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2000 by Jobs and Money. Reprinted by permission of the publisher.
Amoroso Baking Company and CBSG
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Training helps legendary Philadelphia company rebound
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By Mark Heisler and Suzanne Baldino Jones
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Amoroso Baking Company Fleet Manager Jim Keveny knew something was wrong but he just couldn't put his finger on it. Sales growth had slowed for no appreciable reason at the Philadelphia-based baking company. Since Amoroso is a Philadelphia legend, everyone seemed to love the product. Despite putting an ear to the ground, clients had only good things to say about the company and its products.
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None of that mattered. New customers were slow in coming and getting orders from current customers was like pulling teeth.
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That's where we came in. In fact, we were able to pick up on the problem almost immediately. We first looked at the direct sales people-the drivers-and we noticed they weren't aggressively looking for new opportunities to make sales. In addition, they were almost entirely noncommittal about interacting with existing customers in anything beyond, like, hello and goodbye. What was their focus? Delivering bread, that's what.
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Point is, they delivered Amoroso bread when most of us are still asleep. Some even saw their job as simply delivering the product. If things like this happen at your company, listen up: by simply delivering the bread the drivers lost sight of what matters most-the customer.
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We've said this before, but it bears repeating. The average business loses 20 percent of its customers each year. Seven of 10 customers who take a hike do so because they feel ignored. The approaching holiday season is a particularly troubling time to take your customers for granted, especially with year-end reviews almost automatic in everyone's thinking. What did we suggest at Amoroso to get the dough rising again?
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Sales training for the drivers, for starters. We reminded the drivers that they were the direct link with Amoroso customers. We then pointed out and suggested opportunities for increasing sales with every single customer on every route.
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We developed our Continuous Customer Contract for just this purpose. The CCC integrates sales initiatives with service delivery, linking the company together to accomplish goals in a new, powerful way. Rather than respond to the internal needs of the company-the bureaucracy of filling out forms correctly, for example-employees were encouraged to focus on the needs of the people who matter most: the customers.
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Amoroso gained 12 new clients and more than $100,000 worth of business following our training through the Continuous Customer Contract. Better yet, they gained a better relationship and a whole new era of opportunities to grow their business through their customers. Most companies are successful when resources are harnessed to grow and maintain the business. That's what happened at Amoroso Baking Company where today the bread isn't the only thing that is rising. So are the profits.
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Mark Heisler and Suzanne Baldino Jones are principals of Competitive Business Strategy Group, a management consulting practice located in Mount Laurel, N.J. For more information, call (888) 411-5800. E-mail at mheisler@cbsg.com or sbjones@cbsg.com.