April Newsletter

Don’t call me. I’ll call you.

I sympathize with anyone trying to make a living by cold-calling prospects. It’s a tough hustle, and only a few succeed at it.

Because of the unprofessional telephone sales tactics of some, the well has been poisoned for all. Yet, despite the difficulty of selling on the phone, the calls keep coming in.

Anyone in business is forced to take defensive measures against unwanted phone solicitations.

While you may refuse to accept unsolicited sales calls, never ask anyone to lie for you, as in, "Tell him I’m not in." This is bad business form and shows weak leadership.

When a salesperson calls, have whoever is taking the call instruct the caller to send an e-mail. Have the screener ask the caller to put STAR in the subject line of the e-mail so you will know the person has called and you won’t summarily delete the e-mail. This makes the rejection easier for the caller and, who knows, you may have an interest in what is being sold or proposed. Although unlikely, the call could also be about a wonderful business opportunity.

Of course, the most effective junkyard dog of a gatekeeper is voice mail. I worked with one CEO whose voice mail message concludes with, "If I don’t know you or the reason you’re calling, please don’t expect a return call."

There will be times when you will be the one making the cold call. You may be calling to discuss an affiliate arrangement, check out a reference, or other business not related to selling. While you won’t be selling anything, you will be screened as if you were. Your call will be much more likely to be put through if you give your company and your name and title and state the reason for your call and add, "Please tell her that this is not a sales call."

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