"Failure is simply the opportunity to begin again, this time more intelligently." - Henry Ford
If anyone tries to tell you that they have never failed, have never made a mistake, and have achieved 100% success in everything they've done, don't trust them for even a second. Mistakes and failures are an essential part of education. We have learned from our misses and we can help your company avoid making the mistakes that caused them.
A sales manager nightmare:
The owner of a manufacturer hired his close friend to be sales manager. This individual had such an abrasive personality we routinely had to call our customers, apologizing for the manager's behavior. During a joint sales call on a conservative distributor whose purchasing agent was a devout Christian, the manager launched into a profanity-laced presentation. In order to protect our own reputation, we terminated our contract with that manufacturer immediately.
Ignoring market research:
A manufacturer was contemplating introducing a new product with which they had no prior experience. They asked us to do market research. Our clear conclusion was that bringing the product to market was a really bad idea. But the manufacturer produced it anyway; it was an immediate failure. How much money they lost was information we were not privileged to. But we know it was considerable.
Nepotism can be a big mistake:
A company's owner put his young, inexperienced son in a position of responsibility. In order to make up for his lack of product knowledge, the son routinely invented inaccurate answers to questions our customers asked of him, destroying the company's credibility.
Another company's president hired his daughter for a vague position with the firm. She pranced around the office like she owned the place, creating extreme animosity amongst the entire dedicated and experienced staff. Shortly thereafter the company was sold and the president was fired.
Look before you leap:
A manufacturer invested heavily to produce a new product line in a category they had no experience with. We rigorously presented the new product line to our client base, actually winning an award for making the first sale. But along the way we learned the product was ill-conceived, with some critical, insurmountable deficiencies the market would simply not accept. The product was ultimately shelved costing the manufacturer an enormous amount of money. Effective market research prior to the product's production would have prevented this debacle.
The owner of a manufacturer hired his close friend to be sales manager. This individual had such an abrasive personality we routinely had to call our customers, apologizing for the manager's behavior. During a joint sales call on a conservative distributor whose purchasing agent was a devout Christian, the manager launched into a profanity-laced presentation. In order to protect our own reputation, we terminated our contract with that manufacturer immediately.
Ignoring market research:
A manufacturer was contemplating introducing a new product with which they had no prior experience. They asked us to do market research. Our clear conclusion was that bringing the product to market was a really bad idea. But the manufacturer produced it anyway; it was an immediate failure. How much money they lost was information we were not privileged to. But we know it was considerable.
Nepotism can be a big mistake:
A company's owner put his young, inexperienced son in a position of responsibility. In order to make up for his lack of product knowledge, the son routinely invented inaccurate answers to questions our customers asked of him, destroying the company's credibility.
Another company's president hired his daughter for a vague position with the firm. She pranced around the office like she owned the place, creating extreme animosity amongst the entire dedicated and experienced staff. Shortly thereafter the company was sold and the president was fired.
Look before you leap:
A manufacturer invested heavily to produce a new product line in a category they had no experience with. We rigorously presented the new product line to our client base, actually winning an award for making the first sale. But along the way we learned the product was ill-conceived, with some critical, insurmountable deficiencies the market would simply not accept. The product was ultimately shelved costing the manufacturer an enormous amount of money. Effective market research prior to the product's production would have prevented this debacle.
The unfortunate examples above are all true.
Please understand that professional ethics will not allow us to be more specific.
Hazel Sales Group's vast experience can help prevent your company from making costly mistakes!
Please understand that professional ethics will not allow us to be more specific.
Hazel Sales Group's vast experience can help prevent your company from making costly mistakes!