As Roz and others have been hammering home on this blog, there is no substitute for superior leadership. Great leaders articulate meaningful goals and create a culture capable of achieves these goals. With this in mind, let’s examine Ogilvy’s quest to recreate the art of selling.
In today’s New York Times, Stuart Elliott reports that OgilvyOne Worldwide, the ad agency, has created a contest to find “the world’s greatest salesperson.” The goal of this contest is “recreating the noble art of the ka-ching,” according to Rory Sutherland, a vice chairman. Sounds like a laudable goal and a media-worthy stunt.
It seems to me that the contest ought to seek a sales message that extols the value of the product, makes the buyer feel good about the purchase, and welcomes repeat business in the future. I just bought a car and the salesperson did all these things well. He displayed the attributes generally considered desirable in a salesperson. I was impressed. I will return.
Now, at the sophisticated, influential Ogilvy, the contestant is asked to create a short video selling a… brick. That’s right, how to sell a brick! The objective of their contest is to find who can best sell something that nobody needs or wants. I doubt even Ogilvy can make a person feel good about buying a brick and for certain the buyer will not be back for another. “The World’s Greatest Snake Oil Salesperson” will soon reside at Ogilvy.
What message is sent to Ogilvy staff? What culture is created? Sounds like the message is sell, sell, sell anything to anyone but JUST SELL! Hardly supports a culture of excellence. Awfully shortsighted.
And to make matters worse, the winner of this contest goes to work for Ogilvy. Sounds like precisely the person you don’t want representing your company if you are creating a culture of excellence. Do you trust this person’s values? Integrity?
The final insult: the three finalists present at the 57th annual Cannes Lions International Advertising Festival in Cannes, France hosted by, you guessed it, Rory Sutherland.
Bad leadership. Expensive, too.
Robert M. Kreek is President of Kappa Associates, International, where he leads new ventures, growth initiatives, and reinventions of companies poised for growth.
