I realised a long time ago I was a little… well… you know… Marmite.

That realisation wasn’t overnight, maybe it’s age, maybe it’s context but rightly or wrongly people believed I was a little belligerent, spoke my mind too freely or had an opinion.  There was a moment in time that I started to believe my own hype, decent blog readership, decent opportunities to talk on stage.

So, whilst some that reputation was true, some of it was undoubtedly urban myth, generated by my rants in blogs about the state of this, that or some other recruitment thing that had pissed me off at that moment.  There are many things that still piss me off but times are hard and I need the money so haven’t been ranting nearly so much.

Ranting puts clients off.

I was talking to someone on Friday about joining us here at immersive.   It was one of those chicken/egg conversations, where I talk about us, our plans, our values and the work we are trying to win but as we both know that work would be more easily won if they were already working for us, but then to get them on board we need to win the business.

It’s circular.

What became really clear in that conversation was that my reputation had preceded me.  What was also clear was that when it came to me talking about my business, some of that marmite-ness had rubbed off as well.

It’s no great leap of thought to realise that throughout the sales process, potential clients were qualifying out based on that.

Now, this is either a problem or not, depending on your perspective.

My business is shifting organisations from a transactional business model to a value added approach.  We get confused with recruitment agencies partly because people don’t get us, or awkwardly we haven’t made it clear.  But some potential clients, I now realise, are constrained by old patterns and outdated ways of thinking and doing things.

Those potential clients that recognise that their current recruitment process is inefficient but they don’t thank me for saying so.  It may be that they might not know how else to do it but by then then, that Marmite moment has kicked in and no one will get a sale now.

Now it’s not all bad news.

There are those individuals and organisations that see through the Marmite moment, they get what we do and using that tenuous marmite analogy, love us.  But we need more to get more marmite lovers.

So the question is….

Marmite.*

Love it or hate it?

There’s no right answer unless we do actually start sending jars of Marmite out, but you know what I mean. Does authenticity of thought actually prevent selling or is a natural way to qualify those potential clients we should be talking to because they get us?

Comments below, send me a message or drop me an email.

*It has to be Marmite, sorry Vegemite just won’t cut it.

About
Martin Dangerfield immersive. CEO is a seasoned recruiter, talent acquisition leader and strategist (with a small 's').

With a straight-talking, results-focused approach he has recruited on a Global, Regional and Local level, creating and leading teams of recruiters, brand specialists and HR professionals in multiple locations.

To schedule a call with Martin click here.