I will be brief.
Once again I am back out in Fargo, North Dakota visiting my son and daughter-in-law. They got married a few months ago.
Brandy (Adam’s wife) was somewhat disappointed because she just got the wedding photographs back from the wedding photographer (who was picked out of a telephone book), and the pictures really aren’t as good as she would have hoped for. In fact, some of the pictures are well below par, and of course now that the big day has passed there is not much that can be done.
On the big day I came armed with my own DSLR camera and my new lenses, but felt that I needed to leave it to the professional to take the group photos. I didn’t want to cramp his style – and cheese him off. He had an amazing camera, a selection of high-end lenses, flashes, lights…. the works. Unfortunately, he didn’t seem to have the skills and knowledge to match.
Ever heard the phrase ‘All gear, no idea’? Well this guy should have had it printed onto his business card.
I sometimes come across similar types in the world of work…
You know the type – Joe Gottago… Great suit. Flash cufflinks. Swiss watch. £300 pen. Moleskine notebook – and a great pair of teeth.Lots of mouth – but not much else. A CV that reads like a ‘Who’s Who’ of top companies, yet a LinkedIn profile with no written recommendations. I wonder why that is…?
Like a poor wedding photographer that preys upon the naïve, inexperienced, loved-up couple, Joe Gottago preys upon the naïve, hopeful, stressed out manager who needs to fill his roster quickly.
He looks like a great sales guy. He sounds like a great sales guy. He even smells like a great sales guy (Aramis being the aftershave of Champions of course).
The sales world is full of these chancers. Oddly enough, they can’t be bothered to sell themselves to customers the way they sell themselves for the job. You know where this all leads of course. Six maybe nine months of b*llsh*ting their manager and drawing down their guarantee – then all of a sudden they’re gone. Nothing left but a load of falsified Salesforce entries, a pipeline of imaginary prospects and that feint smell of Aramis that hangs in the air and catches at the back of your throat.
Unfortunately these wasters are not that rare. I would hazard a guess that at least 5% of the sales people out there today fit the bill to a reasonable degree. They seem to be enabled by recruiters who do nothing to help the manager doing the recruiting. Why would they? They get paid when the bum hits the seat – and there is no refund after 90 days in the job.
So what’s the solution?
For managers looking to hire – see if your best sales people know some people who they would be willing to refer for the job – and (most importantly) be willing to vouch for.
With reputations, trust, friendship and loyalty on the line you won’t hire a bum.
Mpower Development 