Sharp Wilkinson announced a new addition to their team today, Marketing Intern Quentin Rodriguez.

Buyer personas are critical to successful marketing. Be that as it may, they are also an often-overlooked part of a marketing and sales strategy. Why is that? I think it's because most marketers would rather use their gut instinct than take the time to collect data. Collecting data to build good personas can be tedious, and for the experienced marketing and sales professional, the time it takes to do this data collection just isn't worth it. The questioning of clients and prospects in this manner also seems needlessly obtrusive. In the mind of a marketing or sales pro, they know their targets, they know their behaviors -- so they think it's a waste of time to ask questions they already know the answers to.