Employers often express a desire for a salesperson who already has a client portfolio or for a top manager who comes with their own team. What do employers really want? In fact, they are looking for a reliable solution to their problems. If we ask them directly why they need a manager with a portfolio, they will respond that it will significantly boost our sales and give us confidence that we made the right choice. However, if employers need reliability and assurance, then what they really need is anything but a person with a portfolio or a team.
A “portfolio” person will go wherever they can get paid more at the first opportunity, and it will be difficult to keep their clients. After all, the previous employer couldn’t retain them, right? Moreover, this “portfolio” type will take with them everything they’ve managed to develop with their current employer and, if possible, will also take the client base. One more point: a “portfolio” salesperson is a utopia. In practice, successful transitions of good salespeople to another company, where the client portfolio is significantly transferred, are quite rare. Why is that? Because the salesperson sells not only themselves but also the company and its advantages over competitors, and clients firmly believe in their choice. If the salesperson only sold themselves, they would simply stop working for anyone and start their own brokerage firm. Why would they carry portfolios from one employer to another and lose some clients in the process if they could make clients their own for good by selling both their professionalism and market knowledge—where the client would be better served next year or with their next purchase? If we do have examples of people migrating from employer to employer with their client portfolios, it’s unclear who is hiring whom and who depends on whom. In such cases, it’s likely that the salesperson sees the employer as the resource they need, such as an office.
If we talk about a top manager with a team, the situation is even worse. What do you think the reputation of such a manager is at their previous job? And how will the employer feel when this manager, along with their team, moves to a competitor? Moreover, such “teams” often have a somewhat unprofessional trait – nepotism. People often follow their leader because they feel insignificant and fear being fired if their protector leaves. How insecure must a top manager be to fear parting with their team? Why shouldn’t they have the strength and skills to hire professionals again? Is it really because last time they didn’t hire but brought in “their own,” and now there are simply no “own” left? And doesn’t it seem to you that such a manager with a team would be intimidated by the prospect of leading a new group? A true leader never drags anyone along. They respect people and give them the best choices. Once they have settled into a new job, they can talk to their former subordinates, again in terms of their interests and needs, rather than their own desires.