Sometimes old-fashioned hospitality is all that’s needed to help the Postal Service generate new revenue.
Just ask Crystal Hernandez, customer services supervisor at the Sapulpa, OK, Post Office.
She recently organized a Grow Your Business Day event at her office to help local entrepreneurs learn about USPS products and services. After speaking with one small-business owner who was using a competitor to ship his merchandise, Hernandez jotted down his contact information and submitted it to the Postal Service through the Submit a Lead program.
A sales representative then contacted the business owner and persuaded him to begin using USPS for his shipping needs — a sale that will generate almost $195,000 in new estimated annualized postal revenue.
“Having businesses come into the Post Office made it easy to reach multiple customers at once, and I had my employees and my materials with me to make it easier to answer questions,” Hernandez said. “I definitely recommend hosting an event.”
Hernandez is one of many employees who are participating in Race for a $Billion, a year-long campaign to generate $1 billion in estimated annualized revenue through sales leads submitted by USPS workers.
The campaign, which will conclude Sept. 30, has raised more than $379 million so far.
To help employees provide leads, the Postal Service offers several programs, including Customer Connect (for letter carriers), Clerks Care (for retail associates and distribution and machine clerks), Mail Handlers (for mail handlers), Rural Reach (for rural carriers) and Submit a Lead (for everyone else, including Executive and Administrative Schedule employees).
The Sales Blue page has more information about each program, as well as an updated ranking of all USPS districts in the Race for a $Billion campaign.
Mary Anderson, small-business engagement director at the Postal Service’s Washington, DC, headquarters, encourages other managers and supervisors to follow Hernandez’s example.
“Hosting a lobby event is a great way to talk to multiple business customers at one time,” Anderson said, adding that USPS offers special materials to help Post Offices advertise the event and attract attendees.
“Working together, we can help make these events a huge success.”