: the true professional. They know where to draw the line between business and pleasure. Their focus is long term sustainable growth and they seek win-win results when negotiating with the buyers. The good buyers see this person as an overall an asset to their business and have a great deal of respect and trust for them. This rep will stay only work with a company that is reputable and treats their sales force well and will leave to find such a company if this is not the case. They may be sales reps for their entire career but will have many opportunities for management positions along the way. This rep wants their customers to know that they can always “Lean On Me” (Bill Withers).

So there are lots of reps out there who are not the best at what they do. Not a good start to the mix. Now, let’s look at the buyers they work with on a regular basis.

A buyer’s personality is normally much different than a sales rep. The buyer is in the office all day, scrutinizing numbers, analyzing there business, defending themselves on a constant basis, and generally working in a very hectic atmosphere. The sales rep detests being in an office and would much rather be “out there”, wherever that may be. They do not like paperwork and analysis, which are part of the four major food groups for buyers. Whereas a sales rep is judged primarily on volume, the buyer is rated under a more complex set of rules which can make anyone in their right mind crazy at times: sales volume and margins. Only one outcome spells success (high sales volume and high margins), and the other three potential outcomes cause sleepless nights for buyers.

The buyers can be lumped into groups as well: nice but inept, tough but inept, nice and capable, tough and capable, and the true professional.

The nice but inept buyer is much like their nice nut inept sales rep counterpart. Unless their uncle or cousin or some other relative is in the upper echelons of the company, this buyer is not around for very long. They generally drift to a couple of other buying positions before finding their true calling far away from the world of a buyer. Their theme song might be “Against All Odds” by Phil Collins, or could just as easily be “Mind Games” by John Lennon because they have no idea what they want.

Ineptness is not limited to just nice buyers, as there are some buyers who are very tough but equally unable to perform the main functions of the job. They are never pleasant and treat each meeting as a battle to be won at all costs. They tend to achieve similar results as the nice but inept buyer, accept they last much longer. Their bosses keep them around because they like the fact they are so hard on the reps.  Their poor performance eventually catches up with them. Depending upon the mentality of upper management, they can just as easily be promoted as fired. If they are fired, then they generally have very long careers as buyers because of the appeal of their toughness. Their theme song is “Man-eater” by Hall and Oates.

Buyers with long careers in that position generally have nice personalities and are capable. They do a good job of running their department, hit their numbers, and have good working relationships with key vendors. They are also considered to be too soft by senior management to have the ability to be successful at higher levels within the organization. These buyers may be lifers for one chain or also may move around every periodically to see if the grass is greener elsewhere. These buyers generally feel like they are always on the “Borderline” (Madonna) of a promotion and can’t understand why they are stalled.

There is also the tough and able buyer. They not only do a good job of running their department and making solid buys season in and season out, but they also take pride in being difficult to deal with by both reps and vendors. They typically like to dominate the setting. The tough and able buyers tend to have successful careers and end up at or near the top of the totem pole in their organizations. If they have made too many enemies along the way within their own organization because of their jaded approach to business, then they wind being promoted to a competitor. “Poker Face” by Lady Gaga describes this person well because they are very difficult to negotiate with and even harder to understand.

The last category of buyers is much like the last category of reps: professional and able. They know their departments backwards and forwards. They deal with people fairly but will not allow themselves to be taken advantage of by anyone. They know when to have fun and also when to buckle down. They are very good at what they do and they are very confident in their own ability. These buyers remain buyers for a little longer because they are so good at what they do. However, they eventually move up the chain and become prime senior management material, if not in their own company, then with another company which has the personality to better suit them.  Once again, these individuals are hard to find, so “Unforgettable” by Natalie Cole fits well because you always remember how well they were to work with.

So, having gone through all of the combinations of rep and buyer personalities, it is easy to see why they have a difficult time negotiating and resolving issues. Add to that the pressures to perform along multitudes of conflicting agendas that can cloud the business relationships and it makes you wonder how in the world the two sides are able to come to agreements at all. In the end, they somehow always figure out how to ”Come Together” (Beatles—I had to get them in somewhere!).

-Tom Cassidy