Welcome to a very special episode of “A Drink with the Hurricane.” I hope you enjoyed our dramatization…I definitely enjoyed filming it. As one of the company’s Directors, I frequently handle calls from business owners across the country who are looking for help with their marketing reps. While this exact situation portrayed here is not a verbatim conversation I have had, the basic concept is one which I encounter at least 3-4 times a month. This is why we are sharing it all with you. It’s common enough that it has to be addressed!
The scenario goes like this…A business owner calls Hurricane Marketing Enterprises, looking for help with a new marketing rep. Perfect…this is what we do here! We can absolutely train and manage this rep, and ultimately help the business owner get exactly what he/she needs. After a brief conversation, and some discovery questions, I explain the exact services that would best be suited to help that caller. And then, to my surprise, the business owner says he/she is not ready to invest in training the rep until it is certain that the rep is the right person for the job. WHAT?!?!?! Isn’t that what the interview process was for? The majority of the time, we get a call back a few months later from that same business owner, who is now ready to make the investment, but I always think to myself…”imagine where your business would be by now if you had trained the person right away?”
I absolutely DO understand where the business owner is coming from on this point. I get it. Training IS an investment and you don’t want to waste that money, especially when your business is still growing. But whether you hire our company, one of our competitors, or you do it yourself…you MUST train your marketing reps. Their salary is a big investment so you need to ensure that they are doing the job properly right from the beginning. This is true for ANY industry.
When the staff at HME was talking about this situation at one of our meetings last month, it made me think of when I was in high school and got my first job as a cashier at a store in the mall. I was trained on everything, from how to properly say “hi” to the customers, to folding t-shirts the right way, and obviously how to use the cash register. When I was in college, I got a job at a different store in a different mall, but I was still a cashier. I’m sure that they hired me because of my previous experience, knowing that it would help my learning curve, but they still trained me. The managers didn’t assume that just because I had used a cash register before, that I would automatically know how to use theirs. The same thing goes for marketing reps. They may have previous experience…but if it wasn’t working for your exact company, then they need some form of training. You owe it to them…and to yourself…and to your business.
My background is similar to Steve’s in that I have been in some form of sales and marketing position for the majority of my life, but we worked in different industries. When he asked me to be a coach for Hurricane Marketing Enterprises, I knew that I would be good at it, but I lacked the confidence in the industry-specific areas. I have trained thousands of marketing reps for different companies over the past 16 years of my life, but I still knew I needed…and WANTED…to be trained properly before I took on the role of a coach for the company. I am a firm believer that a good candidate should want training. If someone blows in to your office thinking they have what it takes and don’t need any help or guidance…lookout! Confidence is important, but there is a fine line before you reach egomaniac. Give your people what they want. The marketing reps become the face of your company to many people, so MAKE SURE they know what they are doing, and they are representing it well.
Sign your rep up for our new Fast Start training program. Use promo code FS100 for $100 off. We have new classes starting March 2nd and March 16th. Click HERE for more details and get your rep on the path to success. With our help here at HME, your rep will have the proper training to Blow Away the Competition!!!
~Nicole “The Real Deal” Peretti