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I recently spotted a VP of global sales posting about the fact that her company had taken 6000+ colleagues to a hotel some where to celebrate that companies “world leading” (they would't say otherwise would they) products
Now, I've been in sales a few years and I've been to these events. As a salesperson they are great. All your mates are jealous as you are jetted to some amazing location. While it's work, there is some down time in the bar with your colleagues. You stay at a 5 star hotel. Probably even a hotel you couldn't afford to stay in, IRL (in real life)
You have amazing meals, as much as it you can eat. There will probably be some awards and merch. Something you may well remember for years to come
The post had 749 likes
So what's wrong with all of this?
This is the trap all salespeople fall into when they are not taught about content and how to use it as a tool in their kitbag
Content, we are told, we all need to be posting it, which is true, but if it isn't insightful or educational to your audience it's just noise
Think who is your audience? Your prospects and customers, not other salespeople
Because salespeople are not taught and coached on creating content, they create it on what they know about ….. sales
This is a massive turn off for buyers
What does a buyer want to know? That you've just spent the money they given you on shipping 6000+ people on an all expenses paid trip to somewhere exotic? Where you drank and danced to the early hours on the money they just gave you
I doubt it very much. It's probably the best way to motivate your buyer to look at alternatives
The sales leader, if she reads this, will probably be saying, “this isn't what I meant”
But in life we know that if somebody is going to misunderstand us, they will
As a buyer, I don't want to see my money spent on lavish 5 star hotels and expensive bar bills, however much “value”, “networking” and “back slapping” you think you get
I want to hear about how much you spend on R&D, the feedback you get from clients for product enhancements, how other users are using the product, the future road map
Add to this, think of the carbon footprint and the waste of shipping 6000 + people. The post flys in the face of how proud the sales leader was in the companies ESG policy only last week
As a buyer, I would question the moral compass of this individual and the company
Now, I bet that wasn't what the VP of global sales was thinking when they posted this
But you can see how people could be thinking this
Content is a strategy and salespeople, in fact all employees should be empowered to understand how to use it to drive the results and objectives they have.
Which may or may not be selling. For example, I'm surprised that the companies HR team is posting about this event as it would be a great recruiting tool. Do you see here how this piece of content isn't fit for sales, but it for a different department?
One last point: As a sales leader she has another problem, if there was 6,000 plus people at this event and she only gets 749 likes. Surely, there should be 6,000 plus likes?
Related: Why Authenticity and Connection Are Key To Thriving in an AI-Driven World