Are We Believable?
Are we as anglers believable?
The Principal Feb. 2008
As an angler that is field or pro-staff for a company, there comes a time when you should ask yourself, am I believable?
I lead you into this topic to re-assure everyone of the importance of understanding the products you promote and represent. Ask yourself; do we know all we can know about each product? Have we done all our homework about the product line before presenting a given product to another angler or retail establishment? Do we just blow smoke and ad lib when we don’t know the answer?
My point here is that although most of us have regular “moronic” moments, 9 out of 10 times, we can tell when someone is trying to blow some smoke up our butts.
And lets face it, anglers are known for stretching the facts, exaggerating the moment and sometimes down-right lying to others about things.
If you can talk about a product, answer questions based upon personal experience with a real confidence with that product, you will be believable.
On the other hand, if you’re trying to promote baits you have never used, to describe an action you have never seen and/or just heard about, you will probably convey an uncertainty about what you are promoting more often than not.
A great example I came across along these lines:
It was a couple months ago when I was searching around the Internet for tackle reviews & testimonials etc at forums and blogs for products I deal with.
Suddenly, there it is, one of the products I deal with. I’m not going to name that product or where I came across this information but, I just had to laugh out loud. This nameless person was obviously intrigued with the product and saw a great piece of content. As I read through his article about this product, I’m thinking this is great, has the benefits, the other key points about this unique bait and it sure is easy to plagiarized someone else’s creative writing to get content and seem well educated about a given product. (I say plagiarized and know this because it just so happens, I wrote 95% of his article and created the web page the plagiarized information came from. It’s just switched around a bit. I’m actually quite happy to see that information spread around to more places on the internet. Anyway, lets get back to the example and the laughing)
The very first comment below this article is a question about the bait and its action, and I bet you can guess the answer that followed it. You’re right. “ahh, I haven’t fished it yet but, I have some”. If you were reading this, I ask you, how believable is this guy now? All I could do is laugh. He would have been 100% ahead of the game if he gave credit where it was due and didn’t assume he wouldn’t get questioned.
How do we overcome things like this?
When you come onboard with a new company, be sure you use and explore all of their products to the fullest, make a list of any personal advantages, selling points, benefits you have found through personal experience. These are what you preach.
Along the same lines, make another list of any weaknesses, dislikes you may have found or possible rejections you may need to overcome when presenting the product to someone or a retailer.
Now, take a moment and think about how you will overcome those same dislikes, weaknesses or objections if the need arises. Think about how you turn that “non-selling” point into a “selling point” and move past the objection and on to better things. Don’t stop and give up, you need to overcome these things if you are going to succeed in this business and promote the companies you represent, to the fullest!
This doesn’t mean walk in and hand someone a list of the benefits and weaknesses and the price of a product, it’s just a way to program your mind to react and answer truthfully when the need arises. Taking that extra time to think and write about these things will make those things second nature and believable.
Beyond the Baits:
Besides knowing everything about a given product, you’re not done there. You also need to know about the company and how they do business.
Things like; know the ordering procedure for the given company, their payment terms, payment methods, what information is needed to order, do they have minimum requirements when ordering, who pays shipping, product pricing, profit margins and the list goes on.
Retailers will ask lots of questions and if you can’t answer them and build a rapport with them, things will get a lot tougher dealing with that person.
Three Answers to live by:
Yes (I can answer the question, truthfully based upon my personal experience with the product because I did my homework)
No (I can’t answer that question – this one is a bummer when you need to say it truthfully – point being, don’t just wing it and make something up, it will come back and bite you with the rapport you just blew if he reads right through your B/S)
I’ll find out (this is your best escape answer ever, it leaves that door open, you answered truthfully, and if you get that answer right away and call them with an honest answer, you just scored big-time in the rapport department. Most anyone alive would rather wait for an answer than to here some more B/S from a fisherman)
In Closing:
As a rep in the industry, I have been there and I remember the first few calls, breaking the ice and having the store owners listening intently to everything I said, looking for that one question to trip me up, and it happens. Some people will look for that weak spot, just to expose your weakness, sometimes for fun and sometimes just as a way to shut the door on you. Believe me when I say, when it happens, you will probably feel as foolish as I did, and maybe you should, because maybe you didn’t do your homework. Take it from me and learn the ins and outs of every product and the way that company does their business so you can speak with confidence and honestly when promoting their products. It will get you a lot further than trying to B/S someone because you didn’t know what you thought you knew, and they found your weakness.
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I have a background in retail, outside sales, and marketing, and can tell you from experience, there is some really good in site here that is overlooked by a lot of wannabes and pro-staffers alike. Read it and take it to heart.