Brand Extensions

Most companies still don't understand that each interaction with their brand and people determines the value of their brand.

I meet with Sales Reps almost every day: Sites, Emerging Media, Technology Providers, etc. More than 50% of these brand ambassadors feel like a brand mismatch: There's the sales rep for an emerging media company that relies on print-outs for his presentations, the rep for one of the hottest sites on the Internet that doesn't know what Web 2.0 is all about and and and...

One of my job duties is to evaluate all opportunities and generate recommendations/strategies for our clients. Since many of these opportunities revolve around Web 2.0 and Emerging Media, I don't have tons of data to determine my recommendations. I have to rely on basic data, overall match for respective brand and the sales rep to offer me additional insight to support my case when I go back to client.

Sure, you might have the right target audience, matching psychographics, decent reach and a good match with the brand I try to market. But many brands do. The difference between a sale and a non-sale is the sales rep. If he's really in tune with the brand, if he understands and represents the essence of the brand, lives and breathes the brand; that's where magic happens.

It seems there's a dearth of good sales people out there. And most Internet/Emerging Media companies decide to hire seasoned sales veterans. This might work once in a while. Most often it doesn't. It's not about the sales skills of the sales reps. It's about their street cred. Because most of Emerging Media buys are experimental, the outstanding sales rep has to to play a much broader role than usual: He doesn't have to be a sales person, he has to be a brand evangelist.

So, next time you need to hire someone in your sales department, forget about resumes and experience. Focus on passion. Find the person that creates a space where your brand becomes more than you ever dreamed of being.

Open up your mind

I meet with sales reps almost every day. Numerous Powerpoint presentations, pitches and proposals. Unless it's a very innovative company, I tend to walk into the room with the feeling: "Haven't I heard this before?"
Too many times I visit my PDA to add more information to my brain while I tune out the rep speaking.

If one of these reps would ask me: "How can I get your full attention?", I would be able to offer an answer:

You have to find ways to capture my curiosity. Tell me something special about your company. Don't just recite the vital stats about your company, fill them with life. Once you delighted my curiosity, I will certainly pay full attention for the next 10-15 minutes. And I might even ask you to tell me more. Isn't that what it's all about?

Watch this video and see how this technique works.

Advertising Agencies and Clients

Sometimes I think those of us who run advertising agencies or work in an advertising department forget that although we are mostly focused on the beginning of the sales process, we also need to be involved in the middle and the end. For at the end of the day, our bottom lines and the value of what we do are measured in sales, not landing page conversions, quote request or leads.