I originally ran this post about 15 months ago and thought it might be time to repeat a valuable lesson!
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!
FYI . . .
We have two sessions dedicated to phone skills in our upcoming, online sales course. Click here for a way cool, $50 off early registration discount!
Hello Paul, another great post. A couple of things stick out for me here.
1) We need to be compelling: People today have so many items on their plate that even if our offering is of benefit to them, their time may be better invested in something else that’s a bigger concern to them at the time. Whats important to them is what matters not what we think is important. We need to ensure we are engaging people with offerings that are a priority in their busy lives. What they required yesterday may not even be on the radar screen today.
2) Doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result: We need to change our habits if we expect someone to change their response to the habit. I feel we need to challenge ourselves to see what we are offering of value, not falling in the trap of “I’m just checking in……”
Now Paul I know today you have to spend some time with the family, catch a flight, make some calls, followup on some emails, do some presentations, find time to eat, rock a ballad or two on the guitar, and write a few proposals…… so since you aren’t busy I expect a response back, I’m entitled am I not?
Adam
And that my friend epitomizes the attitude many of us have or have had with regard to our phone activities.
Thanks Adam!
Great post, but what about the scenario that goes like this. You have a potential customer you have been working with and now they dont return calls/mails at all. When you do finally get hold of them its blarney about them being busy etc. What do you do? When do you say enough is enough and move cut your losses?
Boy is that scenario an annoying one to say the least!
I wish there was an easy answer. This is where I would use that “cool down/heat up” technique I mentioned as well as changing up how you approach as in your message as well as the method of contact.
I never remove these prospects from my list, I simply alter the frequency of contact.
My ego would make me want to say “screw them if they can’t see the value” but my wallet understands that somewhere down the line we might have a match.
The key to this is to focus on the the better opportunities and not expend a ton of effort on a low response prospect.
Doesn’t mean we have to like it 🙂
Thanks for stopping by and taking the time to comment!
Paul – Great post!
For Pete’s sake (always wondered who Pete was?), make the messages interesting and make them different each time.
Would you call someone back who left a boring, monotone message? I wouldn’t.
Cheers,
Marc
I’d like to meet that guy Pete . . . everybody is always doing stuff for him 🙂
Thanks Marc . . . Have a great weekend!
SO glad you ran this again. I always tell my clients: you don’t need me, but I need you!
Thanks Paul — I have to say in the beginning, I knew you were directly this to me — I don’t vent online — but yes, a few times to co-workers. I’m rethinking my message today–thanks to you! I hope you have a nice weekend.
Great post and comments. The place where I stumble is when I get a breathless phone call from a prospect/client who asks me to drop what I am doing to help them with information, samples etc. I will expend time and company resources to get them what they need, when they need it and then hear nothing but crickets… even after several follow up attempts. I recognize that priorities shift and sometimes the competition gets the order but it would be helpful to hear from the client how the situation played out. Is that asking too much?
I agree Jon. There’s actually a way that I handle this.
Shoot me an email paul at yoursalesplaybook and I’ll pass it along on the house 🙂
Meanwhile . . . Thanks for stopping by!
We’ve all been there Debbie!
Kudos to you for taking charge!
Wishing you a nice weekend as well!
Thanks Francey . . . Wishing you an awesome weekend my friend!
Love this post! I’m often amazed to hear people complain about the folks that don’t call them back. Who ever said that was a requirement?
Over on a Facebook thread a while back, some gals I know were yakking about this very topic. Many were indignant that after meeting someone at a networking event and then calling them, they never got a call back.They thought it was rude. Really? Just because I met you once, I am somehow obligated to call you back if you call me? A general consensus was that you should at least let them know if you were not interested in doing business with them. As for me…well, I gave them my little rant about how number one, you cannot take it personally. Number two, I made it very clear that I don’t have time to call back every person who calls me just because they want something.
I have what I affectionately call a “kiss off” email that I send. It basically recaps the level of interest the prospect indicated, my failures to reach them, and then asks that if something has changed and they are no longer interested please let me know and I’ll move on. Otherwise, when can we talk? I lace with a bit of self depreciating humor around my failures to connect with them.
It’s relatively successful (25%ish) in raising a response, usually along with an apology.
I only use with with people that I have invested some time with, developed proposals and quotes, met with, etc.
I was on the receiving end of a very similar type of email and it really impressed me Chris.
Thanks for sharing this idea!
I use something similar called a “horsehead” offer named after the scene in The Godfather – an offer that you can’t refuse, that is, if you serious about doing business.
Do I expect a call back from a prospect, YES, am I going to get one, probably not. Do I dwell on it, NO, I move on to the NEXT. What I have an issue with is when you call businesses and don’t get a call back, that bothers me, as I then have to stop and think whether I potentially want to do business with this party, if they can’t return a simple phone call.
I can only agree with you Barb.
I think we all need to expend the energy being put off, offended, pissed (and a few other words I’d add if I had my Thesaurus handy) and put it to better use!
Thanks and have an awesome weekend!
Excellent post Paul. I learned long ago that sales is a numbers game. Instead of whining about the ones that aren’t biting, the smart rep needs to focus on putting more hooks in the water. Having a large number of sales cycles in process helps on the psychological end and also greatly increases the odds of success.