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"I like to think of sales as the ability to gracefully persuade, not manipulate, a person or persons into a win-win situation." - Bo Bennett

While listening to a local radio sports program the other day, I was struck by the attention to detail and strategy that Division 1 college coaches put into building an effective recruiting program. As I thought about how difficult it is for coaches to persuade talented recruits to come to their schools, it occurred to me that strong recruiting programs are essentially based on effective sales programs. And we, as sales organizations, can learn from them.

For example, the head coach of a major college sports program must have a highly detailed, multi-year recruiting plan with specific geographic areas and prospect classification that each assistant is responsible for.  Knowing their short- and long-term needs, the staff adjusts as necessary to build and maintain a strong lineup.  The recruiters know their school's strengths and weaknesses; they know their competitors; and they tailor their presentations and prioritize targets accordingly.

The coaching staff assesses prospective athletes and determines which athletes to pursue. Once they have scouted and prioritized those athletes, staff use mail, telephone, in-home visits and campus visits to stay in touch with the athlete, his family, his high school coach and others who influence him.  Often, the head coach will ‘close the deal.’ After signing the athlete, the staff stays in touch, pushes the athlete to get good grades and test scores, urges him to keep his personal life together, and eventually helps him adjust to college life.  While on campus, the coaching staff works to get the most out of the athlete, push him academically and help him plan for the future.

Of course, the staff loses out on some recruits and picks up others it didn’t anticipate.  Sometimes, the highly touted recruits don’t pan out, while less attractive athletes blossom.

The long-term key to recruiting success is a staff that builds strong relationships with everyone it comes in contact with. Meticulous planning, constant contact, and regular follow-up and progress reports are the hallmarks of a successful recruiting program.

Strong sales programs share these characteristics.

Everyone sells in a strong sales program, including the owner. The company has a highly detailed, multi-year plan with specific geographic areas and product specialties that each associate is responsible for. The business refocuses and reprioritizes its product/service line-up as sales grow or decline over time, or as the economy or sales conditions change.  A knowledgeable sales staff knows its strengths and weaknesses and those of its competitors, and tailors its pitch and calls accordingly.

Sales associates assess relationships with targets they choose to pursue.  Once they research and prioritize potential customers, the staff uses mail, email, telephone, in-office or in-home visits, etc., to build strong relationships and influence their target’s decisions about the company’s product/service offerings.  Maybe, the sales manager or owner ‘closes the deal’ when pursuing a project or cementing a relationship.  After the sale is made, staff members continue to work with the client to make sure everything goes well, thereby strengthening the relationship.

Of course, they don't always get the sale.  And sometimes, luck brings unexpected business their way.

Like the great recruiting programs, successful sales programs rely on building strong relationships with everyone the staff comes in contact with.  Sales success might come, or it might take awhile; but meticulous planning, constant positive contact with clients, and regular follow-up before, during and after the sale are hallmarks of the successful sales program.

"Sales are contingent upon the attitude of the salesman - not the attitude of the prospect."
-W. Clement Stone

Rod Van Buskirk is the third-generation owner of Bacon & Van Buskirk Glass Co., with locations in Champaign and Springfield, Ill. A past NGA Chairman, Rod looks quarterly at the industry from the middle of nowhere, steals ideas from anyone he can and pretends to know what he’s talking about. Rod invites your comments as you are certainly smarter than he is.

The opinions expressed here are those of the individual author and do not necessarily reflect those of the National Glass Association, Glass Magazine editors, or other glassblog contributors.

What is it about your favorite bar that keeps you coming back? Is it the friendly service, the clientele, the drink specials? Or, is it the look and feel of the physical bar itself? More bars and restaurants are installing glass bar tops and accents to set their design apart from the competition, and here at Glass Magazine, we want to see them. Backlit, laminated, kiln-cast, large and small, tell us about the coolest glass bars you’ve worked on recently. Fabricators, retailers, installers, we’d like to hear from all of you. So, please email high resolution photos and descriptions to jchase@glass.org and tell us why your bar project belongs in Glass Magazine’s upcoming “Best Glass Bar” feature.

For the Jefferson Hotel in Washington, D.C., UltraGlas created this all-glass, illuminated bar of ¾-inch-thick low-iron glass with a translucent frit-based coloration and UltraGlas “Linen” kiln-formed texture. The glass frit-based, fired-on colors were heat processed to fuse to the No. 2 surface of a lite of low-iron Diamant glass by Saint Gobain.

It’s been more than four years since NFRC began to certify applied film products. Since then, the number of NFRC-certified films has grown to more than 200.

 The window film industry turned to NFRC because they wanted independent verification of their products’ energy performance to demonstrate to consumers, architects, contractors, facility managers, and others that their products would perform as advertised.

