Bad Gas!
Well-Known Member
I'll keep you posted next week when the center manager returns..By then, the Brown Cool-aid could be flowing towards other important issues...like shining our shoes...who knows?
Sales leads
- Thread starter UPSmeoff
- Start date
I'll keep you posted next week when the center manager returns..By then, the Brown Cool-aid could be flowing towards other important issues...like shining our shoes...who knows?
helenofcalifornia
Well-Known Member
That green truck looks like the type that carries all the prisoners around that go pick up trash on the highways. The only thing missing is the porta potty hitched on the back.
brownmonster
Man of Great Wisdom
In certain parts of the country Fedex, DHL etc grab a large portion of our business. In my part of the world they get the dribble off of our chin. If we get 95% of the volume in a city it's hard to keep trying to pry away the last 5%.
Michael Gallardo
New Member
I lost my american express card, do u happen to have urs, can u give me the number on the back so i can call them to get a new one.
I appreciate it
I appreciate it
UpstateNYUPSer(Ret)
Well-Known Member
1-800-382-7092
trplnkl
555
That my friend is funnier than .....well, it's just funny.
UpstateNYUPSer(Ret)
Well-Known Member
soberups
Pees in the brown Koolaid
I am constantly being.."pestered" by my management team for my failure to turn in a producing sales lead. Apparently there is a new mandate from corporate that every driver will produce a lead or his sup will take it the shorts.
I keep explaining to them that every single business that ships on my route already has a UPS account and there just isnt anything left to submit, but they dont believe me.
Last week I was on vacation and they had a sup from BD ride with my relief driver for the sole purpose of soliciting new sales leads. He spent all day bothering my customers and didnt get one lead.
Now I have been told he will be riding with me next week.
I keep explaining to them that every single business that ships on my route already has a UPS account and there just isnt anything left to submit, but they dont believe me.
Last week I was on vacation and they had a sup from BD ride with my relief driver for the sole purpose of soliciting new sales leads. He spent all day bothering my customers and didnt get one lead.
Now I have been told he will be riding with me next week.
Not to be the devil's advocate or anything, but . . .
None of these businesses use anybody else for their shipping? Or receive any inbound from FredEx that they might have some control over?
Also, do any of these businesses have any LTL freight (inbound or outbound)?
brownmonster
Man of Great Wisdom
Drivers should be "encouraged" to take part in the "voluntary" sales lead program.
This is very true, unfortunately with part of the Manager's scorecard being growth, this is something that they look to to make their numbers. It went from being something nice to reward people to a numbers game like a lot of other things.
What should be happening is the management team should do everything possible to make sure you have a chance to submit a lead. If you don't think you have any opportunity on your route or don't know how to approach customers, they should provide training and help.
If you already have too many stops, they should provide an allowance of five minutes each day for this sole purpose if you happen to turn in a lead.
What happens is that too many people "just don't want to" and "don't care". That's what tends to drive people crazy. If you have a good reason - over-allowed, no experience, rural resi-route with no business, not comfortable with talking to people/asking for sales, that's one thing. But when you convey a "I don't care" or "I don't want to" attitude, that tends to throw your already tightly wound management over the edge.
On the same time, if they are encouraging you to submit leads, they need to hold somebody responsible when a lead is not followed up on properly. It's as easy as sending an e-mail to the person listed in SLIM as working the lead. If that doesn't get their attention they have other methods at their disposal and people can loose their jobs for habitually not following up on leads. It is taken very seriously, the problem more often than not is that it's never brought up.
trplnkl
555
It took longer to read that than they allot us for asking a customer for their business. Our time for each customer has already been stripped down to nearly nothing.
A few months ago I started working on trying to get what would be a state wide account that would involve about 20 locations for next day air letters two to three times per week. I was having to BS a little and try talking a person, that didn't have the authority, into giving me contact information for the person that did make the decisions.
Seems a few years ago we had their business and some how we dropped the ball too many times and they went with DHL, the price difference didn't help us either.
When I tried to get info that she needed to be encouraged to give me what I needed, I couldn't get straight answers from anyone, even our BD person. I was there maybe 10 minutes a day two, maybe three days a week, in general repeteing myself trying to reassure the lady we had worked out our problems. After a couple of weeks I was questioned about my time spent at the account.
Not only was my answer not good enough, I was more or less accused of trying to "make time" with the lady in question. I was not only furious and was humiliated for more reason. Today, FedEx has their business. So, to me, it doesn't matter one bit what management should do, I just know what they will do. Nothing .....but raise hell because I won't " try".
trplnkl -
I know that everything I just said is a perfect world that nobody has these days. I'm sorry to hear that you got in trouble for trying to grow the business, this is exactly one of the problems that is being faced. A time allowance is needed to give drivers the time to talk to the customers about sales and if nothing else to "build relationships". Alas, this was the old UPS.
These are the things that really should be happening at the management level if they expect you to pursue leads. Sadly these aren't and some people give up.
As for the overall product knowledge, I know that some areas incorporate this into their PCM's. It is however few and far between. I'm guessing that you could pass a Ketter Audit, but not name off every Air and international service by level of speed.
There are quite a few people with the attitude that they simply don't care. I know some of these are those that are disillusioned because they haven't had success in the past, others it's they are too busy to be bothered or it's one more thing.
I can't say that I have a solution, what I posted earlier is an ideal world, I'm not stupid enough to believe that it exists everywhere (it does in some places). I'm not sure what else to say . . .
I know that everything I just said is a perfect world that nobody has these days. I'm sorry to hear that you got in trouble for trying to grow the business, this is exactly one of the problems that is being faced. A time allowance is needed to give drivers the time to talk to the customers about sales and if nothing else to "build relationships". Alas, this was the old UPS.
These are the things that really should be happening at the management level if they expect you to pursue leads. Sadly these aren't and some people give up.
As for the overall product knowledge, I know that some areas incorporate this into their PCM's. It is however few and far between. I'm guessing that you could pass a Ketter Audit, but not name off every Air and international service by level of speed.
There are quite a few people with the attitude that they simply don't care. I know some of these are those that are disillusioned because they haven't had success in the past, others it's they are too busy to be bothered or it's one more thing.
I can't say that I have a solution, what I posted earlier is an ideal world, I'm not stupid enough to believe that it exists everywhere (it does in some places). I'm not sure what else to say . . .
brownmonster
Man of Great Wisdom
Years ago there was a code in the DIAD called Driver Marketing. We were encouraged to use the code if we spent the time with a customer drumming up business. Then the new production only regime took over. They still want you to do it but won't allow or create the time for it.
trplnkl
555
Thank you for acknowledging that it isn't good in some areas. Too many times people get the idea that because it's a good situation where they are, it is good for everyone.
If I made you feel I was hammering you, I apologize, that was not my intention.
hurricanegunner
UPSPoop
The night before your ride with the BD goofball, eat lots of tacos, burritos, and beans.I am constantly being.."pestered" by my management team for my failure to turn in a producing sales lead. Apparently there is a new mandate from corporate that every driver will produce a lead or his sup will take it the shorts.
I keep explaining to them that every single business that ships on my route already has a UPS account and there just isnt anything left to submit, but they dont believe me.
Last week I was on vacation and they had a sup from BD ride with my relief driver for the sole purpose of soliciting new sales leads. He spent all day bothering my customers and didnt get one lead.
Now I have been told he will be riding with me next week.
Why cant management respect us as the professionals we are?
Catatonic
Nine Lives
I would hope they would ... assuming almost all drivers are more professional than some of the posts on this site would indicate.
