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There was an article in Fast Company magazine a couple of years ago that really stuck with me. The article featured companies that were hiring and how they went about it. The point of the article was that you can tell a great deal about a company based on its interview styles. But I took away an additional message.

Cold Stone Creamery’s former CEO, Doug Ducey, made a very wise comment. He said, “We don’t interview our crew members; we audition them.” No wonder the company is exceeding its growth goals.

Ever wonder who the most important members of your marketing team are? They are whoever interact with your prospects and current buyers. They deliver your most powerful marketing message, the only one that consumers take at face value. They deliver the experience.

Do you think about your employees that way? Let’s say that you were going to audition your employees for their starring role. Would you even know what kind of role you want them to play? What kind of script would you give them to see if they could play the part?

Think this doesn’t apply to you because you don’t sell to the general public? Wrong. Whether your client is an internal department, a very niche b-to-b audience or the federal government’s procurement department, your front-line employees deliver your most important message. Are you confident that you have the right people in the role? Have you been fair and given them a good script? Do you ask them to rehearse their “company message” so you know it’s consistently delivered the way you want?

Who’s on your stage, and how’s their performance?

Drew McLellan is Top Dog at McLellan Marketing Group and blogs at www.drewsmarketingminute.com. He can be reached at Drew@MclellanMarketing.com. © 2008 Drew McLellan