INSIDE Edi Bucher
INSIDE Edi Bucher approx. 1946 THEN AS CLOSE TO TH In BUCHER MOTOREX’s nearly 100-year history, regional managers have always been our most important personal link to our customers. As time rolls on, many things change. What remains is the consistent focus on the customer that keeps our sales team as effective today as it was back then. THEN … The year was 1946. World War II had ended just one year ago, and the Swiss economy was slowly recovering. Fortunately, commodity imports into Switzerland were improving, and there was greater scope for supplying lubricants for agricultural and construction equipment, trucks and cars once more. At BUCHER + CIE AG, market cultivation had long been in the hands of Hans Meier, the company’s first full-time salesman, and 22-year-old Edi Bucher, the family business’s secondgeneration manager, was aware that the road to success could only lead through enhanced field sales efforts. But pickings were slim when traveling by bicycle and train, so in 1946, Edi Bucher began traveling in a used 1935 DKW 700 “steam car” with well in excess of 100,000 kilometers behind it. Chugging under the hood was a free-revving two-stroke engine with 0.7-liter displacement and 20-hp output, an impressive figure for the time. In 1947, BUCHER + CIE. AG was early to recognize the rising trend toward motorization, as the REX brand became MOTOREX. But the new MOTOREX “motor oil brand” was still unknown, making selling it significantly more difficult. Each trip lasted a full week, from Monday morning to Saturday afternoon. Potential and existing customers were systematically visited and advised, and there was considerable pride when the day’s sales came to one drum. In those days, good oil was thick. People wanted “the good thick stuff”, like upper-cylinder oil for lubricating camshafts. The DKW always left its characteristic two-stroke scent behind after visits thanks to the rich 5 % SUPER MOTOR OIL MOTOREX SOLOMIX in the mixture. After returning to base, orders were processed and the goods were shipped, at first by rail and later on the company’s own delivery van and truck. 16
E CUSTOMER AS NOW NOW … Each time MOTOREX finished a good year, another regional sales manager was soon brought aboard. Customer proximity and good advice on lubrication matters have always been among MOTOREX’s strengths. Today there are over 40 MOTOREX regional managers for every line of business at the customer’s side throughout Switzerland. Each customer is always visited by the same sales advisor, who is familiar with the industry in question. These salespeople are trained career specialists, such as former shop managers, who have specialized in lubrication. Their wealth of experience makes them ideal customer advisors. Once ordered, products are quickly dispatched in one of the company’s 12 trucks or by a delivery service. With an average age of 49 and 12 years in the customer’s service, MOTOREX regional managers bring a wealth of experience to the table. Their relationship with customers often grows into a friendship that goes well beyond business. If a product runs out, a regional manager may drive a 25-liter canister of cable lubricant out to the remotest corner of the Maggia Valley even on a Saturday. But unlike Edi Bucher’s original DKW, his car will have 140 horsepower under the hood. And besides the product canister, the regional manager will be carrying with him the qualities of a good technical salesperson that his onetime boss so well exemplified, like an understanding of people, technical knowledge and persistence. • RESOURCES THEN NOW Mobility Bike/light motorcycle/car Modern car Selling Communications with headquarters Orders Average frequency of visits • Price book • Product samples • Customer file • By mail • Then by public telephone or from home Mail form after visiting the customer Twice a year • Product-specific presentations on a laptop • Online catalog • Marketing info • E-mail • Mobile phone • Via back-office sales in Langenthal Online after customer visit or directly by customer 2 – 12 times a year on average, depending on technical complexity Education Generalist Industry specialists Number of regional managers 2 (1947) Over 40 (2014) MOTOREX MAGAZINE 102 I JULY 2014 17
