[hesdeadjim]

At this point I don't answer a call that isn't in my contacts. I sign up for a trial of some cloud service and it is like clockwork, 2-3 days afterwards I get a cold call from someone in sales. It's like they are all following the same playbook at this point and it's ruined the effectiveness of the strategy, at least on me...

[ddingus]

It still works.

One of the hard parts about sales is understanding that people don't like to be pitched, or intruded on, and balancing that with the fact that the product or service may well be to their benefit!

If you had a good friend struggling somehow, and you knew you could save them a lot of money, time and effort would you not strongly desire to communicate that to them?

And when you are struggling, don't you want answers?

What about when you don't know you are struggling?

That's why the strategy works. Good people will not make the call painful. I have similar experiences to yours with cloud services. Honestly, I'm not sure they always have the best people attempting those phone calls...

One thing highlighted in the article, but not completely expressed is the concept of adding value to the phone call. All the charm and basic human communication is needed to get somebody talking. From there, being able to help them, or give them something of value can often make the phone call higher value. This could be a stat or metric they can consider, or a qualifier. "Are you... ?"

Doing this is important as a few "check in" calls over an extended period of time are actually welcome things in more cases, and when that's true, the sales person experiences a much higher close rate and more happy customers and better relationships. In the example of the qualifier, they make think on it, and realize "Yes! That's us." When you call back, they share it, and a sale begins.

They (better sales people) get that, because they took the time to understand something of who they are talking to and that gives them the ability to make good use of that understanding, which is seen by the person being talked to as a reasonable, valuable thing.

I did this in my past, and reached a point where I would make a quick call, and they were nearly always, "catch up" calls. Take 5 minutes and find out what is new on both sides, exchange some news, etc... and then get to it, whatever it is. Over time, increasing numbers of those people would actually call me when it became time for them to buy. They remembered the nice person who didn't just pitch them, instead expressing meaningful interest and understanding.

Begin the week, "catching up on the people who seem like they could benefit from whatever it is", follow up on anything resulting from that, and contact "new" or "cold" people to fill in gaps. This kind of cadence brings you a growing list of familiar and increasingly well qualified people, which is what you need to build sales. Some people flip it too. Begin the week with all the follow ups, do new calls, interleave with familiar "catch up" or "check in" type calls to ease the pain of new calls, etc... Doesn't matter. What does is the regular, meaningful and consistent contact.

Done well, that interest and understanding IS THE PITCH, because the product of it is a rational conclusion that a purchase, or no purchase makes sense. That bit is missing from this quick write up.

[shostack]

Flip side:

I get a ton of sales emails each month. Almost no sales calls because I go to lengths to avoid having my number get out there.

In my space, the ad network sales people and ad tech reps almost never add any value to the conversation. I would be better served getting technical documentation as to what actually differentiates them from all of their competitors (usually nothing).

It is an annoyance and an intrusion on my non-existent free time. The worst is when I receive unsolicited swag in the mail that they then feel obligates me to talk to them.

I'd be much happier speaking directly with a sales engineer. At least they can often answer the technical questions I have and not spout some BS answer from a benefits/features matrix.

[ddingus]

You and me both.

Interestingly, I have gotten some good calls and emails related to traditional print and media advertising. They actually do have information and can add some value it seems.

It's almost as if being able to supposedly target better, and I write that because I do question some of the methods and their real value, they feel they no longer have to work with you to maximize the AD. Doing that almost always makes more sense, and it's an easy, up front conversation too. If that conversation qualifies me in, I'm likely to buy an AD! But I'm not so likely to qualify myself, as there are just too many choices, etc...

I'm actually skilled in both, sales and engineering / tech and have held sales, pre-sales, and tech roles. (gotta roll with the punches sometimes, and I'm game.)

When I do make cold calls, I generally get good response rates as well as qualified lead rates. Helps to actually know stuff they may find relevant, or answer that quick question off the cuff. As for the relationship?

The big advantage is the relationship is often implied. Having shared domain knowledge almost always means a dialog that is worth having. All it really takes is a quick read on the other person, then just talk with them as one would a peer.

Some of these firms could really do themselves a great service by taking their callers and salespeople on a few tours, or through some education that can add that value. It's not specific domain knowledge, but it's pretty good. And their calls suddenly aren't quite so mind numbing too.

Win for everyone, IMHO.

[ddingus]

Oh, I should ask, just for a curio:

What do you think of high value stuff sent to you? We all get the usual gift card, gadget, or curio. Whatever.

But I've had somebody actually send me something I might consider buying. Not the product, just as a gift.

I called 'em. Looked like a $50 - $100 item, and I figured they were serious. They were.

[shostack]

Had a vendor send me a (branded) speaker and phone charger. Got the inevitable follow-up pestering for a phone call in an expectant manner. Politely declined stating that I still had zero interest and kept the gift.

Sits in my kitchen now.

[ddingus]

Was it any good, or just some obvious swag?

[shostack]

http://authenticpromotions.com/ProductDetails/?productID=550...

Very obviously bulk swag stuff, but decent quality, and the per-unit cost isn't dirt cheap. Like I said, sits in my kitchen, and my wife and I use it to listen to music while we cook.

The vendor in question is relatively well-known in their space, and were I in the market for a new solution in the future, they were on my short list even before the sales guy initially reached out to me. I just have no interest in hearing the pitch when I have zero intent to consider a new solution, and know that their offering isn't THAT different from what I use now.

[hesdeadjim]

Oh I believe it still works. I can feel the psychological effects when someone is persistently trying to sell me. It may manifest as guilt, annoyance, or for the genial ones a desire to help them out.

My favorite failure though was when one sales guy sent me an email asking for another colleague's contact info because maybe I wasn't "in the position to make the decision." Ballsy but boy did that backfire on him.

[ddingus]

That's funny!