We are living in ‘precedented’ times …

At SRH we are celebrating six years since Kurt, Sam and I sat down in my condo to try our hand at the agency business. Of course I have a nostalgia for those scrappy times, but I wouldn’t trade it for my current reality: being surrounded by a team of talented and smart pros that inspire me and our clients every day.

• Facebook announced a US Ad Restriction Period that may affect you come election time. The ban on launching new ads only applies to ads about social issues, elections and politics. Nonetheless, you should familiarize yourself with how the platform defines “social issues” because it could affect some of your COVID-related messaging — especially if you’re in healthcare marketing. If you need help sorting it out, give us a shout.
• Amazon continues its bid to take over the world but releasing an invite-only luxury shopper experience. If you have the subscription, Ad Age has a great write-up about it. The luxury buying experience was one of the last bastions of brick-and-mortar, but sticking to “Amazon Essentials” white label was never going to be enough. Bezos HUNGRY. Bezos want MORE MONEY!
• Ah, Football. Despite the bizarre experience of seeing the Packers thrash the Vikings in an empty stadium, we’re happy it’s back (and we’re happy about thrashing the Vikings of course. Well, everyone except for Sam, who is from Minnesota). Miller Lite released a hilarious campaign called “Cantenna” for those of you who try to watch the games via illegal internet streams. Knowing y’all, it’s probably not an ad for you — but it is damn funny.

Unless you’ve been in a coma or dungeon with no WiFi for the past six months, you know that we’re living in “unprecedented” times.

An unprecedented election in the midst of an unprecedented pandemic and unprecedented social justice demonstrations. Now unprecedented wildfires… and of lesser importance but still of note: all sorts of unprecedented sports seasons and entertainment productions.

“Dogs and cats living together — mass hysteria!”

It’s tempting to say we’re facing unprecedented changes in the way we sell goods and services, especially B2B…

No face-to-face meetings. No trade shows. No wining-and-dining.

But we are not.

These changes have precedent. Just look at every other department in our companies!

From operations to marketing and engineering, the methods and tools we rely on every day have changed dramatically in the past fifty years. We work as teams with specialized roles. We measure and manage as much as possible. We implement technology wherever possible to make manual functions more scalable.

Meanwhile, over in the sales department, reps still do every part of the sales process from making cold calls to writing proposals. They still physically travel around some kind of territory to see customers. They still rely on relationships and instincts rather than data and insights.

That’s exactly how sales reps were doing business before the last ‘unprecedented’ pandemic hit: The Spanish Flu of 1918!

(By the way, it’s no wonder sales processes have been frozen in time — ask any CEO and she or he will tell you, “We don’t mess with our producers.”)

Sales departments and processes are way overdue for a makeover.

Thankfully, we are seeing lots of encouraging signs from our clients and friends. Sales and marketing teams are collaborating together like never before — identifying prospects; leveraging technology to qualify and research; devising strategies to break through; creating content that’s exciting and differentiating.

We had the tools to make these changes possible 25 years ago. We just didn’t have the incentive.

Now we do.

“Necessity is the mother of invention.” Again.

Let’s use this pandemic to make some ‘precedented’ changes!