I/EC
The Professional Side
Technical Sales and Service Salesman, l a b o r a t o r y technician, promoter, liaison o f f i c e r — a l l rolled into one—is chemical industry's technical sales and service man A PHOTOGRAPHIC
PORTRAIT
of
an
individual compared with one painted by an artist is remarkably different. The photograph is an exact reproduction of the person as he appeared for a fraction of a second. The artist, however, after studying his subject, produces a portrait bearing impressions of character completely missed by the camera. A cursory glance at the technical sales and service men in chemical industry and you see "mechanics" with kits of technical knowledge ready to assist the company salesmen when requested. T o understand these men and the many facets of their work fully, let's visit a mythical chemical company. Typical Business Day
It is the beginning of a business day in the offices of the ABC Chemical Co. and George Doe is reading his morning mail. Two items attract his attention : one, a letter from a customer who has been testing an ABC product; the results seem promising ; would yields be expected to improve if reaction conditions were varied? The other, a salesman's memorandum describing a plant problem encountered in his rounds, inquiring whether it can be solved with one of ABC's compounds. George answers the customer's letter by judicial use of company technical data on file. The salesman's memorandum requires a discussion with ABC's laboratory personnel. As George is about to telephone them, a telegram arrives from the Chicago sales territory : Can he arrange to join the salesman in a plant visit to discuss a by-product unexpectedly formed in a reaction? This is urgent! George arranges the trip for the following day. There's the phone again; the advertising department is sending over some technical copy for immediate approval. A free moment and George talks
on the phone with the laboratory group leader about the problem described in the salesman's memorandum. The group leader promises to experiment with one of ABC's products. He will discuss it with' George on his return from Chicago later in the week. Noon arrives and with it a business luncheon date. This is often an important part of the day, whether it brings a chat with individuals inside or outside the company. The afternoon mail brings a request to talk on the chemistry of ABC chemicals at a seminar meeting to be held in Cincinnati 2 months hence. This is desirable as it gives him a chance to describe to a number of people at one time the potential applications of ABC chemicals; George accepts prompdy. Mid-afternoon and George keeps an appointment with the production manager of another firm. This man had expressed interest in using an ABC compound to upgrade a commercial product. He was not; however, sold on the economics of such improvement. George and his associates had thought of a reaction technique to encourage the production manager to test it for economic feasibility. Much to George's delight, the suggested procedure finds favor. Arrangements are made to ship enough of the compound for a pilot-plant run. Back in his office, George adds a paragraph to the resume of his activities being written for the management meeting next week. As George leaves for the day, he collects the technical data needed for tomorrow's trip to see the Chicago salesman. He will have a chance to review them while traveling. This was possibly a typical day in the business life of a man engaged in technical sales and service. What is George's actual position in his company and how did he secure it? Is technical sales and service really a new function or did it exist long
J. C. Pullman, originally from Canada, received a B.S. in chemistry from Mount Allison University, Sackville, New Brunswick, also an M.S. and Ph.D. in organic chemistry from McGill University, Montreal, Que. His early experience was in the paper industry where he was employed successively with Bert C. Miller, Inc., Lily Tulip Cup Corp., and Paper Chemicals Department of American Cyanamid Co. He transferred to the New Product Development Department of Cyanamid and became assistant to the manager. Since 1954 he has been Manager, Technical Service, Petrochemicals Department. ago under another name? T o understand this man and his work fully, let's look at the American chemical industry of 50 years ago. New Products Require Special Handling
In 1908, there was very little in the way of industrial chemical research. Laboratories Were generally limited to production control. A few years later with the advent of phenolic plastics, the situation changed drastically. Here was an entirely new product. Every potential user had to be educated to it and its special processing. Thus, the technically trained man in the laboratory was called upon to accompany salesmen in introducing their molding compounds. This was, perhaps, one of the earliest forms of technical sales and service. After World War I, a period unfavorable for the growth of technical VOL. 50, NO. 4
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APRIL 1958
99 A
THE PROFESSIONAL SIDE
BY WILLIAMS
