Turns out Ohio produces some of the best sales people for the state, many of whom don't even know they're bringing talent to our cities. Officials are banking on a new program that will hopefully expand this home-grown sales force of up to 50,000 marketing the state's assets.
"Research tells us that when people have an association with Ohio, they generally have a positive view of the state," says Ed Burghard, Executive Director of the
Ohio Business Development Coalition. "Conversely, when they have no experience with the state, that's when all the negative cliché's come to bear."
In short, the state needs to be experienced to be understood and appreciated. If an experience can't be had, the next best thing is a convincing conversation from someone already in the know – specifically, one of Ohio's own. This insight provides rich possibilities for state leaders.
People looking to relocate their business or family tend to put a lot of faith into peer conversations about an area. With many Ohioans living across the country as well as abroad, what if a portion of them were equipped to talk about the advantages of an Ohio relocation?
"Ohioans live all over the world," says Burghard. "There are Ohio clubs as far away as Tokyo."
Thus was the impetus for the Ohio Ambassadors program which will launch here in Cincinnati at the end of June. The program essentially connects enthusiastic Ohioans to each other while equipping them with hard data that could help persuade new talent to stake a claim in the Buckeye State.
In its first year, the program hopes to reach 50,000 participants both in and out of Ohio. Ambassadorships will benefit not only the state, but local municipalities as well. After all, you can't talk about the great things happening in Ohio without mentioning what's going on in your own backyard.
The hope is that ambassadors will prove to be positive influencers as well as a watch dog of sorts to negative perceptions of Ohio. "By providing guidance and facts, we hope to take people's enthusiasm about Ohio and turn it to our advantage," says Burghard. "The next time someone sees a disparaging comment on a blog, they'll have information to back up their retort."
The program will be administered by the Association of Ohio Commodores, a support organization dedicated to economic growth and development of the State of Ohio.
And who are they targeting? "We're looking for anyone with a positive attitude and who loves Ohio," says Burghard.
The kick off to the program will be held at the Westin Hotel here in Cincinnati on
June 29, from 9:30 - 11:00am. For more information click
here.
Writer: Jeff Syroney
Source: Ed Burghard, Ohio Business Development Coalition
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