Are YOU Mean to Cold Callers?
Cold callers deserve common courtesy -- especially from people in the sales profession.
In our recent discussion of cold calling, several people commented that they don't like to be cold called. Only one reader expressed sympathy for their plight:
On the occasions I get caught, I listen to their technique and my heart goes out to a lot of them because they sound so nervous and you just know either their boss is standing right there or they are being taped for "training purposes' and they are dreading the coming coaching session.Yeah, no kidding. Cold calling is tough enough without getting guff from your colleagues on the other end of the phone.
Here's how I handle cold calls. If I'm busy, I simply say: "I'm not a good prospect, but best of luck! I hope you make plenty of sales today!" And then I hang up. I figure that the cold caller would rather move on to a real prospect than waste time with me.
If I'm not busy, I'll listen to the pitch for a while, and then tell the caller how to improve it. I figure that, in this case, getting coached by me is going to get them more sales in the long run, so I'm not wasting their time.
How about you? (Please answer honestly... nobody is looking over your shoulder...)
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