How about it?
Another phone call ..
Last week I attended a really good seminar that was hosted by a company from Dublin that we had never had dealings with before – I’m not really sure how I ended up on their invitation list but somehow I did.
They were obviously touting for business in the Cork area and looking for new leads.
The seminar was “free” for all attendees and I must admit that it was very useful and it was run in a very professional manner. It was well attended and judging by the level of interaction during the session the topic was of huge interest.
The two speakers on the day represented the company well and went a long way to convincing the attendees that they had considerable expertise on the subject matter – it turned out to be a really strong “showcase” for their talents and sitting there I reckoned they would definitely pick up business as a result.
I left the enjoyable session with some promotional literature and a really strong impression of the company who presented.
When people registered for the event we were asked for various contact details, which I guess is fair enough if they want to send out further literature or even add me to a newsletter. I was interested in the topic after all.
Since the event I have received a few emails and a few phone calls from the company. The calls have come directly to my mobile and also through to the office phone. After one of the calls I received an email and I politely responded thanking them for the useful session and explaining clearly that if we needed their services I would definitely consider them.
A few days later I am still getting calls and emails ….enough!
Do the seminar, showcase your talents, leave me with an information pack and maybe a polite follow up call/email a week later.
Instead you’ve turned me off and now all I want to do is avoid you!!
We all need to be careful not to undo the good by pushing too hard for the sale ..
Greg Canty is a partner of Fuzion
Tags: Fuzion, Greg Canty
Greg Canty Fuzion Blog 
October 31, 2012 at 3:31 pm |
Agree Greg! 100%. And can’t for the life of me understand why businesses do this. It is one of the first things we insist all of our Clients discontinue immediately, if they are doing it. There are other “obvious” ones too and it’s surprising who does it, but it gives the professional salesperson an undeservedly bad reputation. Well highlighted Greg.
October 31, 2012 at 3:35 pm |
cheers Paul – I’m too steps away from telling them to xxxx off …. instead of considering them as being a service provider!
October 31, 2012 at 4:39 pm |
Great topic Greg and one i am all too conscious off. At what point does one (the salesperson) become a stalker? I would like to think that if i was told ‘don’t call me, i’ll call you’ i would walk away but a lot of the time people don’t give you any feedback at all. I’ve gone to meet clients, pitched them campaigns and then … nothing. Won’t take my calls, won’t respond to e-mails, won’t answer the door while i’m banging on it with my face pressed up against the window screaming ‘i can see you!’ only joking….. But at what point do you walk away?
October 31, 2012 at 4:51 pm |
thanks a million Audrey – take it easy out there and don’t be too pushy!! (you could write a post on it?)
October 31, 2012 at 5:45 pm |
All too common Audrey – for a variety of reasons. The main one for me though is to be aware of their psychometric/personality attributes which influence their “buyer behaviours”. Big topic to discuss here but it provides incredibly useful insights in order to answer that question you posed.
October 31, 2012 at 8:00 pm
Great advice Paul – I presume you need some knowledge of the person you are selling to in order to be able to call the best approach
October 31, 2012 at 7:54 pm |
Great post Audrey – we often find ourselves in the same boat. I hate the “nothing” treatment – have a peep at this one “No, not yet and nothing at all“
October 31, 2012 at 5:42 pm |
I see this regularly – in the end you just decide never to do business with that company.
I sell for a living myself and try to be as polite as possible when indicating that I am not interested. What really gets on my nerves is when the recipient of the polite refusal goes into “overcoming objections” mode.
That, for me, kills off any future potential of doing business with the person.
October 31, 2012 at 7:58 pm |
Liam – you get caught between pushing to keep the “sale” alive and being a nuisance!! It helps if the prospect gives proper feedback, appreciates the efforts of the salesperson and it helps if the salesperson balances follow up and being too pushy.
November 1, 2012 at 7:33 am |
Well done Greg – you’ve illustrated this point perfectly.
It’s so common to see what I call “company representatatives” failing to recognise that what they do and say is so wrong.
Will such people ever learn to qualify whomever they’re “representing” their business, before wasting everyone’s time? After 40+ years in marketing & sales, I doubt it. There’s an enormous difference between a “representatative” and a salesman, isn’t there. I suppose that “vive la differance” is apt!
You and I must get together soon.
Best wishes, Greg.
