What's wrong with thanking them for their interest in your company and telling them you will be in touch if you decide they fit what you are looking for. As I understand it, you are the owner of the company. If that is the case, maybe you should have someone else do your public relations work for you. The tone of This post shows poor judgement in my opinion.

Just the way it comes across in your post. I completely understand where you are coming from. If that 230 isn't on TV at least once a year and has no other connection thats helps to move your product, then it would be a poor investment to have them on staff. But inferring potential customers wasted your time isn't going to move product either.

Just out of curiosity, why do you assume that your Brunswick product specialists are capable of giving you an unbiased opinion on who is, or is not capable of driving sales? Seems like a recipe for the good ole boy system to me. Creating a staff full of the buddies of those specialists. I for one, believe that there are many people in my area who would drastically increase sales with a staff position. To my knowledge, however, none of those capable bowlers have ever met a Brunswick sales specialist.

Like I said, just curious, I mean no offense. Just maybe touching on something you hadn't yet considered.

Matt

Just the way it comes across in your post. I completely understand where you are coming from. If that 230 isn't on TV at least once a year and has no other connection thats helps to move your product, then it would be a poor investment to have them on staff. But inferring potential customers wasted your time isn't going to move product either.

You see that's the whole point, if they become staffers and are not really qualified are they really potential customers. For instance if you had emailed me and said you had been throwing Radical balls since we started the company and had great success, felt you were influential in your area to help promote the brand and were looking for an opportunity to help the company. This I could look into, you never said staff or free. Most are simply looking for free stuff, do you agree?

This is just my 2 cents worth. Brunswick has a poor share of the market in my area. To my knowledge. I am one of two people who throw Radical in my area. I go to tournaments all around but I never see Radical or Brunswick stocked in any of the proshops in my area. My thoughts of staffers have always been a bit different than most. While it makes a good business plan to put the products in the hands of people who can make it look good. My thoughts would be to put it in the hands of people who can open up a new marketing area. Bring it into a new area, and can show off a product that doesn't exist in a current market. The staffers in my area are all the local proshops which which limits the general public chances to see up and coming equipment companies and their products. Making proshops staff members is good business plan. This means they will push the product they are signed with and shy away from other companies. Thus keep the product line secure in their area. Now I will admit I am a Radical fan and have been a customer since Dynothane days. Would like to see them expand in my area but with the all proshops having contracts to carry certain equipment it isn't likely. I think this concept needs to be shaken up a bit and changed but that is just my two cents.

Great point JP. Some of that falls on the distributors as well. If you have small sales, especially little or none of one brand they may never send someone to find out why and try and correct or boost those numbers.