Oh, bother!

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.