Chris
November 2, 2012 at 7:35 pm |
thanks for the great post Chris – let me know when you are around
November 6, 2012 at 1:08 am |
I love the SPAM button in Gmail for this very reason!
November 8, 2012 at 10:43 am |
a good point in your favour David !
November 6, 2012 at 10:30 am |
Great post Greg and definitely feel the “cringe factor” for the company calling and emailing you. It does seem very extreme to be calling so much. I wonder have they outsourced their follow up calls and they are on a hit rate.
As other commentators and you mentioned it is extremely frustrating when you have had a very successful prospect meeting and then it goes quiet but I believe there is a fine line between follow up and becoming a “stalker”.
Although we may not have “sales” in our title every business owner, employee and associate is selling their services or products to their relevant market, it would be ideal if we could find an easy way to gain leverage with our prospects and not be considered an annoying “salesperson”.
Best wishes
Siobhán
November 8, 2012 at 10:43 am |
great feedback Siobhan – I guess sometimes we won’t follow up enough and sometimes we follow up too much and often that totally depends on the type of person you are trying to sell to and how important what you are selling is to them. It’s tricky !!
November 6, 2012 at 1:26 pm |
I completely agree Greg, it is about getting the balance right. Helpful & informative, without being pushy & overpowering. It is also about being confident enough to know that the sale will come if that’s what the clients needs.
November 8, 2012 at 10:40 am |
great point Emer
November 6, 2012 at 11:31 pm |
No doubt there was a significant investment in the event and they wanted to get a return from their investment which is fair enough but unfortunately with their tactics they will get little return and I guess will annoy more people they call than provide a service or solution for. I’d be interested to know if it was either of the two speakers you met that were doing the sales calls or was it some junior person they had delegated this job to?
November 8, 2012 at 10:40 am |
You are right – neither of the speakers did the follow up. I think a nice follow up email requesting feedback from one of the speakers would have been the best course of action to take – what do you think?
November 26, 2012 at 11:59 am |
Hi Greg,
An excellent article and one that is close to my heart. I have worked in sales for the last 11 years and find it very difficult to get the balance right in this area. I have overstepped the mark on a number of occasions which I regret but it was borne out of the pressure of meeting sales targets. Selling has changed a lot in my opinion and you have to position yourself as a problem solver, polite and professional. I think you have to know when to walk away from the process but this can be difficult sometimes.
Out of curiosity would an informal email from the company have helped you as a potential client in the process along the lines of – “I don’t want to annoy you or hassle you but at the event you seemed interested in our product/service. Would you be interested in meeting with me to discuss this further. If it is something which is of no interest to you at this time just let me know and I can take you off my contact list and perhaps contact you again in 6 months time”.
Thanks for insight it will help me in the future step back when I have taken it too far.
Eoin
November 26, 2012 at 10:25 pm |
Great post Eoin – it is such a tricky area.
Often people who are interested can just get caught up with other things and forget about you – you want to be sure to catch these guys by sending them a gentle reminder without turning them off. Everyone is different which makes this task even trickier.
If you figure out the best approach , the magic formula – let me know!!
November 27, 2012 at 5:29 pm |
Very nicely put Eoin! And you’re right Greg “the golden rule is that there is no one golden rule” – except be professional and be committed to your client/prospective client at ALL times.
November 27, 2012 at 8:56 pm
well said Paul – We are in the middle of chasing a crew at the moment …we did some really cool design work, which they seemed to be really impressed by. If we don’t seal the deal all the effort will have been worthless – should we push even more?
November 28, 2012 at 11:25 am
I guess that’s, where appropriate, you define the parameters for commitment at the very outset i.e. “if we meet all of your stated criteria, will you proceed and when?” Also, you can test the water by requesting a nominal fee at the outset which is refundable if they are unhappy with your work and which can offset the fee for the actual work to be completed etc. if they are happy with it Great way to see if they are sincere or just tyre-kickers.
December 3, 2012 at 11:25 am
we must develop our process better so we can be more efficient – something I always struggle with
May 12, 2013 at 10:47 am |
I really thought the days of Hard sell were over! I would immediatley cross this company off my list of possible suppliers. You should advise them to retrain their sales people! They’re obviously lscking in emotional intelligence.
May 13, 2013 at 8:02 am |
well said Liam – thanks for reading and for your input
January 26, 2014 at 6:05 pm |
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