Strategy #38: Don’t just recruit for employees, recruit for missionaries

In their book Radical Marketing about organizations that “broke the rules and made it big,” Sam Hill and Glenn Rifkin say that “radical marketers tend to hire passionate missionaries who perpetuate the brand with their loyalty and deep belief in the product.” They describe how organizations like Virgin Atlantic Airlines, Harley-Davidson, the National Basketball Association and (are you ready for this?) the Grateful Dead built incredible brand recognition and loyalty by recruiting zealous missionaries. If you are uncomfortable with that word – missionary – let me remind you that your organization does (or should) already have a “mission” statement.

While preparing for a workshop on executive speaking skills, I found an online video of Steve Jobs’ presentation at Apple’s 2005 software developers conference. I’d intended to watch just the first few minutes; 45 minutes later, I was ready to trade in my Windows PC for a Mac and invest my next paycheck in Apple stock. Several months later, I did in fact buy an iMac, because in 2007 I’ll be adding a video component to the Spark Plug publication services of Values Coach, and Apple seems to be the best solution for that application. The Apple Store where I bought the computer was staffed by true believers, Mac Missionaries who lived and breathed Apple. When I asked the salesman (who is not, incidentally, paid on commission) why I should invest in an Apple rather than a Windows-based product, he smiled and replied, “Have you ever heard of anyone switching from Mac to Windows?”  It was a perfect sales pitch.

This strategy has incredible leveraging power. Missionary employees tend to create missionary customers. What is the single-most heavily-advertised product you are likely to see on an airplane? I’ve been keeping track in my travels. It’s Harley-Davidson motorcycles. Harley riders proudly pay for the privilege of being walking billboards for their favorite product. I suspect that underneath those Harley leather vests more than a few are also sporting Harley tattoos – they’re billboards even in the locker room.

Are you a missionary for your organization? Is the leadership team setting an example of missionary commitment through their visibility, cheerleading and story-telling? What actions can you take yourself to become more of a missionary, and to inspire your coworkers to do the same?

“A big part of a leader’s job is to inspire workers to care deeply about the mission of the company and to connect their jobs to its execution.”

David Batstone: Saving the Corporate Soul &
(Who Knows) Maybe Your Own

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