Ah the ancient sales ritual of hemming and hawing (aka pissing and moaning) about the prospect who isn’t calling us back.
Unfortunately I’ve been there many times and it definitely isn’t fun, but I’m just curious
Why do we act so shocked and even offended when we don’t get the call back?
Are they bound by some “good manners” code of conduct whereby they must hear us out otherwise they defile the sanctity of everything good and holy?
Or better yet . . .
What makes us think we’re so special that they have us on the brain?
But it doesn’t stop there . . .
In some cases we just continue with the same, identical activity that got us the non response or better yet, we increase the frequency of the activity to the point of pissing off the prospect.
Or maybe we just continue to vent about it. That can be OK until it consumes us.
I’ve even seen sales people blog and tweet about specific people who aren’t giving them the courtesy of a call back. It always amazes me how people will treat social media as some private “dear diary” thing when in fact all this stuff is quite public and quite searchable.
And before I conclude this portion of my rant, I think this is particularly dumb considering that most prospects will google you and or pull up your Linkedin profile. Do you think it makes them feel warm and fuzzy seeing a blog post or Tweet that basically calls them an ass for not returning your call? Think dude!
So what’s an aspiring sales rock star to do?
1) Stop with this call back entitlement crap. You knew damn well when you went into sales that this is part of the deal. Get over it and use that energy to get more strategic in your approach. Psst . . . your coworkers will thank you too!
2) Take a good look at your messaging. Is your message compelling? How compelling? Compelling enough to stand out from the 40+ voice mails, 100 + emails they get each day? But it doesn’t end there dude . . . the average person is exposed to over 3,000 ads per day (Fast Company Magazine) That same person is interrupted 56 times per day according to Wendy Cole at Time Magazine. Are you compelling enough to pull an “Indiana Jones” through that crazy obstacle course?
3) While you’re taking a look at your messaging . . . are you saying the same thing, every single time? Might want to rethink that. If I’m your prospect and I know that you say the same, identical thing each time, why would I expend the extra 10 seconds to hear the rest of your message? Been there, done that because you’ve conditioned me to move on.
4) Take a good look at how you message them. Are you just leaving a message? Are you just emailing? What if that isn’t their preferred communication venue? And don’t kid yourself into thinking you are using a well thought out “sales mix” just because you call and email. What about snail mail? How about emailing through a social networking platform (there’s a higher open rate). How about something creative? How about using your network for an introduction? How about physically dropping something off?
5) Cool down/heat up: This is one of the hardest things for us to do in sales. We seem to be more comfortable either deleting the contact after a few attempts or getting ultra competitive and going overkill on the amount of contacts within a short time period. Sometimes, you are much better off letting it cool down a bit, stepping back, rethinking your strategy and then heating it up again later. An added benefit to that approach is that you get to cool down a bit too and lose some of the “but they owe me a call back” thing.
Any who, if Call Back Entitlement Syndrome has shown its face to you, or someone you love . . . it might be time for you to do something more productive with that energy!
Paul,
You’ve done it again! I was just covering this point during yesterday’s Get Clients Now webinar. Far too many people with something to sell seem to have this ridiculous impression that just because they meet someone who expressed interest in their product that the deal is done. Follow up is tough. And, yes, it is tough when people don’t get back to you. But as you said, that’s part of the deal. I find it more challenging given that I am an entrepreneur and have no salary to fall back on. I either make the sales or… well, I won’t go there. Suffice it to say, sometimes it’s tough to keep smiling, because I’m dealing with folks receiving a salary who have their own priorities, and I’m often not one of them. At the moment anyway. When I find myself whining (to myself and in my own office and NEVER calling someone out online!), I give myself a swift kick and ask what I can do differently.
Sales people need to remember that just because they have something to sell; it doesn’t mean that the prospect is ready to buy. But they will…eventually. I’ve been reading Dan McDade’s book The Truth About Leads. Dan points out that 45% of “qualified” leads will close within a year. He breaks it down further and says that 10% will close in 3 months, another 16% in 6 months and another 19% within the year. That suggests a big problem if reps are giving up after a couple of attempts. It’s even worse if they are chasing leads that aren’t qualified. Granted, in many sales orgs the push is on the short-term quota and there often isn’t much focus on nurturing the longer term opportunities, which tend to have a better, more profitable payout anyway. I find that it’s a delicate balance between closing business now and nurturing the sales potential that won’t close until later down the road.
Bottom line. We aren’t entitled. Nobody out there owes us anything.
Paul,
Your article brings back those memories when I used to sell Mazda cars and trucks in a small interior of Muscat – Ibri. It was not easy selling there as the locals only conversed in Arabic. I was a new comer then to sales and could barely speak that language. Moreover, I had a lot of misconceptions of people who visited the showroom or whom I contacted for outdoor sales. I expected them to call me back. Most of the time they never did. I used to feel very bad and whine about them to my colleagues as during those days there was no email or Facebook or Twitter. However as I changed my strategy in dealing with them I met with great success in sales.
Your article reinforced that point which you brought out in your blog. I also liked Barbara’s comments about customers calling back and yes about that positive point relating to Dan MacDade’s book.
Ironically every time I hear some sales person complaining about a non-calling prospect, it comes out it’s always their fault, and never the salesman’s. Most of the times you can always rationalize the “failure” into something you can blame on others.
Paul – I had a perfect example of this last week. After a few weeks of leaving messages for a prospect, I decided to try a quick letter. I added a nice little handwritten post-it to the letter, and made a note on my calendar to follow-up in two weeks.
I received a call two days later. Product sold. Gatekeepers overcome. Client happy. Check cashed. 🙂
Yeah it is embarrassing to screech online about someone who doesn’t call us back. We should just continue doing our best and give consistency in our work. This raises our chances of call backs.
I always tell my reps “You’re a salesperson! I wouldn’t call you back either”.
Paul,
Great points. It’s up to us the seller to breakthrough. That’s what we get paid for after all!
Jim
Dear Sales people,
I’m the customer who bought something from you 2 months ago.
Everything with the product is fine. You do not need to contact me ever 2-4 months asking “How is it going?” This starts me thinking that maybe something is WRONG with the product, and you are kinda surprised I haven’t been back to have that “thing that breaks” fixed yet.
I bought a car from you 2 years ago, if I seem to be still driving that car (I’m in the maintenance area with that car a few times a year for regular stuff/oil changes…) I’m probably NOT looking to replace it.
So if I don’t call you back, it’s because I HAVE NOTHING TO TELL YOU and the call is filling up time I need for real life. Yes it’s only 2 minutes to call or email you, but I just got emails from 20 other sales people about 20 other products I bought last year. It does not merit sending a reply to each one.
Worse, when you hear that car customer was in a wreck and the car you sold them (2 years ago) was totaled do not call them a week later, a month later, 3 months later asking if they need a replacement car. Guess what, I’m paying medical bills and considering whether I actually DO want to drive again, and figuring out whether I WILL be able to drive again.
and EVEN WORSE when the reply to that call or email was: “This is my situation: please do not contact me again.” DON’t continue to be a Pest.
…and yes 8 months later I have another car, I am driving again..but I didn’t buy it from YOU, simply because I’d been over annoyed for the 2 yrs I owned the prior car.
While I’m not sure how effective snail mail is going to be, on occasion I’ve found FedEx letter to be effective. People don’t throw away Fedex Letters without opening. It finds their desk and gets open. Obviously you need to pick your spots with this form of communication as it can get costly quickly, but definitely worth the effort if you need to get over the top.
Great idea Steve . . . thanks for the suggestion!
Great idea Steve . . . thanks for the suggestion!