Reality Check: Peeking with one eye, then both

Editor’s Note: Welcome to our weekly Reality Check column. We’ve gathered a group of visionaries and veterans in the mobile industry to give their insights into the marketplace.
Today, your competition decided to hire a new salesmaker. They want to increase their presence with your customers. You just celebrated meeting your downwardly-revised forecast and reminded your salesforce how lucky they are to be employed. In your view, the economy has a ways to go to reach recovery, the competition is new to the territory, has a lesser-known brand, and their stock – well, they’re small.
Everyone, not just your competition, is preparing for a few selective hires before the end of 2009. We forget the last time we came out of a recession, but many companies used 1993 and 1994 to grow their salesmaker base. While our economy is a lot different than it was in 1993, the need for strong relationships continues. These are the influencers, the long-term credibility creators. They are more than salespeople, they are human brands, and when they switch employers (which isn’t often), your customers notice.
Within every salesmaker, however, is the desire to be viewed as more than just “sales.” They feel undervalued, constrained, and beaten down by the recent economic turmoil. Many of them have seen their net worth deteriorate by hundreds of thousands of dollars due to housing values alone. The linear path to retirement no longer exists. Unlike 1993, the future isn’t as bright to these 40-somethings as it was when they were thirty. They want a broader role, and their willingness to risk more to get back to their previous standard of living just went up.
So they make a call, go online, talk to a friend or two. They peek, first with one eye, then both. It’s not as cloudy as you told them. The storm left damage, but at least there’s visibility. And everything is green.
Today, your competition decided to hire a new salesmaker. Are you still in the shelter, hunkering down with the remaining salesmaker survivors? Are your customers and shareholders calling “Come out – the storm’s over” but you can’t hear them? It’s a perfect position for your competition.
How will you respond?
Jim Patterson is CEO & co-founder of Mobile Symmetry, a start-up created for carriers to solve the problems of an increasingly mobile-only society. He was most recently President – Wholesale Services for Sprint and has a career that spans over eighteen years in telecom and technology. He welcomes your comments at jim@mobilesymmetry.com.