Haven’t I always been honest with you? Well… probably not entirely, but I truly try to be. I may not tell you the whole story, but I will give you just enough facts to get to my point. My vision and version of Truth, Justice, and Promotional Products has been, if nothing else, forthcoming and never misleading. It may take me a while to get to my point… I usually need two or three paragraphs just to figure out what this column is about.
I bring all this up, not only in an effort to fill the page but also to honestly admit that I know the following piece is a recurring theme, as I’d just recently written on this topic. I honestly can’t remember if it was for Identity Marketing magazine, my own wildly entertaining and downright humble blog at www.mikeschenker.com, or an educational session I’ve prepared for the PromoMBA program on which I’ve been working with Bill Petrie and Kirby Hasseman. At one time or another, it might have been featured in any or all of the above. And now… it’s back again.
And why? Because I think it’s important to share. Again and again. It is about honesty. And, perhaps more importantly, integrity. And the subject reared its ugly head just recently.
See that – it took three paragraphs, but I got there.
If you follow me on Facebook, LinkedIn or Twitter, you’ve no doubt known of some of the career pitfalls over which I’ve stumbled the past several years. I’m a bit of an open book (“Really, Mike… must you share every detail?”). One recurring theme has been that I have something of a moral compass – okay, maybe it’s just in regards to business matters, as I’d like to think I can be just as immoral as the rest of you otherwise... or maybe not as much as some of you.
One issue I hold near and dear to my cold, dark heart is the matter of selling directly to end-users. I won’t do it. Period.
I will market directly to anyone and everyone, but I won’t go for the order. Let one of my distributors get that. Just as I can’t call General Motors and order a car (I don’t believe I have ever owned a GM car; that’s not an indictment of them, simply an observation). Murray’s Pizza and School of Heavy Machinery can’t call up UniquePromoCompanyName and order 250 pizza wheels with their logo. The distributor network – the “middlemen” for you civilians reading this – serve a purpose greater than just eating away at a manufacturer’s profit. Sure, it happens – a lot – but not from a company I’m allegedly running.
Having said all this, I heard from a friend of mine the other day. Sadly, she just got fired. Personally, I think it was the best thing for her, but then, she’s got that pesky mortgage and car loan to deal with. Nevertheless…
Towards the end of 2016, she’d been recruited away from her long-term position to join a competing distributor company. While somewhat vague, her new job description was specific enough to make her feel comfortable with this shift. Within two weeks of her new employment, her new boss started to expect some amazing sales results. All well and good as had she been hired as a salesperson.
She’s an operations person, an “insider” who I consider to be one of the best. While she may be great at dealing with customers, selling to them is a whole ‘nother ballgame. Trooper that she is, she did try to make a go of it, but clearly this was not in her comfort zone. But that’s not what did her in.
Despite her discomfort, she did make progress in sales, but the new boss wanted more. The accounts she was bringing in were all well and good, but he now wanted her to go after the accounts of her former company. Those of her former co-workers. Accounts on which she’d worked as an inside person, with whom she’d developed relationships… on behalf of her friends and co-workers.
And she didn’t. And wouldn’t. And refused to do so. Her stance got fired. And I think that’s a good thing. To me, this new boss had shown his true colors when he pulled a bait-and-switch after she’s been hired. That she was rid of him was the best thing for her, and I’ll stand by that statement until she asks me for money to pay her bills.
Listen, I’ve been “between assignments” myself and I know what it’s like. I’m pleased that I never had to sell my integrity and ethics, as I’d have a difficult time facing the industry friends with whom I’ve worked all these years. I’m proud of my friend who stood by her principles in the face of certain dismissal. I believe there’s a place in the promotional products industry, and the world, for people like this… and not just on my Facebook friends list.
Mike Schenker, MAS, is the Executive Director of the Gold Coast Promotional Products Association (GCPPA), as well as “all that” at Mike Schenker, Consulting. He is a promotional industry veteran and member of the Specialty Advertising Association of Greater New York (SAAGNY) Hall of Fame. He can be reached at mike@mikeschenker.com.