Newton, Mass.—A salesperson's product knowledge and subsequent follow-through play critical roles in determining whether a customer will buy power transmission products from a company, according to a new in-depth study of power transmission end users. But overall, product price continues to be the most important criterion as to whether a buyer will select product from a particular vendor.

Those are just some of the results of the Power Transmission End-User Study, sponsored by the Power Transmission Distributors Assn. and conducted by Reed Research Group. The report was based on responses from 432 subscribers to Design News, Plant Engineering and Purchasing magazines, sister publications of INDUSTRIAL DISTRIBUTION.

Respondents also identified what they consider to be the key attributes of salespeople. The most important characteristics are: integrity, availability, application knowledge, respect for customers' time, listening skills and overall communication skills.

The study indicates that buyers would like more salespeople to have more industry knowledge.

The good news for distributors is that buyers are generally satisfied with the performance of the power transmission salespeople who call on them, particularly in regards to product knowledge. This confirms other studies done over the past few years, in which buyers indicated that they have seen much improvement from distributors in regard to technical expertise.

There still are some areas that could stand improvement, however, according to the study. Thirteen percent of the buyers said salespeople rated "poorly" in regards to their knowledge of customers' processes. This confirms what many industry consultants have stressed at recent seminars: distributor salespeople need to know more about their customers' internal processes and more about their customers' overall business. Nine percent of the respondents said that distributors don't follow through with customers as well as they should, and also mentioned that some salespeople are not available when they're needed. Salespeople, overall, received very few "poor" ratings from their customers.

Other than price, product quality/reliability is a key consideration when buyers select one power transmission product over another, the study shows. A total of 72 percent of the respondents identified this as most important. That was followed by total cost of ownership, 42 percent; warranty, 36 percent; ease of installation, 36 percent; and confidence in supplier recommendation, 35 percent.

Surprisingly, only 13 percent of the respondents identified brand recognition/ preference as the main reason they buy products from a particular company. And buyers, according to the study, don't seem to care where the product is manufactured. Only 10 percent said that the manufacturer's country of origin was an important factor in product selection.

On-time delivery/accuracy is the most important factor when buyers select a distributor. A second tier of key criteria includes technical support, expertise, responsiveness and trust/integrity.

Expedited delivery is the most widely received service among all the respondents. Round-the-clock emergency service, field service and repair round out the top four services received by plant engineers and purchasing professionals. However, engineering/design is the second most popular service among design engineers, with online technical support and field services rounding out the top four.

Motors are the most popular items purchased or specified by the respondents. Following motors were hydraulics and pneumatics, pumps, adjustable/variable speed drives, mounted bearings, belts, drives and shaft couplings.