Are You More Than A Salesperson?

Groupon. The scourge of the growing small business. Even bigger bullies than Google, apparently. This was a competition-cum-recruitment ad for selling staff they placed last weekend in a Capetonian paper I read.

These self-styled “innovators in collective buying”, they wonder if you are :

an activist in ingenuity …
the circle that makes everyone else look square …
someone that makes opportunities from lines drawn in the sand

I could hardly believe what I read in the ad, let alone what the 90sec video threw up.

It’s straightforward 80s claptrap. Serving it in contemporary clothing doesn’t make it any less misguided.

Whilst I’m all in favour of anything aiming to “highlight the hard work done by those in sales positions“, I’m disturbed by the fingernails on the blackboard the language and tone they adopt conjures.

I’ll get you your shark.

It’s just all a bit too me-me-me, isn’t it. Of course, hitting your numbers is a fundamental component. But what about legacy? What about acknowledging sustainable business won? How do they highlight real hardcore problems removed from grateful buyers’ shoulders?

When you recruit (and reward) how do you truly allow those who are genuinely “more than just a salesperson” to emerge as role models and praised accordingly?