Case Study: Hiring Fishermen as Your Salesforce

The following fishtale is based on a true story, though our sources asked to be anonymous. Names have been changed to protect the innocent.

CEO: "Okay men, in just over a week we'll be launching into the marketplace, so we need to get our salesforce finalized. I've budgeted for twelve reps. That should give us a strong presence in every territory that our competition is in."

VP: "Very well, sir," said the VP of Business Development, "I'll make sure we get those positions filled right away."

CEO: "But you must realize we need very talented salesmen. My business plan calls for a 100% market share."

VP: "Sir, a monopoly? With all due respect most of our competitors have been around for quite a while. How about starting with a more attainable goal, like a 10% market share?"

CEO: "We need much more than that for the business plan to be viable. Trust me, with the right salespeople we can own this space. Maybe not 100%, but we can definitely own a majority."

VP: "Sir, I don't think I know any salespeople that can..."

CEO: "Fishermen! Get me twelve fishermen and we can own this market!"

VP: "Fishermen? But they don't have any experience."

CEO: "I don't need experience. I need passion."

The CEO ended up hiring a bunch of fishermen to grow his business. Two thousand years later this company is still in business and owns a majority of the worldwide market share at 33%, whereas some of the competitors, who have been in business twice as long (or longer), have significantly less market share.

The moral of the story: hire fishermen, they make the best salespeople!


Happy Easter (almost).