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Post by mellisa on Sept 26, 2005 11:47:52 GMT 1
aikido
What area are you in? Cannot believe I have any areas where advisors do not have any sales in their diary.
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Post by Augustus on Sept 26, 2005 12:30:29 GMT 1
Hi, Mellisa.
If I add a new section to discuss current promotions etc, it would be nice to have advance notice of anything new.
It will work out well for Hillarys as the advisors will have time to get a better understanding and feel for any future promotions.
HQ will also get our honest ideas and opinions on how it would work out or be tweaked.
It would be like having market research for the very people who will have to work with it.
Bridging the gap and all that.
P.
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Post by glen on Sept 26, 2005 16:23:57 GMT 1
I also agree with everything thats been said, to be honest if there are advisor's who after reading all that has been said of SAM lately and they are still not convinced by it then you all know that within 6 months you will not be selling Hillary's blinds.
Crude but at least everyone knows now, this is the way forward.
Glen ;D
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Post by lyndenwelsh on Sept 30, 2005 14:28:01 GMT 1
It would be rediculous to buy sam without the printer. It would defeat the whole purpose.
I am very impressed with the device, as are the customers, and personally couldn't live without it now!
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Post by puskas on Oct 1, 2005 0:25:21 GMT 1
hi
did my first sam order today the customer wanted 4/99 cust ended up spending £300
cust impressed when shown srp price on sam and discount she received.
have been selling 4/99 in my area for 4/months the vast majority upgrade to other blinds / better fabrics
i was dubious at first but have adapted to a positive attitude to these calls
so please stop being negative and spare a thought for the support staff. Just think what would you rather do be an advisor or working in advisor support etc
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Post by bentleys on Nov 20, 2005 23:15:36 GMT 1
I would like to make the following point regarding SAM.
The drop down options on SAM on whether a sale is successful or not are limited:
The reasons for success or failure of a sale are more diverse than the options available ie price/product required not possible (2metre wood venetians).
The upshot is that the HO perception of the advisor's successrate or otherwise in converting leads is somewhat limited - I would prefer to be able to give more detailed feedback - particulary if the lead effect statistics are used to measure me and to assess my performance.
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Post by greenpesto on Nov 24, 2005 20:34:55 GMT 1
Just a small point Mellissa ... SAM does not reduce DOR's as it is errors in manufacturing that causes that. Unless you are refering to Mis-measures?
SAM is not the 'Be all' with regard to selling. 'People buy people' & not buy because of a little machine that prints off a receipt that many customers & some advisors can't even read.
I am all for advancement in technology & efficiency but this system does not deliver!!!
Have you tried to do a multi-quote on numerous fabrics or blind types with this machine??? ''NIGHTMARE!" SAM is perfect for the straight forward blind order that a customer knows exactly what they want, but try showing all the variables of a customers quote to them on SAM - then forget it. Please don't tell me that you can scibble it down for them on a piece of paper because that is exactly what we are supposed to be getting away from.
Hillarys is putting too much store in SAM & silly discount gimmicks. Hillarys needs to understand the dynamics of what a sales call 'is' & what makes people want to buy or what creates the desire to buy & not just the mechanics of a sale.
The way SAM has been introduced to us ... or should that be forced upon us!!! has created ill feeling with many people including myself ... someone that has worked hard to build up a succesful business.
Management needs to reconsider its attitude towards the Sales Force, the relationship between us is detrimental to all & what we all want to acheive. Even your reference to us in another Message board as 'The coal face' is not helpful.
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Post by RED on Nov 25, 2005 0:13:34 GMT 1
Hi Greenpesto
I completly agree with you on the Sam issue. I have found it to be more of an hinderence than a help on orders of more than 2 blinds, so much so that I have reverted back to paper and then input the final details later on in the evening. Two reasons for this. All the swapping and changing customers do. like (Im not sure if I want a roller or a vertical) Can I change blind number 24 to a 25 mm slat instead of a 15 mm one, etc, etc, etc. Hillarys should tell the customers b4 we go out to be decisive as we are all handicaped.
The other reason is because I have no hard copy with Sam, or at least not one that is legible. I have had so many things come wrong and no way of knowing whether it was me that input the info wrong or a factory error. Now I do so they cant blame me for the blinds that come too short or too long or whatever they feel like sending me on that perticular day. And another thing, I hate that 3 inch by 3 inch screen. I have to wear Mister Magoo glasses just to see the pda never mind the screen. And what if you have hands like malt shovels, a tiny screen like that for all that info to go on is like writing on a postage stamp with a broom handle. Ohhh, now im off. I shall breath deeply for ten seconds and then log of or this will become an essay. I want my dummy.
