Got Rogue Spenders Circumventing You? Try Plexiglas...
Back in the day, when I worked for the dark side (sales) at Dell, we always joked that we got paid in Plexiglas. For employee performance, Dell was extremely generous in giving out Plexiglas awards. The funny thing was, it really worked.
Employees eagerly competed for the opportunity to be recognized and to receive a nice little Plexiglas something-or-another. My Dell Plexiglas awards are long gone, but the idea of using Plexiglas as a motivational tool was tucked neatly away in the back of my head...
Fast forward to recent history and the problem of customers who would rather die in a fire than to use their purchasing organization to get a deal done. Do you have rogue customers like that? You've tried everything to get those customers back into the fold, right? You've tried to convince them of your value-add, but despite that, these rogue customers still know how to negotiate better than you (in their minds).
Well, here's a technique that I've tried that works--it doesn't work all of the time, but I've definitely captured some rogue customers with it: Plexiglas. Yep, good old-fashioned, 100% pure Plexiglas. I created a "Customer Savings Program," where customers receive an award for partnering with my Vendor Management Office (VMO) to save money for the company. I use $100K, $500K, and $1M tiers (imprinted on the Plexiglas), and I keep a running total of each customer's savings. When the customer hits one of the tiers, he or she receives an award at an annual event that I hold for my customers (more on that event in a future blog article). The customer receives a handsome Plexiglas award with a nice little wood base to display in his or her workspace. I then keep that customer in the running for the next tier, subject to future savings. Again, this is only for savings resulting from deals that the customer worked with my VMO on.
Not only does my Customer Savings Program help to directly reign in rogue spenders, it also prompts other folks to want to use my VMO. When someone sees the award displayed in a customer's workspace, that someone asks questions about the program, or my VMO, or how to get the award. It costs maybe a $1,000 a year in Plexiglas, but it works pretty well and helps get good publicity for my VMO. Try it, your customers may like it.
Employees eagerly competed for the opportunity to be recognized and to receive a nice little Plexiglas something-or-another. My Dell Plexiglas awards are long gone, but the idea of using Plexiglas as a motivational tool was tucked neatly away in the back of my head...
Fast forward to recent history and the problem of customers who would rather die in a fire than to use their purchasing organization to get a deal done. Do you have rogue customers like that? You've tried everything to get those customers back into the fold, right? You've tried to convince them of your value-add, but despite that, these rogue customers still know how to negotiate better than you (in their minds).
Well, here's a technique that I've tried that works--it doesn't work all of the time, but I've definitely captured some rogue customers with it: Plexiglas. Yep, good old-fashioned, 100% pure Plexiglas. I created a "Customer Savings Program," where customers receive an award for partnering with my Vendor Management Office (VMO) to save money for the company. I use $100K, $500K, and $1M tiers (imprinted on the Plexiglas), and I keep a running total of each customer's savings. When the customer hits one of the tiers, he or she receives an award at an annual event that I hold for my customers (more on that event in a future blog article). The customer receives a handsome Plexiglas award with a nice little wood base to display in his or her workspace. I then keep that customer in the running for the next tier, subject to future savings. Again, this is only for savings resulting from deals that the customer worked with my VMO on.
Not only does my Customer Savings Program help to directly reign in rogue spenders, it also prompts other folks to want to use my VMO. When someone sees the award displayed in a customer's workspace, that someone asks questions about the program, or my VMO, or how to get the award. It costs maybe a $1,000 a year in Plexiglas, but it works pretty well and helps get good publicity for my VMO. Try it, your customers may like it.
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