by Amy Keuper, VP Sales
We at Initial Call specialize in representing companies with
a complex sale which, by definition, is harder
than the average sale. And by “hard” we mean hard. The ever-increasing “opt-in” mindset poses
real challenges for businesses who want to expand sales beyond the scope of
their current social network.
Pursuing target accounts remains a vital part of most sales
operations. Cold-calling is a tried and
true method of reaching someone you believe would benefit from what you
offer. If only you can reach them, then you
can solve their problem—maybe one they haven’t even defined yet.
The problem is that we are all culturally wired to resist
uninvited contact. Looking honestly at
our own thorny reaction to unsolicited communication helps clarify why sales
and marketing are so difficult. If we
won’t accept someone’s call or email, how can we expect them to allow
ours?
What a fine line we walk!
We must strike the balance between rightly reaching out to new
individuals to grow our business and unintentionally irritating folks who hang
up on us or unsubscribe thinking, “I don’t know who you are and I didn’t sign
up for this.”
Ironically, most businesses employ outbound marketing yet
are themselves locked down tightly against any kind of cold-calling or email
campaign. Their phone systems are “press
X for X” labyrinths without any human beings and their networks reject all
email as spam. Since a primary lead
generation goal within the complex sale is to qualify accounts, not to bother
anyone unnecessarily, the problem of unwelcome communication would in fact
shrink if getting market intelligence were easier.
A prospect actually gains time by investing time in a call or
email to self-qualify in or out of the target pool. He finds a solution to a need or wards off unwanted
future contact. By devoting just a few
seconds to listen to the pitch, the prospect can achieve both his and the
caller’s goals: determining whether it makes sense to talk further.
Adherence to The Golden Rule would smooth the seller-buyer
relationship. Thoughtful and tempered prospecting would be met with courteous
and understanding replies. Sales empathy
and marketing civility—ahhhh, a dream?
Given the reality that we can’t easily change prospect
behavior, scheduling highly-qualified, VP and C-level meetings is hard. Your success hinges on breaking through company
defenses with a smart message delivered by the highest level talent possible,
which is where Initial Call excels.