Now, the window film industry has another reason to certify its products – the California Energy Commission included window film requirements in its 2013 Building Energy Efficiency Standards, more commonly known as “Title 24.” Starting in January 2014, the CEC will require that applied films be NFRC-certified for alterations in existing residential and nonresidential buildings. The International Window Film Association hailed it as a ‘landmark’ decision. 

The decision is good news for customers who want to make an “apples-to-apples” comparison of applied film products’ energy performance values. NFRC uses a different label than the temporary residential label to distinguish applied film ratings from window ratings. Unlike the familiar rectangular label for residential windows, the applied film label is oval in shape and features six columns of ratings, listing U-Factor, Solar Heat Gain Coefficient and Visible Transmittance values with film and without film. The manufacturer attaches the NFRC label to the package containing the window film, rather than the film itself, so that clients and customers can easily see the ratings.

NFRC designed its applied film rating and certification program, governed by NFRC standards 100 and 200, to mirror the third-party process used for fenestration products. Manufacturers sign a license agreement, choose an NFRC-accredited simulation laboratory (or test laboratory if testing is required), select an NFRC-licensed certification and inspection agency to authorize the certification and inspect the manufacturing facility annually, and recertify the product every four years.

With the change in California energy code, NFRC expects more window film manufacturers to rate their products. Even without this change, window film manufacturers benefit from rating their products through NFRC. Certified ratings provide a level playing field, and manufacturers can increase their credibility because they’ve made the effort to have a third-party confirm the energy performance of their products.

Jim Benney is the National Fenestration Rating Council’s chief executive officer. He has been involved in developing product and performance standards for the window and glass industry for more than 25 years. He can be reached at jbenney@nfrc.org. To learn more about Title 24 and applied films, contact Nelson Peña at Nelson.Pena@energy.ca.gov.

News of big price increases hit the industry the last few weeks. There’s no question that costs have gone up on everything, not only in our industry, but in our lives as a whole. Whether it’s groceries or building supplies, the cost to produce, handle and ship has been rising pretty consistently in recent times. In most industries, a price increase is what it is; but in this one, nothing is easy or as it seems. Will this be an increase that sticks, or will this just be another footnote in our crazy past of handling costs? There’s a ton of dynamics at play here, and it sure will be something to watch.

Elsewhere….

• The Olympics kicked off this past Friday and I had two main thoughts:The lack of a moment of silence for the athletes murdered in 1972 continues to be a major stain on the Olympic movement. While small and private memorials have been held, the Olympic organizers absolutely refuse to recognize or honor the victims of that heinous time on a legitimate, world stage. So my message to the organizers: keep avoiding facing it head on and the drumbeat for the need to honor the victims will just keep growing. Why doing the right thing is so hard here is beyond me. Also beyond me, most of that opening ceremony! Weird and bizarre are two words that sum up most of it. Plus, who woulda thunk The Pet Shop Boys would have a song played during an Olympic opening… crazy.
• Congrats to the National Glass Association for an Olympic-sized victory this week. The NGA was one of the groups behind the HR 4078 legislation that will streamline the time-consuming permitting process, bring transparency to rules issued by agencies as a result of an out-of-court agreement, and prohibit agencies from issuing a cascade of regulations when a change of administration occurs. Basically, this bill reduces the massive red tape that small business owners have to face when building their business. Nice to see the National Glass Association really getting into it, and let’s hope the Senate now does the right thing and continues this momentum.
• The update on GlassBuild America: Tuesday, July 31, is the last day for the awesome rates at the Las Vegas Hilton hotel. So jump off this blog now by clicking here, and book before the rates go up. The actual hotel block is still available through August 21, but you know you’re going to the show, so why wait? Book now!
• Last this week... a good friend of mine called me this week and took me to task about my blog. It’s boring and the same stuff over and over again he excitedly told me. He mentioned that he still reads it weekly but it's just not cutting it lately. I heard him out and agreed with a lot of it, as this summer has been very slow for news and opinion, and it does seem like some subjects have been more prominent than others. We are in the dog days, and I have found myself caught up in it. In any case, I am aware of it and will keep grinding along to try to bring you the blog you expect and have been supporting since 2005. I appreciate everyone who reads, comments, e-mails, etc., so keep it coming.

Read on for links and video of the week...

The author is founder of Sole Source Consultants, a consulting firm for the building products industry that specializes in marketing, branding, communication strategy and overall reputation management, as well as website and social media, and codes and specifications. E-mail him at MaxP@SoleSourceConsultants.com.

The opinions expressed here are those of the individual author and do not necessarily reflect those of the National Glass Association, Glass Magazine editors, or other glassblog contributors.