Why western of all places.

This has been an astraladvent query

6/4/2010 3:04:00 PM

i, too, am on western

6/4/2010 3:04:19 PM

lolwat~

6/4/2010 3:04:32 PM

they done heard that Slave Famous is still under lock and key

6/4/2010 3:05:26 PM

it's because of Bud Light trying to get naming rights at the new amphitheater

6/4/2010 3:06:17 PM

that is really what the protest is about?

6/4/2010 3:08:19 PM

I realize this thread is about those who have protested on western.... which I have not. Hear me out, maybe I can offer some insight.

I am in outside sales, which is currently salary+commission, but will move into straight commission starting at the beginning of July 2010. I have been in this position since July 2009. I have competition from several direct manufacturing sales reps, large distributors, and local distributors. Here are the advantages and disadvantages of each:

Direct Advantages: Immediate knowledge of new technology, no middle man mark up, one shipping bill (paid by manufacturer or buyer of goods), access to larger range of non-commodity items, control inventory, have access to many distributors that can effectively sell their goods which increases market share, and set prices of commodity they manufacture.

Direct disadvantages: Typically have 1-3 sales reps per region (i.e. southeast, mid-atlantic, northeast, etc.) limiting the number of accounts they can successfully manage/cold-call, lack physical customer service or physical technical service available to or affordable for smaller users or altogether, are sometimes not trustworthy because they will go in behind their distributors that sell their commodity to one account in large quantities (i.e. they missed a big account, and have found out about it through a distributor selling their particular product) which leads to the distributor not selling their product anymore, have too many distributors selling the product ultimately driving the set price down through deviations, possibly rely on distributors to actually sell the product, and competition from other direct sources.

Large distributor advantages: have access to other commodities that go hand in hand with other manufacturers (poor example- grocery stores sell milk as well as cereal), get direct pricing, many locations regionally or nationally easing the shipping burden of buyers with multiple locations, personal service either customer or technical, many sales reps that are able to cover a broader territory, access to multiple manufacturers of the same commodity allowing to keep prices in check, service programs that smaller companies can't offer and direct providers can't match in price or value, and experts of many many commodities as opposed to one or a few.

Large distributor disadvantages: smaller local distributors creating price wars (think Michael Scott Paper Co vs Dunder-Mifflin), direct mfg's going in behind and stealing business, limited access to all of the mfg's (you won't find Harris Teeter name brands in Food Lion and visa versa), can't truly set prices because it's based on both supply and demand, territory management, and tough growth prospects in slower economies (this is true for direct as well really)

Local distributor advantages: Typically a good ol' boy setting where the seller and the buyer know each other for years (this does happen at all levels, but mostly at the local level), local folks are right down the street and can be used in emergencies, if the local guy buys at high enough volumes then there is no shipping charge to the end user, and access to both direct mfg's and large distributors.

Local distributor disadvantages: easily beaten in price, array of commodities, array of technology, lack of trained staff, low cash flow, etc etc etc.

This is what I have noticed in my six months, I am sure there are plenty more that need mentioning. The way I am setting myself apart as a sales person is this: I go after the big accounts right now while I am new. The big accounts, if I land them, will take care of me while I am new and building a customer base. The money made off of those allows me to focus free time on smaller accounts that get me higher margins. I build up big accounts, I would like to have 5-10 of these, then get 20-30 medium accounts. If I lose 1 or 2 big accounts, the 20-30 medium accounts keep me afloat while I go after new big accounts. I don't really waste time on small accounts simply because they basically pay for breakfast or something really small.

I will say this, if you can't get a big account in the first 6-8 months (assuming you have cash flow that you can ride this long) you could be in a world of trouble. If you can get one, it will really make going after the others a lot more enjoyable and less stressful. It's simply just very exhausting wasting any time on anything other than big accounts in the very beginning. You work just as hard on the medium sized accounts and see 1/3 to 1/36 of the money in my situation.

If you have any other questions, you can PM me. I hope this helps in the slightest!

6/4/2010 3:08:48 PM

where is there space on western to protest?

6/4/2010 3:16:49 PM

various fast food parking lots

6/4/2010 3:18:57 PM

The Gourmet Factory parking lot


ZING!

6/4/2010 3:18:59 PM

is it on the intersection of western and avent ferry?

if so then the answer is obvious

6/4/2010 3:21:17 PM

it is not possible for me to care less about this

6/4/2010 3:38:22 PM

I'd love to get a group to get together to tailgate & pound bud lights for the rally...

that is if it's really about the naming rights for the Amphitheatre

6/4/2010 3:42:49 PM

Its at gorman and western. Its all the Muslims protesting about Israel.

6/4/2010 3:58:39 PM

i assumed this was about the anti-death penalty people on martin luther king in front of the prison...but they don't protest; they do vigils.

6/4/2010 4:01:20 PM

might be more effective if they went to israel to protest...or they might get shot--i'm ok with either

6/4/2010 4:03:03 PM

I mean if I was going to protest something I wouldn't do it in a region that's like 40% college students who don't give a fuck and are mostly on vacation.

I'm astraladvent and I approved this message.

6/4/2010 8:43:55 PM

Quote :

"they do vigils."

Protests and vigils really get things done.

6/4/2010 8:45:55 PM

Quote :

"Its at gorman and western. Its all the Muslims protesting about Israel."

ahh, it's friday and that intersection is closer to their place of worship

still, they need to tighten up their shit

they should of done it at avent ferry and western

6/4/2010 8:45:59 PM

list of things I care about less than Muslims and Israel:

6/4/2010 8:48:00 PM

Then they need to take their shit on over there. Ragheads. I should have shown up witha picture of muhammed or dressed as muhammed.

6/4/2010 8:48:11 PM

Just sounds like an excuse to get out of work. I like how they all packed it in at 5. They care about peace until it cuts into their weekend.

6/4/2010 8:50:32 PM

bttt

6/4/2010 9:13:19 PM

Protesters? More like amateur testers am I right?

6/4/2010 9:34:21 PM

o u rite

6/4/2010 9:42:45 PM

Quote :

"Protests and vigils really get things done."

A protest can, if done right. But it has to be more than a group of people mad about something. You need to send out press releases to the media and you need to follow up by providing more content & multimedia for them to use. Lining up allies as speakers, especially community leaders or political allies, always helps. And most of all you have to have an actionable item. A postcard campaign, a petition, a sign up to lobby your legislators in person. And even with all that the protest has to be a part of a broader and continuous effort towards a given cause... protests and vigils as stand alone events really don't do much. Even if you get a thousand people to protest, if you don't have the media reporting on it, if you don't get political awareness, if you don't have an actionable item to make use of the people who show up, and you don't have it as a part of a larger over all effort then size doesn't matter. A symbolic location is always a plus too. Timing is very important as well, a protest has to be seen. Nothing about a Western Blvd weekend strikes me as good protest material.

6/4/2010 9:55:41 PM

Damnit... I totally would have made a sign supporting Israel and gone out there. Fuck those fucking terrorist sympathizing fuckers.

6/4/2010 9:58:06 PM