Comments on: How We Handle Sales Calls

By: Arleen144

Arleen144 — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 14:33:23 +0000

I prefer to Buy Viagra via cell phone rather than online

By: service_call_software

service_call_software — Sun, 18 Oct 2009 15:53:18 +0000

That's the great article! I just pass 'n read it, two thumbs up!

By: Dr Wright

Dr Wright — Wed, 06 May 2009 16:42:43 +0000

that is a great canned response! I dont know why I did not think of something similar. I often get solicits from 'video companies" who want to become the production company for the Wright Place TV Show. I have never gotten good video from someone I had to pick off the street and was not familiar with their work. I have my A team, my B team and my C teams ( to work around schedules) and I never buy that way either!

Dr. Letitia Wright
The Wright Place TV Show
http://wrightplacetv.com
www.twitter.com/drwright1

By: Yonica

Yonica — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 12:32:53 +0000

Very strong points, I like your straight forward approach. You're right, why would you purchase something from a complete stranger when you already have access to at least 10,000 people within your social networks who could get you in touch with someone who offers the same product or service.

By: Greg C

Greg C — Sat, 11 Apr 2009 22:11:00 +0000

I like that e-mail response. I recently had a thing called “privacy manager” added to my phone service that forces anyone calling from an unidentified number to identify themselves before they can get through, then the service rings me and gives me the option to accept, reject, send to voicemail or request removal from their call list. Another tactic that works pretty well when getting an unsolicited sales call was just to ask “Is this a sales call?” That interrupts them for a second and they usually say “yes” which puts you in a nice position to say “No, thanks” and hang up.

By: Herbert Ong

Herbert Ong — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 00:55:48 +0000

Tony,

I am in complete agreement with your sentiment. Companies today are better served spending more of their establishing their reputation and asking their happy clients to spread the word. This is exactly the kind of solution we offer at KudosWorks (www.kudosworks.com). Our tool lets businesses capture testimonials then enable those happy clients to post and share their testimonials on sites like Yelp, FaceBook, Google Local etc.

Long time no speak.

Thanks
Herbert

By: webwright

webwright — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 21:00:43 +0000

That's a very them-centric question. Just because they are new or trying to grow doesn't mean they deserve special treatment in my eyes (as a buyer). Unsolicited emails get the same treatment as unsolicited phone calls. That's not how we buy.

Telesales WORKS. It's a numbers game– dial enough numbers and you'll find a buyer. Send enough email spam and you'll sell some viagra. I'm just saying I'm immune to it and annoyed by it.

In the new company situation, there's a strong argument for a differentiated offering that solves a pain in a unique way that's worth talking/blogging/tweeting about. I think a young company better have a pretty damn good story as to why a customer ought to take a bet on an untested player if there are solid incumbents out there. Thankfully, incumbents often suck.

By: MarinaMartin

MarinaMartin — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 19:45:39 +0000

Okay, but what if they're a new company trying to establish initial clients?

I'm no fan of picking up the phone (compared to email), though I've seen first-hand some clients have great success with it in less-tech-savvy industries... but they've got to start somewhere. What if they emailed you and asked to send more information (no calls)?

By: webwright

webwright — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 18:35:41 +0000

Heheh. You mean something like Recruiting.com?! Jobster is no more!

That is an interesting idea, tho. There is a wealth of recommendation/vendor insights in mailing lists, forums, twitter, yelp, etc.

An UrbanSpoon for vendors might be kinda neat! Of course, these things get gamed (which is why I trust friends more than I trust stuff like CitySearch or Yelp).

By: yolfer

yolfer — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 18:30:12 +0000

Hmmm, I smell a web 2.0 app here. Something like Jobster but for vendors. Venderster? “Great people know great vendors”