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Moore/Wallace - Take advantage of the opportunity! Naturally the first thought is to go after Moore and Wallace accounts. They may be in a state of concern or even fear that this new $3.9B gorilla might not be the best alliance. You should take advantage of even the smallest concern and try to gain entry into the account. Please consider sales calls, telemarketing or mailings to any accounts that have business with either Moore or Wallace. For years we have heard from distributors how hard it is to find good sales people. Now is the time to harvest the good sales reps from the direct side of the industry. We anticipate that many of these reps from both companies will want to get out from under the "big corporation" mentality. Just imagine the concern on the reps part. If Moore and Wallace are both in the account, which rep owns it? If both have significant presence in a city will there be cut backs? Will reps be forced to reduce the territories or hand over accounts? Both of these directs have been on a cost reduction mode as we all know from the stock market reports. What better way to reduce costs then to cut reps and combine their sales into a smaller sales force? All of these points will be of concern to their current sales force and that makes them great targets for you! The third opportunity lies in a more tactical move. If you can't take their business or hire their reps then we should at least get the rep out of the Moore/Wallace environment. To some this may seem like a bad idea. Why get them into the independent world? You have enough competition right? OK, I'll agree things may be competitive already but we have a once in a lifetime opportunity to hurt one, if not our biggest competitor. We should take every advantage to bleed them of their sales force regardless of where the rep lands. If you know a Moore/Wallace rep I encourage you to contact them and sing the benefits of the independent distributor. Tell them about the great products, manufacturers and relationships available outside of the direct world. We have a unique opportunity to strategically and tactically inflict damage to a long-term competitor. Take their orders, take their sales force or convince them to go out on their own. In any case, we win....they lose. Roger Buck, CDC |