Let’s be obvious for a moment. You’ve created your brochures, put your company on-line, and initiated a public relations campaign. Because of your high visibility, sales leads are pouring through the door. Yet you find many of those leads aren’t converting into sales, and you aren’t sure why.

The answer may be in your own backyard. You may need to market to your own employees.

It’s a common misperception that anyone getting a paycheck automatically knows about - and buys into - the employer’s corporate and marketing philosophy. The fact is nothing could be further from the truth. Most employees are there to collect a paycheck, and would rather do it without busting their backs if they can. Whether you have a small organization (where in many cases staff doesn’t work as hard as the boss) or a large one (where employees manage their own work and, theoretically, have more of a stake in the firm’s future), odds are still against everyone automatically accepting the company’s message at face value. At least, not without good reason.

Standard Register Co. recently tried to provide that reason to their employees with a brochure bearing the message: "We need you to make it work." Management was determined to make sure all 9,000 workers know they’re part of the same team, and all of them have a vested interest that extends beyond a paycheck.

As the first line of sales and defense, your employees - from receptionists and messengers to administrative assistants and managers - need to understand the importance of your position in the marketplace. Observes Keith Fox, Vice-President of Worldwide Corporate Marketing of Cisco Systems: "Your people have to understand what their job is and how they fit into the formula overall."

Making your employees want to take their place in the big picture comes from a host of little things on a daily basis that all add up. Ask about their families. Buy them a soda. Sit with them at lunch. Give ’em an "Attaboy!" now and then. Treat them like people.

They, in turn, will start to look for ways to help the company. They’ll try to cut waste. They’ll work a little harder to clear their desks at the end of the day. Most importantly, their positive feelings for you - and the company - will become apparent to the community, the press, and to prospective customers. You’ll learn the truth of the theory that you can hear a smile over the phone.

There will be side-benefits as well. As morale goes up, turnover will go down. Talented people (like those working for the competition) will seek your company out as a good place to work. You’ll find yourself with a happier, more profitable business.

Dan Hillen, Media One’s Director of Sales Channel Development, puts it this way: "Every time we touch a customer is an opportunity to exceed the customer’s expectations." This means you can turn every member of your staff - janitors, drivers…you name it - into part of your sales force.

So how do you persuade all your employees to serve your customers better? In addition to the human factors mentioned above, the two easiest roads to follow are education and incentive. Here’s how to make each one work for you:

Education - Your business uses the same type of educational tools to speak to employees as you do to address suppliers and customers. This can include brochures, newsletters, publicity, and motivational posters. The US Postal Service even operates a television channel to share news and keep their 765,000 career employees all going in the same direction.

Any management consultant will tell you this is also the time to increase training programs for staffers. And cross-training between departments ensures that customer needs are taken care of quickly and efficiently - even as you increase opportunities for personal growth and professional advancement within.

Incentive - A recent Gallup poll reported that 43% of employees who are extremely satisfied with their current company received formal recognition of their performance. Only 9% of respondents where were extremely satisfied had no such recognition.

Such recognition for a job well done needn’t be an extravagant affair. Some companies get by with a simple thank-you note with a gold star (Believe it. And they’re VERY effective). Others take high performers out to lunch or send flowers. Still others give a gift certificate to the local mall to employees who help them reach certain goals.

And of course, the most powerful incentive is still a chance to win a free trip to someplace exotic.

Will it help your business if all employees become your marketing messengers? Probably. Media One found their pay-TV channel sales up 6% after an incentive program was instituted that included all levels of employees (not just sales people). Pick any successful company - from AT&T to Xerox - and odds are good they’ll have at least one type of communications program going on that is geared specifically to selling the company to the employees.

Whether you educate or incentivize, though, here’s the bottom line: Workers need to be inspired to maximize your company’s success. Getting a paycheck isn’t enough for them to buy into the whole corporate culture. They need to know that what they do matters, and that they are making a difference.

Treat them like they matter, and they’ll return the favor many times - straight to your bottom line.