Why Do So Many Reverse Marketing Initiatives Fail?
- Rana Kordahi
- Jun 2
- 3 min read
After 20 years in Employment Services, and 13 years consulting, training and coaching across the sector, I've come to a conclusion that some may find uncomfortable: Many Reverse Marketing initiatives don't fail because of consultant capability. They fail because of leadership conditions.
A quick clarification
When I say leadership, I’m talking about the executive teams driving many of the decisions, the people setting the conditions everyone else has to operate within.
And I say that not as an observer, but as someone who has experienced it and failed in it firsthand.
Where Reverse Marketing actually breaks down
Throughout my career, I've seen Reverse Marketing initiatives struggle, stall, and ultimately fail, even when the consultants involved were capable, committed, and genuinely wanted to succeed. In many cases, the problem wasn't the people delivering the work. It was the environment surrounding them.
Most RM initiatives collapse before even one employer contact is ever made.
The failure often starts in how the change is:
Introduced
Communicated
Consulted
Supported
Trained
Reinforced
Embedded
When reverse marketing is rolled out as a directive:
“Make more employer calls.”
“Increase engagement.”
“Hit your RM targets.”
teams often push back.
Because resistance shows up when people feel overwhelmed, unclear on the purpose, or not brought into the why early enough. Many time, it’s because they feel like they have lost autonomy, and are not a part of the change process.
Why training alone doesn’t fix it
When the problem becomes too big to fix, many organisations invest thousands of dollars in training, as though it’s the magic bullet that will solve everything. But if the right foundations and conditions weren’t set before training, not much will change.
It doesn’t matter if the training is outstanding, engaging, and packed with knowledge.
Why? Because training alone doesn’t create sustainable behaviour change. Without the right leadership foundations, the learning fades, old habits return, leaders become frustrated, and the cycle repeats.
And on top of that, many leaders give zero ramp time post‑training. Consultants are often expected to perform immediately after a workshop, with no adjustment period, no protected practice time, and no reduction in competing priorities. But Reverse Marketing is a behavioural skillset, and behavioural skills require at least 3 to 6 months of supported practice to embed.
Even in professional sales environments, where people are hired specifically to sell, Sales Development Reps (SDRs) are given 3 to 6 months of ramp time before they’re expected to hit quota or meet full targets. Because leaders in those environments understand that embedment, pipeline development, and behavioural consistency take time.
This is not about blaming leaders
It’s about recognising the structural conditions they inherit, and whether they’re actually set up with the tools, clarity, and support to change them. Because most leaders are doing an incredible job under immense pressure.
They’re operating in what is essentially a pressure cooker, carrying the weight of:
government expectations
contract performance
compliance demands
restructures
site closures
constant change
Imagine having the consequences of outcomes falling squarely on your shoulders? While having to drive major behavioural change with limited resources, high staff turnover, competing priorities, and systems that don’t always support you.
Not an easy role, and many are doing the best they can within very real constraints.
So how do we support leaders?
This is the real question. Because I’ve also seen the opposite. I’ve seen teams transform their confidence, consistency, and employer engagement when leaders are supported.
And when they change how they:
communicate expectations
manage change
support their people
embed Reverse Marketing into everyday practice
…everything changes.
That’s why I believe Reverse Marketing is not primarily a capability challenge. It’s a leadership challenge.
And until we address the leadership conditions that drive success, we’ll continue treating symptoms instead of causes.
Free Webinar: Leading Successful Reverse Marketing Initiatives
If this topic resonates with you and you’re exploring how to strengthen Reverse Marketing performance in your organisation, you’re invited to join our free webinar: Leading Successful Reverse Marketing Initiatives.
We’ll unpack the leadership conditions that make RM stick, from how change is introduced, to how consultants are supported, trained, and given time to embed new behaviours.
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