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Does anybody here work in IT? (pg. 2)
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| Adam420 |
| quote: | Originally posted by shaw
If you are cold-calling people, though, I hate you. All of the above applies only if you already have an account. |
Yea, but I am cold calling. I mean, what other way is there for me to inform you about my company's existence and that fact that I am your dedicated representative?
I don't enjoy cold-calling. Nobody should ever be under the impression that I do. But what other way should I go if I want to have any hope of starting a business relationship with you?
Anyway, when I call all I'm saying is that I am calling to introduce myself and to provide my contact information in case you'd like to reach me. I doubt I ever really irritate anybody when calling them unless their pre-conceptions of people in my position are really poor and deeply-ingrained. |
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| malek |
Lol at this thread... we have a purchasing dept, that's a nice buffer between us and you guys ;)
When contacting someone working at the govt, don't expect to close a moderate sized sale in a few days/weeks... it's friggin long as hell to complete a purchasing process, don't expect speedy sales. |
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| Adam420 |
| quote: | Originally posted by malek
Lol at this thread... we have a purchasing dept, that's a nice buffer between us and you guys ;)
When contacting someone working at the govt, don't expect to close a moderate sized sale in a few days/weeks... it's friggin long as hell to complete a purchasing process, don't expect speedy sales. |
Yep and I'm in fact in GOV. Hey man, when there's a purchasing department, more often than not, that is a good thing IMO. At least that way I have some clear direction on how to engage a potential account at the beginning. |
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| shaw |
| quote: | Originally posted by Adam420
I doubt I ever really irritate anybody when calling them unless their pre-conceptions of people in my position are really poor and deeply-ingrained. |
100% of business owners loathe these calls.
I don't really have any advice, tbh. Intentions aside, it's a huge nuisance, and the fact that it requires the customer to drop what he's doing in order to be asked to spend money is a pretty tough obstacle to overcome. We never have and probably never will buy anything based on a phone call. face-to-face is a remote possibility, mail actually works well (catalogs are fun, even though they usually get trashed), but the only good way to get anywhere is reputation & referrals. |
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| idoru |
| quote: | Originally posted by shaw
100% of business owners loathe these calls.
I don't really have any advice, tbh. Intentions aside, it's a huge nuisance, and the fact that it requires the customer to drop what he's doing in order to be asked to spend money is a pretty tough obstacle to overcome. We never have and probably never will buy anything based on a phone call. face-to-face is a remote possibility, mail actually works well (catalogs are fun, even though they usually get trashed), but the only good way to get anywhere is reputation & referrals. |
This.
Also, cue "Yeah, but how do you get referrals and reputation? Calling helps attract people who could refer me the business the future," etc. |
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| Adam420 |
| I agree, but at least I'm not asking anyone to spend money. Look, I have a pretty decent value proposition, I'm not too worried about that. It's just that I am looking for a better method of delivering my information, I guess. Like I said, when I cold call, all I'm doing is introducing myself. If I actually end up speaking with the person for 10-15 minutes, you're damn right I'll ask if there's anything I can do for them. But if I can tell they're busy or not really keen on talking to me, all I ask is if I can send them an Email with some information for their reference. |
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| shaw |
| If they're not busy, you probably don't want to talk to them. |
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| shaw |
actually, I do have some advice for calling. at least it will prevent you from being remembered for your failure:
-pronunciation. if you can't say the name, please don't try. if nothing else, it's a dead giveaway that you have absolutely no clue why you're calling.
-get to the point. "are you interested in making--" CLICK! "I'd like to discuss a--" CLICK! "are you satisfied with your--" CLICK!
-if you ask to speak to the "person in charge of making purchasing decisions," the call is over. |
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| EddieZilker |
| quote: | Originally posted by shaw
-pronunciation. if you can't say the name, please don't try. if nothing else, it's a dead giveaway that you have absolutely no clue why you're calling.
-get to the point. "are you interested in making--" CLICK! "I'd like to discuss a--" CLICK! "are you satisfied with your--" CLICK!
-if you ask to speak to the "person in charge of making purchasing decisions," the call is over. |
Also, make sure the number you're dialing isn't the Accounts Payable contact. I remember getting a ton of these sorts of calls with all of the aforementioned questions.
And, yes, they were granted an instant hang-up. |
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| jenga |
| quote: | Originally posted by shaw
actually, I do have some advice for calling. at least it will prevent you from being remembered for your failure:
-pronunciation. if you can't say the name, please don't try. if nothing else, it's a dead giveaway that you have absolutely no clue why you're calling.
-get to the point. "are you interested in making--" CLICK! "I'd like to discuss a--" CLICK! "are you satisfied with your--" CLICK!
-if you ask to speak to the "person in charge of making purchasing decisions," the call is over. |
QFT.
I field about 1 or 2 cold calls per week at my company and the above is always a dead giveaway. Like the other guys said...even if your product is good and cheap no one wants to hear. I know I don't. I usually just hang up instantly. |
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| Adam420 |
Nah I'd say 80% of the time I get to the decision maker and when I don't it's usually because they either have phone calls directly go to voicemail or are just never around (it has happened that I've tried to reach someone for over a month and I suddenly get them one day and they have absolutely no idea that I've ever tried to reach them).
With that said, What I'm asking, like I said originally, is what do you want to hear? I know what these guys don't want to hear. I want to know what will get them off, what will make them, universally, take an interest.
I guess it's really more about getting to know my customers and delivering more specific and personalized pitches. Because honestly I think I've had the most success when doing that.
Like I have a sale I'm looking to close over the next few days, not big or anything, but I liked the way I went in. The guy runs a supply store at a college somewhere, and I called him up, introduced myself. I asked if he sells USB sticks in his store. He said no. I said we've been selling a lot of USB sticks to school supply stores with the school's logo on them, and that they've been really popular because the schools make a 50-60% profit on them by selling them to the students. I sent him a quote two hours later and he's probably looking at ordering them tomorrow or next week.
Like I said, not a big sale or anything like that, and remarkably quick for the type of industry I'm calling. But like I said, maybe the fact that it was very tailored to him and to what he does, is what led to me having success on that occasion. |
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