Why dont reps come online?
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I always wondered this, why dont the paint reps participate in these industry discussions? They’d have a ton of good info i’m sure, not to mention the opportunity to promote their products. For instance, I’d never have tryed that sherwin williams 15 min. clear had nighthawk not mentioned it.I’m glad i did too. I’ve mentioned the idea to some of our reps, instructors..etc and nobody was interested i guess.
Maybe I can tell you why Jimmo… there are a few reasons.
1) What one says online lives forever (or seems to). In this day and age, it is far too easy to say something that may get you into trouble, even if your intentions are the best. Some people are afraid.
2) A lot of people are not very tech savvy. They avoid all contact with computers like the plague.
3) There is the fear of being expected to know *everything*, and one generally has several paint lines, along with hundreds (or thousands) of other related products. People fear looking “stupid” or unprofessional if they cannot answer every single question. With many years as a sales rep under my belt, I have no problem saying “I don’t know. I’ll find out and get back to you.”
4) Some people *have* gone online, allowed their passion for their product to take over, cloud their thinking, and been told to back off.
5) Some people, when they quit work at 5:00 (or whatever time), they *really* quit work. Again, my years in sales have gotten me into a 24/7 “on the job” mode.
Active participation in our own private employee forum is probably something around 1% or less (probably for some of the very same reasons as above)
Then there’s respect… I see that Brian Lynch is very active & respected on Kustom Kulture Lounge, so I try not to step on his toes or try to “muscle in” on his turf. The same is true whenever I see a competitor’s rep on a board.
Some boards are not friendly to reps – making it clear that nearly anything we might say could be construed as some sort of sales pitch – which, in many respects, it is. Personally, I don’t see that as an evil, but, still, I respect whomever owns & runs the board, as well as the users there.
Another thing is, there *are* some reps and paint company employees on a some of the boards… they just don’t make that fact so well known, and don’t say anything that might make it known.
Finally, one needs to temper their bias and be 100% honest when it is known they are a manufacturer’s rep. Some people can’t do that, so they stay away. Some people won’t do that, do you wouldn’t want them here.
Honestly, it’s rather difficult to post in these forums as a known company rep. I sometimes type out a very long post, then completely delete it. Sometimes I immediately type out an answer, which I “know” is right – but then do some research to make sure. I am cautious in what I say, and how I say it. … but I enjoy the discussions and the people, so it’s worth it to me. For some people, it’d just be too much work. 😉
I am a rep for a PPG jobber in Ohio, was also with SW for almost 20 years. I am sure many reps check out this web sight. Not too sure why many don’t post remarks, I think it’s a great forum for everyone in the industry.
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