|
Score Conference
Please join Customer Centricity's President Craig Bailey at the
6th Annual SCORE Conference, taking place May 13-15, 2008, at the World
Trade Center in Boston. To learn more and register online,
visit the
SCORE website. Craig will be moderating sessions taking place on May
15, including the much anticipated panel discussion entitled Driving
Operational Change to Get the Most Out of Customer Feedback.
Online Networking
In light of our
recent discussions on Online Networking, we thought you might be
interested in the Computerworld article
Facebook vs. LinkedIn: Which is better for business? This article
examines LinkedIn and Facebook within the context of six specific
business scenarios, in an effort to help readers decide which tool might
be best for them.
Do You Treat Your Prospects As If They Are
Stupid?
by
Craig Bailey
Anyone involved in
Sales knows that placing cold calls is a necessary activity (wanted to
say evil, but I won't). There are numerous sales methodologies and
scripts that can be used to maximize results. I have personally read
about and attended training seminars for many and was recently on the
"prospect end" of one of the more aggressive approaches out there.
I don't usually answer my phone if the Caller ID displays "Unknown"
because, in my experience, almost all such calls are a nuisance --
someone is trying to sell me something I don't want. On this particular
day, I decided to take the call anyway. I was greeted by a pleasant
sounding man who began posing a number of leading questions, for which
"yes" was the only reasonable answer. I knew where this was going - I
was being led down the path to invest in his lead generation service.
Being busy (why did I answer this call?), I asked the bottom-line
question: "What will this cost? Because, if it is within my budget I
might consider it." Having investigated these services previously, I
knew that the cost would be way outside of my marketing budget. And, my
current marketing programs are doing exceedingly well, I might add.
So, the (previously courteous) caller says: "Well, didn't you just tell
me that getting appointments with CIOs in the Financial Services
industry would be beneficial to your business?" My response was:
"Perhaps, but I'm actually focusing on the health care industry." At
this, the caller responded (in a judgmental tone) with: "Now wait a
minute, didn't you just tell me that..." and he began to recite all the
questions he had asked for which I had previously answered "yes." At
this point, I simply had to respond with something a little less polite
than: "Thank you for the call, I am not interested, have a great day"
and hung up.
If you are a sales person or telemarketer, do NOT make the mistake of
patronizing and alienating your prospect! Asking a bunch of questions
for which the only logical answer is "yes" and then using that as a
basis for closing a deal, with the alternative being that the prospect
is made to feel stupid, is totally unprofessional.
If you want to make a sale, treat your potential customer with respect.
First, build rapport (learn about the prospect's business, successes,
challenges and needs) knowing that you may not make the sale on the
first call. As such, develop a relationship (you may not need these
services today but could I check-in with you in 3-6 months?). If you
have built sufficient rapport and are courteous, most people would
gladly answer yes to that question.
You might also do well to let your sales manager know that there are
other metrics for you to be managed against in addition to closed deals
(although this is the ultimate goal). Suggest that tracking lead
development is also an important metric which projects what the pipeline
will look like a little further into the future.
In closing, if I don't pick up the phone when you call it is either
because I am busy, or the phone you are calling from is blocking your
phone number. Either way, leave a message and I'll call you back (if you
aren't trying to sell me something that I don't want).
|
Contents
+ Score Conference
+ Online Networking
+ Do You Treat Your Prospects As If They Are
Stupid?
If you have received this newsletter from a friend
and would like to subscribe:
Click
here to subscribe
View previous newsletters
About Customer Centricity, Inc.
We strengthen overall company performance through
better service delivery and management.
We boost efficiencies in front-line customer service and technical support
teams, order processing, fulfillment, field service, logistics and other
key operations functions.
In short, we align the resources of your organization to exceed your
customers' expectations in the most effective and efficient manner
possible.
See What Our Customers Say
Quick Links
About Us
Contact Us
Testimonials
Previous Newsletters |
