This weekend I have 2 sales tips on using the phone. Here's the first one from Art Sobczak:
This Week's Tip:
Sales reps share how they get by the
No Sales Calls policy
Greetings!
Last week we printed a request from a fellow reader
about what to do when a prospect company has a
"no sales calls" policy, and asked for your input.
We received a number of great responses and
tips there at the Blog. I encourage you to go there,
read all of them, and perhaps leave some comments
of your own. http://www.TelesalesBlog.com
Here are just a few of the responses, and some of
my comments at the end.
Jeff Kirchman said,
When I have a prospect that won't take a call, I've often
had success contacting someone else in the organization.
Typically I'll call and ask for the Sales Department. It's
exceedingly rare that a company is going to heavily screen
people calling it to potentially do business with them. Once
I get a person on the line - someone who's not paid to
block me and may be unaware of the target's 'no-call' policy -
I play the old "I'm sorry, I was trying to reach Bill Prospect;
can you transfer me?"
I may also use the opportunity to ask a few questions about
the company and its marketing approaches/objectives. The
sales squad may not have decision-making authority, but they
know what's working and what's not.
Finally, an internal transfer is much more likely to be picked
up by the target than one that's coming through reception.
This end-run approach does run the risk of alienating some
prospects, certainly. But the way I see it, if they get irritated
enough to avoid doing business with you as the result of
something like this, your chances of selling them anything was
infinitely small anyways.
------------------------------
Bob Tait said,
I go to the local Goodwill and purchase a bunch of
children's shoes then when I come across this situation
I put one shoe in a small box and along with a personally
written note say "It's me just trying to get my foot in the door."
It works wonders and makes people laugh. I am affectionately
referred to as the "The shoe guy."
------------------------------
Michael Musolf said,
This requires some work and isn't cheap, but effective. We
purchased a couple ipods to send to decision makers on our
A list. We had them inscribed with our company name and
tag line then recorded a brief, personalized message on
them. We included instructions on how to play the message.
We were able to set appointments with almost everyone we
sent the ipods to.
------------------------------
Julie Cook shared an idea that was used with her when
she was a buyer:
I worked at a piano festival as the marketing director, and wouldn't
return the calls of a radio sales rep because we were swamped
with just weeks to go before this huge 3-week event unfolded.
I thought his station didn't fit my mktg. mix and had a hard
time saying no, which is what a lot of my customers now do to me.
So I just didn't call him back. He got through when he sent me a
beautiful wind-up piano music box. He got my attention, and I
called him back, and ended up spending thousands of dollars
with him. So if your client has great potential, send him something
cool that will get his attention.
------------------------------
Ian Powell said,
A good question - in most cases I might say move
on to the next prospect if there is too much alchemy
required and just keep them aware of your company,
if and when they come back to review the market.
However I would like to understand better their
definition of sales call. If it is a targeted call that is
information rich with a proposition that is of value to
that organization then that can only be of benefit to
them. Why wouldn't you take it?
I might be inclined to find out if that is a policy of
the organization or the one individual? Would they
want their sales representatives to be blanket
blocked in this fashion? I would then briefly and politely
attempt to persuade them - 3 bullet points as to why
they should take the call.
If this did not work I would then write a letter to the
owner advising them (politely) of the situation and
whether they approved of it and the potential missed
opportunity etc. etc.
Obviously chasing both letters thoroughly afterwards.
You may gain some personal satisfaction from
getting round your blocker and indeed get them to
see you - but you also have a 50/50 chance of
alienating them completely as well.
Having said that I probably would go down the letter
route anyway on the basis that you currently have
nothing to lose.
There is no silver bullet as far as I can see.
------------------------------
Art's Comments
First, I agree with the very last sentence from Ian: There
is no silver bullet that will work all of the time.
I agree with many of the comments and suggestions
that the readers made.
My general feelings are:
-this should not come as a shock, but you need to
be sure that you have a message that hints at the
value you might be able to offer.
-be prepared to explain to whomever you speak with,
why you are different and have something of value for
the company/prospect. Policies are meant to keep out
MOST people, and are enforced by humans. Some
people are put through.
-ask what the typical process is for contacting decision
makers to introduce new opportunities. With your
biggest prospects, you might want to play by their
rules first. And accept the fact that with some, you
just might not get through.
-as a few readers mentioned, go to different departments,
especially sales, to gather information, and then ask if
you could be introduced or transferred to your target
-use a multi-media approach with emails, faxes, letters,
overnight packages, books, premium items, or whatever
creative toy you can come up with. Of course this may not
be feasible with someone who is doing a high volume of
simple transactional prospecting, but if you are hunting
whales, it's worth your while and money to make the
investment.
-persistence pays. I've finally been worn down by sales
reps pursuing me simply because they were so persistent
in repeatedly trying to get to me that I felt I owed them
some time.
-above all, do not be deceptive, or misrepresent yourself.
There are enough of those dirtbags out there now that
taint buyers' perceptions of salespeople.
My list is not all-inclusive, and there are other ideas that
work. If you have one, I encourage you to share it at
http://www.TelesalesBlog.com
Go and Have Your Best Week Ever!
Art
Quote of the Week
Some of the most inspired, exciting baseball you will ever
see is now being played at the College World Series in
Omaha. Many of these kids will never play again after
their team is eliminated, and you see emotions, hustle,
and a love for the game that you often do not see with
professional players. In honor of all these college athletes
that have earned their way to Omaha, here's this week's quote:
"Never let the fear of striking out get in your way."
George Herman "Babe" Ruth
Business By Phone Inc.
13254 Stevens St
Omaha, NE 68137
United States
(402) 895-9399
email:arts@businessbyphone.com
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