About Customers: Lessons Supply Management Professionals Can Learn from Sales People

Author(s):

James T. Phillips, C.P.M., A.P.P.
James T. Phillips, C.P.M., A.P.P., Procurement Supervisor, Utah Department of Transportation, Salt Lake City, UT 84114-8260, 801.965.3836, jamesphillips@utah.gov

88th Annual International Conference Proceedings - 2003 - Nashville, TN

Abstract

As Supply Managers we meet individuals who are Masters at working with customers. They know how to work with, inform and satisfy customers. Sales People can teach us all about customers. Tools they use regularly can easily fit into our toolbox. We will discuss five such tools or concepts used by sales people which, when applied to our work, will help better our relationship with our customers. They are the phone and other electronic technologies, hot buttons -- finding them and using them, product knowledge -- knowing what our "product” is, competition -- who and what that is, and finally, customers -- who they are and what they want.