The truth will set you free....

It's all in the presentation. I find myself lately spending a lot of time observing our industry competitors and how they are marketing themselves.

It is without a doubt a very interesting time in this industry. Recruiting ads, blasts and direct mail pieces have to be at all an all time high. There are so called "experts" giving seminars at industry shows that are supposed to be objective and not at all self serving but in reality they are nothing but a blatant recruiting session.

There are magazines hosting seemingly harmless webinars with so called "experts", once again touting their own company and what they can do for you.

Other companies are talking about adding 10, 20, 30 or more new associates a month with sales volume of millions of dollars. WOW.....they must be doing something right.

How about companies that have increased their sales 72 % in the last 12 months? This is incredible!

As an individual who works for one of the "big" distributorships with 100 years of history and tradition I am charged with the responsibility of growing our sales force. Oh yeah, I almost forgot there are some people that will tell you that history and tradition are bad things or that family ownership is a bad thing. My question is....since when?

If I were a sales rep or a distributor owner out there I wonder how I would react to all of this "spin". Would I be smart enough to do my homework before making my next move? I hope so!

Here are a couple of my suggested questions that I think MUST be asked. Let me stress here that I am not suggesting that any company is better or worse than any other however I think you might agree that these questions make some sense. See what you think....

1. Who owns your company? How long has the current ownership been in place?
2. Are you profitable? Would you provide me with audited financial statements before I finalize my decision?
3. What is your Dun and Bradstreet Rating? Can I see a recent report?
4. Can I talk with some sales reps who have been selling for you for five years or more?
5. Have you changed any of your compensation plans in the last three years? Ask about things like commissions splits, benefits, timing of commissions?
6. Are there any extra fees or costs involved in joining your firm?
7. If I were to decide that your company is not a good fit for me a year or two down the road can I walk away without any costs, fees, legal action, etc.
8. What is your total sales volume? Check the financials....

IMPORTANT NOTE: There is an old saying "trust but verify". If you find yourself in the position of having to make a change the last thing you want to do is make the decision without all the facts.

My feeling is asking these questions would be a good start in determining if a company might be a good fit for you. The key here is don't take what someone tells you as the gospel truth. Ask for documentation or proof of their claims. The last thing you want to do is to go through a heart wrenching decision process to find a new home for your clients only to have to do it again 6 months down the road because something happened or you didn't know the "whole" story.

Did we learn anything from the Corporate Logo fiasco that occurred about one year ago this week?

I did and it is the fact that not everything is the way it appears or the way people tell you it is!

If you ask these questions and everything backs up the ads that you have been seeing then you can make an educated decision for what company is the best fit.

On the other hand if a company will not provide you with this information or the information that they provide does not jive with their representations in the ad then I think that would lead me to one last very important question....

If they will lie or misrepresent their company before I even sign up with them what might they do after I join.....

H-m-m-m-m-m-m-m!

Just remember...the truth will set you free...free to make a good decision for your future well being!