Red
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Post by inkjet on Nov 25, 2005 1:36:23 GMT 1
I read last week Sams saves us money.
iy has increased my operating costs
Hillarys used to supply us with order pads
We have to buy brother paper.
Origionally I was told I was buying Sam and the Printer
This turned into the Printer when I got to Nottingham
I do not think i should pay software development costs
It is going to save Hillarys money
I find Area Managers tell you lies they do not tell the truth about anything.
I think I have had 7 or8 area managers in 5 years
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Post by RED on Nov 25, 2005 9:56:14 GMT 1
I read last week Sam's saves us money. Sam does save money, for the Company that is, certainly not for the adviser. Its a racket. Even the phone company makes money out of every message you have to listen to from 121. There is very little benefit to the adviser, more hassle, commission does not come any quicker, costly, lots of little bits of toilet paper hanging around the house with hieroglyphics on them. Temperamental, need I go on. Red |
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Post by RED on Nov 25, 2005 11:39:06 GMT 1
In reply to Uptonparker..... :)I like my job with Hillary's...but How exactly are we "running our own business"? :(Hillarys pay us what they want, and not what we invoice them. :(We are expected to do the job the way they want us to, and not how we want to do it. :(We have to accept all changes they make (diary, SAM, silly offers, discounts for their cok-ups)etc.  They can replace us at a moments notice, and add new advisor's in our areas without even telling us. Where as they :(Don't have to supply our tools :(Don't have to pay our NI :(Don't have to pay us holiday pay :(Don't have to pay sick pay :(Can get rid of us when they like :(Take commission back if they give "their" customers refunds/discounts And as you rightly say, we have no business to sell, and the customers remain Hillary's customers, and not ours. As far as I can understand, you are not technically self employed. When you receive a weekly/monthly income from one sole person/company that makes you employed. I have not checked up on this but then, would you really want to be Fully employed by Hillary's with the present attitude to its sales team?. They would tell you when to work, ie Saturdays/ Evenings and you would be answerable to them all the time with very little positive things in your favor,ie paid holidays, pension. Red |
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Post by greenpesto on Nov 25, 2005 12:23:50 GMT 1
Actually 'Red your are not far off the mark ... if I remember correctly that if 70% of your business comes from a single source then you should be paid directly by the company on a P.A.Y.E basis.
I think Hillarys would have a 'fit' if we insisted on this to the letter.
When I say 'fit' I mean one without a DOR of course. ( lol )!!!!!!!!!
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Post by Blind Scout on Nov 26, 2005 1:59:36 GMT 1
I read last week Sams saves us money. iy has increased my operating costs Hillarys used to supply us with order pads We have to buy brother paper. Don't stop there. Orders were fax'd to freephone numbers , we now pay comms charges Hillarys used to input orders, now we do. Diary used to come by e-mail, now we pay for it to download, as we do for price tables, out-of-stock report. However, on the plus side, their help desk is a freephone number, thank goodness, as my device is prone to all sorts of problems, including mismatch between e-mail diary and SAM appointments; freezing display requiring reset with resulting loss of data; unable to see the order details; unable to see the 'notes' boxes etc. Then there are the operational errors. No 'Exact fabric width' for Rob, factory don't read manufacturing notes. No facility to specify same room option for Ven. Pricing errors on 2 fors- 1) Where under and over 2m rule applies, SAM prices individually. 2) Where more than 2 blinds ordered SAM prices all at 50% price, if you have a lot of small windows that are under the break even point, they are charged at a price that can be greater than pricing all windows individually. 3) It is impossible to correct this without changing the 'total' price, but that changes all the blinds, giving the wrong figure, especially for quotes. Again, on the + side, IT have answered my e-mails, and are looking at these errors for future releases. |
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Post by greenpesto on Nov 26, 2005 11:49:22 GMT 1
If you are spending time playing with your SAM device worrying about these faults then how can you possibly build a rapore with your customer & get a sale. Another BIG downside for using SAM. Stick to paperwork & keep those sales coming in.
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Post by pyramid on Nov 27, 2005 16:53:50 GMT 1
This is my first post. Could anyone let me know the model number of the Brother printer?
Kelkoo lists one by Brother as Mprint MW-100 micro printer at £204.
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Mprint MW-140BT
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I know an advisor who is leaving after Xmas... may want to sell his..... interested??
Joy
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They can replace us at a moments notice, and add new advisor's in our areas without even telling us.