also spent over £10 in petrol and car parks for nothing, and if you are going to tell me that I could have telephoned first, then you are making my point for me about internet buying.


This store chain has not only lost this sale and the


sale of associated products, but has probably lost any future custom from me. In fact I did pick up a few other items whilst there but I quickly put my basket down and walked away empty handed when I saw the long queue at the checkout. The loss of my business may not be much in itself but multiply my experience by other similarly minded customers and you see what the store is losing. So why am I making such a lengthy point? If you are a Sales Agent selling to that store then YOU are also losing your commission.


Returning home from my unsuccessful shopping


experience I quickly found out how much easier and less stressful it is to be able to sit at my computer in the warm and comfort of my own home, without the noise and bustle of other shoppers, find exactly what I wanted in but a few clicks of the keypad and arrange next day delivery to the address of my choice. In fact I found a better version of the present that I wanted to buy for Mrs Clarke that cost more than originally intended plus some accessories to go with it.


I find it quite strange that, in my own experience,


the single exception to the queuing problems in High Street businesses is my bank. At peak times every cashier position is fully staffed, extra staff are located at the service point and, should a queue begin to form, staff immediately come out from the back office to take paying-in cheques from customers to save then queuing time. The contrast is that many of the bank’s customers will be wanting to withdraw funds while every shop customer wants to spend money so wouldn’t you think the shop managers would make this transaction easy and quick? I repeat. Every sale lost by the retailers is lost income to the supplier and, where applicable, his Sales Agent - YOU.


Now if you think that this is simply a personal gripe


of mine let me refer to two pieces of evidence. Occasionally I am called upon by my Principals in Continental Europe to interview prospective employees by telephone to test their abilities in the English language and I always ask them their opinions of the British. Repeatedly they comment about our food (although this is less of an issue these days), they think that we are obsessed with talking about the weather and ask me how we ever manage to get around to visit customers with our crowded and outdated road networks. Finally they consistently ask why it is that we are prepared to put up with long queues and poor service in our shops.


Next I refer to some new scientific research that has


proved that far fewer English would have perished when the Titanic hit the iceberg had we not been politely queuing for places in the limited number of lifeboats.


Well my first point about being anti-High Street shopping is the un-necessary queues and my second


www.themaa.co.uk


point is about availability and ranges. I recall that when I used to sell to multiples myself and would present a range of, say, 100 products with individual features and a spread of pricing points, the buyers would immediately ask, “What are the top selling 50 items?” At the follow up call I would be asked, “Of the 50 samples you sent in, which are the best selling 10?”And I would be lucky if I got an order for 4 or 5 products.


In stark contrast I find that the internet traders


seem to be enthusiastic to offer a much wider product range from each supplier or brand, especially with specialised items, and to offer a full range of attachments and accessories to add value to each sale with a far higher customer spend when they select these add-ons. Very rarely are they without stock and even then they have made arrangements for speedy supply from themselves or direct from their suppliers.


Based, therefore, on both my own experiences and


from the financial reports about the growth in internet trading, I have decided to pursue this line of business more tenaciously myself as this seems to be a largely untapped market for my product ranges that I need to get into. The immediate problem though may be a domestic one. I will need to do quite a bit of internet research and Mrs Clarke is already complaining about the amount of time I spend at my computer so I need to all my skills of persuasion to convince her that I am actually working when I shut myself away in my study.


MAA Agents News 9


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