4 minute read
Conversations with owners and managers over the years has provided me with some amazing concepts and I’ve learned about many misconceptions they have. Oddly, there are many owners that have the philosophy of hiring incredibly good salespeople and skilled marketers, and that’s all it takes. Some even think that hiring these good people eliminates the need to provide them with training, coaching, and customized guidance.
It’s kind of like an NFL team signing on a great quarterback, and then fail to provide any coaching help. Even professional athletes choose to work with a coach to help make them even better than they are at the start.
OOPS – DIDN’T SEE THAT COMING
Too many times an owner hires a marketer for all the wrong reasons! They interview a candidate, the candidate seems like a people-person, or claims to “know a lot of people” in town or has one specific skill that you think would be valuable. Surprise. You probably don’t need that one specific skill, since they come to you with a ton of baggage you weren’t aware of! All too often, the person getting hired has a track record of decent sales (so they claim) from another industry.
Unfortunately, these same marketers still operate the way they have always done… they way they did it in 1990 or even 2010. They aren’t even aware (many owners aren’t either) that the world has changed. Sales and marketing have changed. Buyer attitudes have changed. The sales and marketing tactics that worked OK in 1990 or the early 2000’s are no longer appropriate or even acceptable.
A NEW GAME
Consumer attitudes, ways of buying, methods for searching and reviewing products and services significantly changed starting around 2012 – 2015. Even more recent than those dates, is the Pandemic of 2020, and how it has altered the buyer’s approach to doing business today. B2B sales and marketing is restricted in most areas of the US. Offices of insurance agents or even plumbing companies are temporarily closed or at least locked – restricting access inside.
If you are marketing the PREP™ program (Commercial Pre-Disaster Plan), calling on Hotels, Churches, Eldercare facilities, and many other verticals, your marketer must be properly coached and taught the right way to target them. Otherwise, they will blow the opportunity for themselves and your company for possibly many years. You cannot afford that, so you’ll want to embrace customized and specialized coaching for your staff. Too many owners don’t realize all the changes in the selling world in the past few years, and certainly don’t know that “what they say can actually hurt their sales!”
BOLD IS GOOD – ARROGANT IS BAD
We recently had to “help” terminate an arrogant, cocky, know-it-all marketer, who claimed to be a maverick and a rebel. He was a previously self-employed owner that apparently couldn’t take the heat anymore. I suspect it was because he ruined all his relationships. He flat refused to complete Daily Reports, wouldn’t participate appropriately in weekly sales meeting, and fought and argued with every suggestion provided to him by the owners, the manager, and yes, even his sales coach (me).
When you get a marketer that doesn’t understand that the buying world is vastly different than it was just a few short years ago, chaos reigns. Sales collapse and Relationships are ruined. Remember, even the best and brightest choose to work with coaches and advisors to make them even better!
Contact me at 419-202-6745 or [email protected]
By Dick Wagner, Co-Founder The CREST Network, LLC
Nationally recognized coach, consultant, trainer, and speaker
Creator of the renowned PREP™ pre-disaster program
Owner of AskDickWagner.com BLOG
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