The View From Here: The end for sales & marketing people is not nigh
IN THE REAL WORLD we’ve seen it all before of course - the ups and downs of the stock market and the roller coaster ride that many financial institutions have found themselves in recent days. Enter the media with its own forte for reporting and prophesying doom, and little wonder there are those out there who have been persuaded that life as they knew it is headed for free-fall.
In fact nothing could be further from the truth: economic activity in the world beyond the malodorous atmosphere of hedge funds, collateralised debt options and bankrupt merchant banks goes on as solidly as ever.
That’s not to say that UK plc isn’t being cautious about its purchases right now, concerned about interest rates and made apprehensive by some of the current ‘down-sizing’ amalgamation is bringing about: but it is a fact that the majority of those laid off by businesses have not been in sales and marketing.
Enlightened employers know how hard it is to find really successful sales and marketing people – men and women who spend their lives at the pit face, hewing out the business for the business and feeding it back along a conveyor belt that ends at the shareholders’ meeting.
At their brilliant best these unique individuals are capable of making something out of nothing, turning base metal into gold by overcoming adversity and finding opportunity; they hold the fire of creativity and inspiration in their hands and they know how to make things happen.
A new customer, developed from a cold call, the continuation of the successful marketing message, a resolute approach to doing business which instils confidence and brings success like a breath of fresh air to all parties concerned. This is how and why we employ top sales people to do our business for us - people who are worth their weight in gold and seldom, if ever feature on any list of downsizing.
The turmoil on the markets will blow through as quickly as it appeared. Taking positive action diminishes the spectre of uncertainty, hand-wringing and vacillation won’t save the day but rather self-belief, encouragement and simple determination will mark out those who succeed from those who will eventually ask, ‘What happened?’
Look where your business has come from. If you have created the right atmosphere for success to be allowed to happen, now is the time to give your sales people the brief, define the target, set the time frame and slip the leash.
Good advice at any time is to employ the best sales force money can buy. Right now that counts double. The other good news is that there are some exceptional sales people out there looking for good homes. This is the time to get them on your team.
