The Tele-Sales Disaster
I had a sales call today from someone who was attempting to have me buy an internet radio show to publicize my business. This was a great example … of how to completely blow a sales opportunity. Even though I’d evaluated a similar service a couple of years ago and declined to pursue it, I just might have been interested today. But it was not to be.
What went wrong?
-
The nice lady started out by complimenting me on being well known in my industry, yet she didn’t know what that industry is nor the proper name of my company.
-
When I asked how much the service costs, the lady answered with what was written on her script, which included no costing information.
-
When I asked too many more questions, she sent me on to another gentleman, without asking my permission. All of a sudden I was speaking with “the closer.”
-
At least he knew more about the service, and with some effort I finally persuaded him to give me the cost - $2000 for producing two shows and doing the publicity.
-
At this point, he asked me whether I wanted to sign up to do a show on the 18th or the 24th. This struck me as just a little presumptuous, since I hadn’t yet bought into the concept that this is worth spending money on.
-
He let me know that he didn’t have time to waste, that he had a deadline. Sorry, but his urgency isn’t my problem.
-
When I told him that “I won’t spend money on this until …” he hung up on me mid-sentence.
During the call, I was checking out their website, since I was able to finally get the company name out of them toward the end. I’m not going to incorporate new strategic elements into my marketing strategy just based on a four minute phone call, especially if I’m betting $2000 on it paying off.
Interestingly, the original lady called me back a couple of minutes later, probably by mistake. Flustered, she asked me if the other gentleman had answered my questions. No, indeed, I was appalled and offended.
Now, BEFORE we all have a good chuckle about how screwed up some sales efforts can be, we have to think: Where are WE turning off customers and offending prospects? Perhaps it’s the sales clerk who’s having a bad day and can’t show interest to the customer. Maybe it’s the customer service rep who isn’t sympathetic to the caller’s plight, even though it’s not your company’s fault. Or it’s your website, which isn’t working properly and shows people that you’re not serious about your business tools.
These things are deadly, because you may not have any clue how many customers you’re losing every day.
Carl Dierschow
Small Fish Business Coaching Fort Collins
www.smallfish.us
Still Sparks Of Life In The Economy
One of the things I love about my business is that I get to interact with people in ALL kinds of industries. This helps give me a broader perspective on the world of business, and even on the state of the economy.
Recently I had a chance to lead a discussion with a group of software developers. It’s an exciting time for them, because business is booming and they’re struggling to find and retain great talent. Yes, this is a fairly rare exception, but I’ve seen a lot of other examples where the economy is now coming to life. Home sales (and things connected with that) are picking up, and there’s signs of optimism in home services.
I’m also seeing a lot of strength in the “buy local” mentality. My guess is that most of us know people who are struggling and out of work, so it makes us feel better when we’re supporting those in the community.
Mind you, there’s still plenty of other places where business is still dreadful. But I expect that this is what a recovery looks like – different industries will grow at different rates, and there may even be some sputtering along.
What do we make of this? Well, the first thing is not to lose hope. There ARE some bright spots, and they’re growing.
Second, make sure you meet customers where they’re at. Most people are very sensitive to conserving every penny, because the future is so uncertain. If you can adjust your products and services to make things more affordable, you’re more likely to succeed. You might even find that it’s a change you’d like to make permanent, if only because it might help attract new customers to your business.
And third, don’t make dumb decisions and blame it on “the economy” or “those idiots in government.” Make the best decisions that you can, then move forward and accept the consequences. Blaming others, especially faceless entities, is just giving control away for no good reason.
The economy is what it is, which is the rules by which business is played. It’s always been that way.
Carl Dierschow
Small Fish Business Coaching Fort Collins
www.smallfish.us
