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Old 06-26-2017, 07:20 AM
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fazool fazool is offline
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Default geez....cold call selling in this day and age, really?

I have good blockers on my cell phone and my home number is never used so they are pretty undisturbed.

My work phone gets calls from sales people. I have caller ID so I always let it go to voice mail.

It's always a time wasted blind sales call for a product/service that has absolutely nothing to do with me or my work or my company or anything.

And do these blind calls even ever lead to even a single sale, ever?

I mean how many people answer " why, yes...I was just sitting here trying to figure out how to find and buy this thing without looking online"
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Old 06-26-2017, 07:26 AM
amyFB amyFB is offline
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I have good blockers on my cell phone and my home number is never used so they are pretty undisturbed.

My work phone gets calls from sales people. I have caller ID so I always let it go to voice mail.

It's always a time wasted blind sales call for a product/service that has absolutely nothing to do with me or my work or my company or anything.

And do these blind calls even ever lead to even a single sale, ever?

I mean how many people answer " why, yes...I was just sitting here trying to figure out how to find and buy this thing without looking online"
Used to be that cold callers figured to make 10 calls to get 1 receptive listener.
I will say that , on occasion, at the office an unsolicited caller does make it to me because of coincidential timing of my need and their call. But never at my home phone.
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Old 06-26-2017, 09:20 AM
FrankHudson FrankHudson is offline
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I always felt sorry for the poor souls who need to do that.

I spent a good number of years in a job when I would need to answer the phone in case it was someone who might have a time-sensitive issue from wherever they might be. So I couldn't let it go to voice mail.

When I got the cold calls, my goal was to get them off the line as quickly as possible, I'd be very curt, but I think that was best for both of us.

Yes, just like the OP, I would wonder who would make a buying decision based on a cold call out of the blue, particularly now when one can look for vendors much more easily when you do have a need. Now in my artistic endeavors, I'm a very reluctant self-promoter. I always think that if I make moves to promote my work that I'm just like those guys who needed to call me up and ask if I had any needs that their company could fulfill. I don't want to be that guy.
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Old 06-26-2017, 12:27 PM
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i had one the other day that sounded so much like a computerized voice, i waited until the end and finally realized it was a human being. they just read the script and kept on going. i wouldn't have even answered but i was expecting a call. if it didn't waste my time, i'd do the seinfeld response.

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Old 06-26-2017, 12:39 PM
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Google calls my office about 50 X a week, even after registering a complaint.
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Old 06-27-2017, 09:25 AM
Wengr Wengr is offline
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And do these blind calls even ever lead to even a single sale, ever?
Well the practice continues so I would guess so. I assume that the practice of cold calling for sales and solicitation is mostly about the exploitation of those for whom it is difficult to resist the pressure of the personal interaction.
If all solicitations went to voice mail then I expect the transactions would be zero.
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Old 06-27-2017, 09:37 AM
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Well the practice continues so I would guess so. I assume that the practice of cold calling for sales and solicitation is mostly about the exploitation of those for whom it is difficult to resist the pressure of the personal interaction.
...
Except, that in sales training class, the word "exploitation" is never used.

Instead, the sales rep is informed things like: if the person says 'no' it is just a request for more information.
and
get the person to say 'no' three times before you quit asking for the sale.
and
find out what the person really wants and tailor your presentation to show how the item being sold will give the person what they want.

I did a lot of sales for the first 15 years of my working life, mostly phone but some in person.

EVery training class ultimately reached a single key point - find out what the customer WANTS, show the customer how your product answers that desire and write the order.

If you fail to make the sale, it means you failed to identify and answer the customer's true desire.

IT used to make me 100% batty when I had to say, three times , "i can understand how you feel , would you mind telling me why?".

This > "I cannot afford it" was not a valid objection. I was supposed to get them to tell me WHY they couldn't afford it, so I could turn it aropund and show them how they couldn't afford NOT to! (btw, this was in 1976 and the product was aftermarket warranty plans for home appliances)
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Old 06-27-2017, 12:13 PM
Wengr Wengr is offline
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Except, that in sales training class, the word "exploitation" is never used.
Yes, I would not expect it to be. I don't really even consider it to be accurate myself if truth be told. Nobody can really make us do anything over the phone.
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Originally Posted by amyFB

and
find out what the person really wants and tailor your presentation to show how the item being sold will give the person what they want.
Except they want nothing. When they want something, they will search it out.

Quote:
Originally Posted by amyFB

EVery training class ultimately reached a single key point - find out what the customer WANTS, show the customer how your product answers that desire and write the order.

If you fail to make the sale, it means you failed to identify and answer the customer's true desire.
Yep. Much the same when I was in real estate.

These days I have fun with it often. Last week I was trying to explain to a caller who was insisting that I switch to a lower rate electricity provider, that I won't because I actually prefer to pay a higher rate.
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Old 06-28-2017, 02:51 AM
LSemmens LSemmens is offline
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I think that this has already been posted, but good for a laugh. If I have the time, I love stringing these people along, eventually they realise that I'm not buying whatever it is that they are offering and that I have wasted a portion of their "valuable" time.
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Old 06-28-2017, 04:24 AM
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The callers are people who answered an ad promising "big money working from the comfort of your own home."
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Old 06-28-2017, 05:06 AM
rokdog49 rokdog49 is offline
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There is a certain percentage of folks who are curious that they may "miss out" on something and will listen to a cold call pitch. This is a group who can be prodded into buying something they don't want or need. These are the "targets". It's the law of averages the cold callers are counting on.

Oh yes, and then there are those who are just lonely and want to talk with someone.
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Old 06-28-2017, 03:22 PM
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They keep calling because it works.
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Old 06-28-2017, 03:55 PM
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Assuming you aren't talking about home solicitation because you mentioned your work phone. I don't see any reason why a good sales rep would sit around waiting for someone to call them. Cold calling or dropping in on clients or businesses and offering services is a pretty standard way of doing business.

I'm curious how you think a sales rep should operate.
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