NEVER SEND A SMALL BOY OUT TO DO A BIG MAN'S JOB!
by Alan J. Zell, Ambassador of Selling

Anyone who has ever played the card game of bridge has often heard the adage, "Never send a small boy out to do a big man's job." This advice is a way of saying never trump with a deuce, only to be over trumped on the left with a five, when the Ace of trumps should have been played. For those who are not bridge players, "trump" is the suit that outscores the other suits.

It is not an uncommon event to have a firm try to win a trick (in business it is called a sale) by playing a low trump card (an inexperienced salesperson) when it should have played its ace (someone who knows what they are doing). One of the most common examples everyone faces where a low trump card is used in sales is with telephone solicitations or prospecting calls from people who have just entered the field of Insurance. They begin with the usual pitch asking about what insurance listeners have and if they know what they should have.

Once I replied to one of these calls by asking questions about taxes and life insurance that I had recently been asking my own experienced insurance agent. If any rookie was to get some business from me, I would have to make sure that he knew his business. Of course the rookie didn't have the answers. How could he? His boss was sending out a small boy to do a big man's job. How can a deuce over trump the 9, 10 or jack of trumps? Charles Goren, the famous bridge expert who coined the saying, was right when it comes to selling insurance and all other services and products just as it is in the game of bridge.

Don't blame the rookie salesperson though. His boss asked him to deal from a "short deck" by inviting me into a game in which there was little chance that I could win. If I need insurance I want to talk to someone who is dealing with a full deck -- a full deck of insurance knowledge. Not only did the rookie not get the sale, I doubt that I would ever buy from or recommend that insurance firm.

Another example of misplaying one's business trump card happened at a breakfast meeting discussion I attended. Someone mentioned the name of a nearby community. I had not heard of it, so I asked just where it was and what made it so special. I was told that it was about 35 miles outside our city and that it had the most millionaires per capita than anywhere else in our region. The person sitting next to me, a securities and investment firm manager, said that he had not heard of the area either. But, he added, if what was said was true, he should send some of his new salespeople out to prospect the area. As Mr. Goren would say, "He was about to send a small boy out to do a big man's job."

It seemed to me that if there were that many people with big money in the area, what was needed was not a rookie but a seasoned veteran on the scene. If there are that many people with money, wouldn't it stand to reason that most would already have an investment and securities advisor? Even if the prospects were not satisfied with their current advisor, did my acquaintance really think that any of these people would switch to a beginner?

To add to the negative effects of this business blunder, there were other negatives. If this manager was using this meeting for "networking" (and isn't that what we all do?) then he just "un-networked" himself with me. Would I recommend his firm to someone if I thought that the account would be assigned to a "rookie?" It is strange that people with many years of sales experience, who have advanced to sales managers or supervisors, take the attitude that they had their time in the trenches, so "Let the new ones have a go at it!"

Customers resent having to train rookies. Customers want to talk to someone who has experience and can keep them from making mistakes. People should expect and demand that the most capable person is helping them spend their money.

How do rookies get trained? How does the marketplace make room for them? Unfortunately, for us customers it is done by going against the "Goren Rule." The best way to nurture young salespeople and the customer's money is by bringing both along slowly. If the customer is going to be turned over to a new salesperson, then it should be done by using another bridge term: "with finesse." Let customers know their money is going to be watched over by someone with more experience and that their money won't be misspent if it can possibly be helped. Let customers get to know the younger salespeople and vice versa. Help customers turn the deuce (the "rookie") into a four, then into an eight, and eventually into an ace.

To keep customers as partners in business, make sure that customers are paired with a partner that can help customers win. Never pair customers with someone who will trump with a deuce, only to be over trumped by a five. Never send a small boy out to do a big man's job.

This article was written to help you and your business. If you believe some of these articles will be helpful to your business, please e-mail me your comments on how you will apply them. ajz

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