How do you motivate a group of sales reps who are jaded beyond belief? Give 'em Donald Trump.
Okay, maybe not the Donald himself, as he's a big guy. But when FoxHollow Technologies, a medical device company in Redwood City, CA, was planning its annual sales meeting in New Orleans last October, Leslie Trigg, FoxHollow's vice president of marketing, needed a way to build community among her sales reps, over half of whom were new hires, though with previous experience. The solution: Tap into The Apprentice.
Not only had these sales veterans "done every teambuilding activity known to man," says Trigg, but she wanted something that fit with FoxHollow's culture, "which is very much a counterculture—a group of people who defy convention." Enter David Wendell of Ovation Corporation, a Los Angeles-based firm that uses film and video in corporate events. Wendell and his colleagues devised a teambuilder based on Trump's business reality show, in which groups would compete in activities designed to "pay tribute to the Hawk," FoxHollow's unofficial mascot (more on that later). Meanwhile, Ovation would videotape the event for screening during the final dinner. "When they presented this idea, it grabbed me because I'd never heard of it before," says Trigg. "We try to sell our devices in a unique way, and this was a unique activity I was sure would work well with our group of iconoclasts."
CEO in a WigOn October 13, the group gathered at 3:30 to watch a flashy video of FoxHollow's CEO dressed like Trump, emerging from a limo to tell the reps to "do a good job—I'll be watching." Then the group split in eight smaller teams to learn their missions and brainstorm ideas. Each team competed against another team on one of four different tasks, which included everything from selling soft drinks to performing in the street, all with hawk-related themes (inspired by the SilverHawk Plaque Excision System, FoxHollow's signature product).
By 4:30, teams set out for their assigned locations, stopping at stores along the way to pick up supplies. Tourists in the French Quarter that afternoon were no doubt puzzled to see "Hawk Man" (a guy in a feathered mask and cape) running around and amusing passersby, or another team singing a ditty about a medical device to the tune of "Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer." Meanwhile, over on Bourbon Street, the team charged with inventing and selling a nonalcoholic beverage took the easy way out, hawking cans of Red Bull (renamed "Red Hawk") for five bucks.
Hawk Talk The event ended by 6:30, and everyone headed to the evening cocktail party, during which Ovation staffers pulled team members aside to tape "confessionals" about their experiences. Twenty-four hours later the video was ready for screening at the awards ceremony, where "Trump" handed out trophies (one went to the Red-Bull-shilling group, ironically). "So many people said this was the best sales meeting they ever attended," says Trigg. "They got to know each other in a way that they never would have by playing golf or doing another ropes course."