SALES & MARKETING – ANTHONY LICATA – Page 3
Peak season is over and it ended quite abruptly. As we expected, it was rather short and quick compared to years previous. Looking back at it, I must say that we gave it everything we have and I think our numbers prove that. Last year was a struggle to get leads and this year, we received even less than that. As of 9/28 we are down 360 survey appointments. Despite this, our conversion rates were higher than ever. 35% on the Reebie side and 27% on the Jackson side. This means that we were doing more with less opportunities. Not just that, but these conversion rates leaves us (thus far) in the top 3 for both highest bookings as well as highest conversion rates compared to all the other Allied agents throughout the country. While cooperation with the Allied pricing team can be attributed to some of this success, I have been noticing something else going on specifically with the Reebie sales team, more this year than ever. I hate to sound cliché or corny, but I’m talking about our team chemistry and teamwork. As I mentioned before, we were all well aware of the struggles we would be facing this year. That being said, I really leaned on our veteran staff members to help me mold and shape some of our newer faces. Our sales meetings have become about sharing strategy and how we could squeeze out every last move possible. These conversations and sharing of ideas went and still continue to go beyond our meetings. On a daily basis, the sales staff is in communication with each other, helping one another put shipments in our trucks and keep them out of our competitions trucks. Of course, doing so while keeping our customers happy, as well as limiting the amount of angry phone calls they receive from OPS. With the help of our sales vets, I am noticing large improvement and maturity from our newer members and for that reason, I am very excited about of future of this team and this company. While the end of peak season comes with relief (and some boredom), this is the time of the year that I always ask for YOUR help. While the sales team can do their best, we continue to ask for as much flexibility as possible, where ever possible. That’s another thing I have notice when I compare Reebie versus other agencies that I speak to on a weekly basis. It is our line of communication and cooperation that we have amongst the different branches here. While the sales meetings became meetings about strategy, the one strategy that was covered at every meeting throughout the year was “communicate with OPS!”. Many of times, when we come across restrictions whether it be minimums, dates, etc. our operations staff has been great at doing their best to accommodate. At the end of the day, we all want the same thing and I think that this common knowledge is what truly puts us above everyone else. While this upcoming quarter may bring much uncertainty with the coming election and this pent up housing/moving demand we keep hearing about, we need to keep our eye forward and our hearts continuing to move in the same direction.