You've got a friend...

Do you have any friends?

I know that this is a personal question and maybe it makes people a bit uneasy but it is important none the less!

Having friends and communicating with friends is an important way to survive when the stress levels get high. This has become increasingly evident as we have negotiated this stormy economy during the past nine months or so.

Recently we were on a company incentive trip to Big Sky Montana and while it was apparent that many of our top reps were hurting due to some large declines in their sales and income this year versus last I also noticed something else happening that was very encouraging.

Salespeople were leaning on other salespeople for support. The sharing of ideas, thoughts and emotions were at an unparalleled level. It is clear that these people were friends, first and foremost, and then peers.

The venue that was provided where they could communicate with each other was more important than any business session or presentation that we could ever put on for them.

James Taylor's song...You've Got A Friend...comes to mind!

Six days in Montana and the mood was upbeat because we knew that we are all in this together. The scenery was beautiful and the camaraderie was even better!

I encourage everyone to make sure that you do not isolate yourself in tough times. You need to reach out to your friends. The old adage that a problem shared is a problem cut in half has served me well over the years. Leaning on others if if they too are hurting has a funny way of picking both parties up.

I think there is a glimmer of hope on the economic horizon out there but you need to be ready. You need to be in the right frame of mind. You need to stay ever positive in front of your clients and prospects. Positivity can be contagious, more contagious than the swine flu.....but you need to be around it to catch it!

Think about it! Do you have friends that you have not called in a while (inside or outside the industry)? You just call...out their name and you know where ever they are....they'll come running...

That is what friends do!

The ABCs of RFPs

Did the title catch your attention? I thought it might but the reality here is that I just wanted to vent a bit about RFPs in general.

Who puts these things together? You have to be kidding me! Do they know anything about our industry and how things flow.

If you read some of these you would be led to believe that as soon as I finish the RFPs that me and a couple of my co-workers head to the basement to begin producing the products.

Am I the only one who feels like this is the case?

In the past few years I have become more and more disenchanted with the process. I certainly do understand an organization's desire to reduce costs and to create efficiencies in the process but is the answer to create a fifty seven page document and send it out to forty three distributors and take three to four months to select a vendor who in all honesty probably can not do half the things that the RFP calls for?

This paragraph may have touched on a couple of things. I work for a large company. We have a lot of resources in both manpower and in the finances. In most RFPs, if we are honest with ourselves and our clients or the prospects requesting the RFP, we cannot or will not to agree to do many of the things that are asked.

We need to guarantee that no labor laws are being violated any where in the production chain of all the products that we supply today or might supply tomorrow. Can anyone promise that knowing how this industry works and considering the flow of products from China and other countries? Of course not, yet on every RFP, someone says yes we can promise this, and worse yet the client bites on this saying why can Sally's Promotions promise this and you can't? The answer is because we are being honest!

I also referenced the fact that we will not agree to many things that are asked and it all comes down to a simple disagreement between our company and the company that is designing and requesting the RFP. We believe that we should be allowed to make a profit and they do NOT!

What is wrong with making a little money?

Think about it...I am the customer and what I would like is for you to supply me with all my promotional products while guaranteeing that they have all been tested and our compliant with a bunch of brand new laws as well as any that might come up and are eco friendly because we want to save the environment and trees. Oh yea, I almost forgot we would like you to be a minority business if possible but don't use any child labor any where in the process.

While your at it, please include the freight in the price of the goods but I am not sure if I will really buy this product and if I do I am not sure how many I might need. Can I take one now and a few dozen in nine months... is that OK?

This all seems very reasonable to most of you I am sure and then they say please supply your net prices and mark up percentages as we will be looking for the low cost provider!

I then say...but what about service and creativity? Many a purchasing director has told me that they do not give a darn about this. Their job is to save money!

This is all enough to make me scream! It used to be that marketing and purchasing departments would have their battles and each side would win some and lose some but that is no longer the case....

Marketing may win a battle here and there but the wars are clearly being won by purchasing in putting together these gigantic bid packages.

If they ever really analyzed the amount of jerking around that goes on in these RFPs and the impact of the false promises and lack of service I would think that most, not all, people would realize this costs them an arm and a leg!

How much is an arm and a leg worth today?

I am not sure...I think I better put out an RFP on "an arm and a leg" in case I ever need one!