Marketers In The Deep Mud - The CREST Network

Business owners get so excited when their marketer returns to the office at the end of the day, telling the boss they visited 20 insurance agencies that day! My response – “that’s terrible.” Yes, they sure were “busy,” but how effective were they? Too many owners attribute quantity to success. Yet it takes much more than a Stop – Drop – and Roll effort – which is almost worthless.

Even very sharp business owners equate a marketer’s 20 plus daily stops to drop off cookies, as a successful day for the rep. It’s even worse when the rep returns to the office to regale the owner with stories of who they saw, how many agents or plumbers wanted extra cookies, or all the great chit- chat they had that day. I had a client (contractor) that demanded their marketers visit 20- 25 prospects every day. Sadly, it didn’t work, so he started adding in TPA work! Guess what? Even more sad… as of January 2023, he is Out Of Business.

Owners are equating “busy” with “productive” and that’s just plain wrong. The marketer is almost acting like a social butterfly, which does little to develop a strong quality business relationship. Also, being a social butterfly has far more to do with donuts and cookies than it does with establishing a trusted relationship.

Here is the scenario I hear over and over: a typical market area, there are about 300 insurance agents and 200 plumbers in total in your market. Your marketing rep should have about 20 different routes (one for each business day of the month). They call on about 25 prospects each day – dropping off a bag of cookies and some flyer, brochure, advertising or promo piece about Fire Smoke Water or Mold. They engage in a little light banter and then move on to the next prospect on the route list.

The owner actually believes “someday, some of those 25 prospects (each day) are going to send us jobs.” Most are duped and under the false belief that this “Stop, Drop & Roll” process will bring a great ROI. We better not forget; the marketer’s role is to bring in jobs – lots of jobs regularly! Based on the marketers that I coach; they should be generating revenue by the end of year one – of at least one-half million dollars (for their first 12 months).

The CREST Network takes a different approach; we encourage 10-12 visits a day so you can build real relationships. 50 – 70 stops a week – eliminating those in the master list that will probably NEVER give you a referral.

It may seem like I’m repeating myself, but… Busy doesn’t automatically transform into Productive. As business owners you must have productive marketers, no different than any other employee. If you don’t tolerate production workers doing less than they should, don’t allow the marketer to be less productive either!

We know that each full-time marketing rep costs you about $100,000 a year. That’s vehicle, giveaways, expense account, payroll, and so much more. They need to be generating about a million $$ per year in a quantifiable business by the end of year two.

I will often have to tell the owner the bad news that their marketer isn’t making the grade and they need to let the marketer go. That’s tough on everyone. However, when many other employees in your organization depend on the marketer’s success, sometimes it is necessary to hire a marketer that will produce. (At CREST, we help with the interview process, so you don’t hire for looks alone, or for being a butterfly).

Good marketing certainly is an investment in your short and long-term business future. You place you money where you truly get the best return. The rep you hire should be one that understands it’s completely about the prospect or client – not about Fire, Smoke, Water or Mold. Their goal should be to build as many business relationships as they can, since it’s about becoming a Resource or Trusted Advisor to your prospects and clients.

You will be more successful, profitable, and productive when the marketer can build good solid relationships. So don’t be fooled into thinking it’s about the lowest price or highest referral fee. It is ultimately about providing a Legitimacy and Believability early on that gets you repeat and loyal clients and referral sources (jobs!) This will happen ONLY when the marketer becomes a trusted advisor, a go-to resource, and a Maven. Just being busy without productivity is like spinning your wheels being stuck in the mud. It’s time to hire marketers that produce the best possible ROI.

Author: Dick Wagner, Co-founder of The CREST Network and CRESTLibrary.com

Creator of the renowned PREP™ pre-disaster program

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