By Kirk Augustine

Your suppliers have responded with tremendous energy to provide Sound Bytes to you through Vet-Advantage magazine. The feedback from marketers, national account persons, and sales managers indicates the importance of distribution reps supporting product demand, servicing customers at a high level, and strengthening retention of products in your accounts.

      Vet-Advantage Publisher Chris Kelly asked me to “talk about” Sound Bytes for this special edition to help you better understand the tool, where it fits in your call management, and the key elements included with a Sound Byte.

Check-off … then Echo

The interaction between distributors and customers is significantly different than manufacturer-to-customer interactions. While manufacturer reps may spend 20 to 30 minutes or more detailing one or two SKUs, distributors routinely service or support as many as +/-25,000 SKUs, various programs, and feature new items, label claims, or SKUs with differential value to the customer.

      In this support role, it is critical that distributors “measure” the awareness of your customer regarding a topic you want to discuss. This “Check-off” establishes the customers’ knowledge and if the manufacturer rep has discussed “it” with them recently. If your customer says, “no I haven’t seen the (manufacturer) rep for weeks,” then you become the primary person to talk about the product, promotion, or SKU. If the rep was just in, then consider your objective is to “Echo” the key benefits and advantages thereby advancing your customers’ understanding and decision commitments.

Utilize the Sound Byte to Echo or Detail

Sound Bytes are quick reference guides that reflect the need to be fast, accurate, and concise in representing products. Most distributor “details” on an individual SKU last less than three minutes. Sound Bytes help you identify the main things and place them consistently where you can find them, refer to them, and engage with your customers to understand their decision needs. The front page will focus on features, functions (advantages), and benefits.

      With guidance from Pat Malone, the back page always contains Check-off and Echo notes to help you confidently begin a discussion that leads your customer toward making a decision. Different than a traditional probe-close, Sound Bytes assist your customer in making a decision to trial a product or increase the satisfaction with a current product. This method focuses on the customer as the decision maker and you as the decision getter.

Adding value by improving your dialogue with customers

I am confident your customers and manufacturers are depending on YOU to deliver current, relevant, key-point information …. “take a look” at Sound Bytes in the context of improving customer interactions … Then you will be able to decide where Sound Bytes fit in your call management approaches with your industry customers and your personal business growth objectives.