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sales and service, a new phase of the chemical industry began in this country. I n West Virginia, plants started to produce organic chemicals from petroleum and natural gas. In building a sales organization in 1920 to market these new products, a revolutionary step was taken— a Ph.D. was selected from the com pany research laboratory as a "prac tical salesman." T h e late J. A. Rafferty in his 1948 Society of Chemical Industry Medal accept ance address recalled that his attitude in 1920 was that "as high a quality of scientific thinking is required in the application of these new prod ucts as in the making of them." In the thirties, many new prod ucts appeared on the market that had no previous counterparts. More and more, potential users had to be advised on the nature and applica tion of these new chemicals. Sales departments began to add tech nically trained men to their staff to assist salesmen as "technical service men." This step was a major advance. For the first time, sales departments now had technical aid, with mo bility, and of their own choosing. No longer was it necessary to dis rupt laboratory research programs by borrowing the services of a man when the need was great. World W a r I I was a period of intense effort on the part of the U. S. chemical industry. With so many technically trained men in the armed forces, those remaining in industry were forced to concentrate on the research and development necessary to support the war effort. Consequendy, technical sales and service dropped to a minimum. Since the war, the chemical in dustry has grown more rapidly than any other industry. With this growth technical sales and service has come into its own as a most important function in the complex applications of chemical products. Thousands of new products and an even greater number of diverse applications require specialized knowledge for the greatest benefits. This requires trained counseling— within one's own company as well as with other companies using the products. Salesmen usually have neither the time nor the training for this work. Like so many other
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THE PROFESSIONAL SIDE functions in this increasingly complex industry, it requires the services of a specialist. Organization will vary among firms, but most frequently technical sales and service are associated with sales departments—sometimes as a staff function. Personnel Qualifications a n d Duties
What is the principal source for staffing technical sales and service today? T h e laboratory—preferably one directed toward application research. Experience in an industrial chemical laboratory is essential. Many larger companies now make a general practice of hiring chemists and chemical engineers right out of college as "sales trainees." For a year or two their training covers a varied program, including considerable work in laboratories. T h e technical sales and service man has many responsibilities : • Liaison between sales, research, and production. • Technical assistance to customer and potential customer. • Development of new uses and markets for existing products. • Development of new products. • Writing of technical bulletins on products. • Preparing technical copy for advertising and promotion. • Delivering lectures to outside research groups on physical and chemical properties of products. The list is impressive, but let's look further at technical assistance and market development activities. The salesman's major, and often only, contact with other companies is the purchasing department. A technical m a n teamed with him also makes contact through the same department. However, in order to be of real assistance to the customer, he goes on to talk with research, production, or engineering personnel, offering the benefits of specialized knowledge and experience wherever possible. Result: "Selling in depth," or a thorough sales effort. A Necessary Function in G r o w i n g Industry
How does management view technical sales and service activity? As a necessary sales function in a growing, competitive industry. Gone forever are the days when aggressive salesmanship and personality alone were responsible for obtaining orders.
INDUSTRIAL A N D ENGINEERING CHEMISTRY
Today's chemical buyer demands that a product stand on its merits. If the supplier's technical sales and service activity has the respect of production and technical personnel in the customer's plant, their recommendations to the purchasing agent will undoubtedly influence his decisions. Management also looks to this activity for the development of new markets, not only for existing products, but also for modifications or entirely new products suggested by experience in the field. Furthermore, in liaison activity with his company's research people, management expects the technical sales and service m a n to interpret the requirements of industry and to suggest proper channeling of research toward needed and profitable products. H e is in an excellent position to maintain harmonious cooperation between sales and research by interpreting the aims and problems of one to the other. What of the future? T h e evolution of technical sales and service is still very much in progress. Scope, responsibilities, and position in the company will grow and change. The work is that of selling on a two-way street: supplier's products to user and user's requirements to supplier. Much of his success is based on the support he gets from his own laboratories. Here a new trend is under way: the establishment of application laboratories, separate from research in both personnel and facilities. This is a logical step and generally regarded with favor by sales and research people alike. It frees research men to use their talents to better advantage on long-term projects removed from interruptions. These application laboratories are generally under the jurisdiction of technical sales and service. If a company's operations extend into many areas, individual laboratories might well be assigned to each of the areas. There appears to be little doubt that technical sales and service will have a greater voice at decisionmaking management meetings in all progressive chemical companies, large or small. Thus, a young man in this relatively new activity can look to a challenging and promising future.
