Small Business Question (sales, profit, pay, sell)

[Dutch Brother]

I have interviews with two different small companies to be a sales rep. One company believes in selling over 20 products and services to their clients and it is very hard for them to tell you exactly what they do. The other company focuses on 2-3 things that they do very well and that's all they do. Both companies are in the same general industry.

In picking a company that is going to succeed in the future is it better to sell everything to anybody or to sell to a select group of clients?

[Catsofthebase3]

A broad market is important, but over-generalizing your product line to target as many people as possible will effect your quality of product and service.

If the specialized company seems strong, go with them. They'll be able to focus on their particular field, and adjust more easily to market changes.

[jhlcomp]

As a small business owner, if a company can not tell you exactly what they do - I would be worried. We learned first hand, yes it would be great to be all things to all industries and people, but the reality is that something will suffer.

I am guessing you will have your work cut out for you with the company with a boarder product/service offering than the one that has a defined offering.

Which company ahs been more profitable? And which one do you believe will benefit from your services and vis a versa? Good luck to you.

[Dutch Brother]

One company sells office supplies, printing and custom printed coffee mugs and stuff like that, the other focuses on only selling direct mail and printing. The first company did admit that it is hard to try and tell people what they sell in less than 5 minutes.

[mbuszu]

The first company although selling a broader mix of things can still give a 30 sec elevator pitch by generalizing about how they sell office supplies and items which can be personalized with company names and logos.

I would not want to base my decision on just what these companies sell, but instead on criteria such as: health and age of company, the company leadership, sales force size, how well I knew the market, base pay and incentive pay, reputation, job responsibilities and territory, and lastly my gut feeling after meeting other staff and company management.