Long Island, New York- It doesn’t matter how great a product may be, in today’s world of ubiquitous information it is essential to differentiate your product and brand from the product and brand of the competition, and to relate that knowledge to your particular customer.  This very important sales concept, based on “Transforming Sales Reps into Brand Ambassadors,” a white paper from Vuepoint’s CEO Ara Ohanian, was the subject of Voice America Business’s internet radio show “Sales Talk with Russ Lombardo’ on Monday October 30th, 2006 at 4:00 pm EST. 

Ohanian explained to Russ Lombardo, renowned Sales and Customer Relationship Management consultant and author, the concept of being a Brand Ambassador rather than simply a Salesperson.  He explained that a Brand Ambassador effectively promotes a product through truly understanding the brand and what it means to both the organization and the customer, and interpreting these concepts into useful information that the individual consumer can use.  “Think of it as a salesperson playing checkers, and a Brand Ambassador playing chess,” Ohanian further explained.  Surprisingly, this concept is lost to many brands and there is a great disconnect between the Senior Level Executives idea’s of what their particular brand means, and the salespersons idea of what the brand represents. 

Ohanian calls this disconnect ‘selling in the 21st century with 20th century methods.  In the 20th century, products were sold based on feature and function.  The conversation between sales and the customer was very tactical and focused on the benefits of the product.  “Interestingly enough, companies have not done very much to change the way that they are selling,” Ohanian explained.  In his experience, too often training and Human Resource functions are something distant from Sales and Marketing.  When Sales and Marketing are actively involved in the transfer of knowledge, then you will get the desired impact in Sales.

Ohanian said that some organizations are satisfied with steady sales that result from old training and selling methods.  “They say if it is not broke, don’t fix it.  But we live in an age where we can’t wait until it’s broken!”

For more information on Brand Ambassadors, read Ara Ohanian’s whitepaper “Transforming Sales Reps into Brand Ambassadors,” at Vuepoint.com.  If you are interested in Russ Lombardo’s radio program “Sales Talk with Russ Lombardo” visit Voice America Business’s Radio website at www.modavox.com/VoiceAmericaBusiness