Five Lessons from a Pushy Cold Call

I just experienced one of the pushiest sales calls of recent time. In 10 seconds I was offended.  But given my interest in sales and marketing I couldn’t help but want to see how far this train wreck would go. I considered it my sacrifice for furthering the craft of non-pushy sales.

This was the conversation as best as I can recall. ”Ring Ring……”.

“Good Morning  this is Pat Helmers”

(ROBOT VOICE)  “ATTENTION WE ARE CALLING TO WARN YOU THAT YOUR GOOGLE BUSINESS ACCOUNT HAS NOT BEEN CLAIMED”

I don’t recall the exact wording but it distinctly gave the impression “We are Google and you better fix this or else…. ”.  I was skeptical, this doesn’t sound like something Google would do. I didn’t trust the call and I disliked how they were leveraging fear. But I persevered.

“IF THIS THE SALES BABBLE BUSINESS? PRESS 1”

“IF YOU ARE THE BUSINESS OWNER OR MARKETING DIRECTOR? PRESS 1”

Hmmm what impersonal way of qualifying I thought. I wonder if this works? Finally a click and a click then the long pause…….

“Hello this is ACME Marketing is this Sales Babble? We need to verify some information….”

I was right, it wasn’t Google. I felt tricked. Well sort of since I didn’t think it was Google from the get go. At this point, a normal person would have hung up. But I’m interested in the babble of sales. I’m masochistic in this way.

They asked a number of fact based questions they could have gleaned on my Google Business account. It was clear they wanted to give me a sense they were “fixing” my business account. But why ask dumb questions like “what’s my phone number” when I’m thinking “Dude you called me”.

Then they started the pushy CLOSE:

• “What would people enter to search for you online…..”
• “I’m typing in sales consulting  and not seeing you in Plano….”
• “You want to go to bigger markets and not limit yourself in Plano ….”
• “People aren’t going to find you that way…..”
• “Are you in front of a computer…. type this in right now……”

By now it’s clear this marketing company is pushing SEO.  And I’ve actually been working on SEO just this past month, and making good progress.  But I was aghast how they failed to care about understanding  MY business concerns:

• my Avatar
• the places my ideal clients hang out
• my marketing desires
• my thoughts on the value of having a web presence
• how I leverage the Sales Babble podcast
• how I promote my Selling WIth Confidence Sales System training course.

So I told the guy:

“You know what really bugs me is how you’ve not listened to anything I’ve said, you’ve not asked me what what I’m interested in doing to promote Sales Babble. Since the beginning of this call you’ve interrupted and pushed your marketing services  on me. You were dishonest misrepresenting yourself as Google …..”

At which he started arguing with me on semantics and how he hadn’t done that  blah blah blah ….. Never catching the vibe that I was deeply offended and that he should back off, apologize and ask me about my online marketing interests.

Five Cold Calling Lessons

So to be clear, here  are the five lessons I tried to share with this cold caller:

1. Take the mindset of helping, not selling
2. Understand your clients fears and desires BEFORE posing possible products and services
3. Never interrupt
4. Never argue with a prospect
5. Never pretend to be someone you’re not. Trust is a precious thing, don’t squander it.

Most likely this poor soul is told what to do and not allowed to go off script. Some pugnacious sales manager has bullied him and his peers into submission as they grind out one annoying cold call after another.

Because he we wouldn’t stop  interrupting, I couldn’t get a word in edgewise. So I did the only thing I could do to control the conversation. I hung up.

Yes I hung up.

I hate doing that. Especially given how much I love sales and how much I respect those in the craft of persuasion and influence.

But it was clear he didn’t want to learn the greatest lesson I could have shared.

“You can do better. You have talent . Quit that job. Take a hike. I can help you secure a better position.  Let me help you.”

If only he had listened.

Cold Calling Resources in Sales Babble

We’ve interviewed a number of people who are EXPERTS at cold calling.  They wouldn’t be caught dead making these kinds of mistakes.  Grow you confidence in sales and listen here!

• Cold Calling Techniques with Stephen Schiffman #8
• Cold Calling Tips using Jill Kontrath’s Agile Selling #18
• Cold Calling Tips from an Employment Recruiter an interview with Jamie Homa #44
• Forget Digital Marketing, Try Cold Calling #25

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Sales Podcast Interview with Jamie Homa

On this Sales Podcast Jamie Homa shares her cold calling tips and selling experiences as an employment recruiter. Jaime is the owner of Jamie Homa Associates an agency that specializes in job placement. Jamie tells us how she became a sales professional and she shares her warm and cold calling tactics and methods for addressing objections. Jamie has a great point of view on what makes for a successful company.

Cold Calling Tips

When Jamie picks up the phone she says the following:

• “Hey guys…. I hear you’re looking for a candidate to do XYZ…”
• “Let me explain who I am and why I’m calling to see if I have what you’re looking for……”

The goal is to get them to respond in some manner.

They may counter this question:

• “We just put in an ad and got 100s of resumes”.
• “We don’t use recruiters”.
• “We’ve had a bad experience with recruiters”.

She knows the objections due too years of experience. She knows what they will say, before she they say it!  Nevertheless she won’t pressure the prospect. Instead she responds:

• “Well I appreciate that. You know…… if you can’t find what you’re looking for,  can I shoot you some info and contact me if you find, over time,  you need me?”

When she’s cold calling,  she doesn’t press. In her mind she’s just trying help. Most people are happy to let her email the information to them. She knows there is a VERY good chance they will call her. Most people who apply for a Career Builder ad are NOT qualified, 99 out of 100 are NOT qualified. But her big cold calling tip is not be pushy, get on their radar and overtime they will reach out to you. Most companies don’t have time to vet candidates.  This is where she adds value.

Sale Coaching for Recruiters

Jamie’s  path to success has been giving great value to her clients. When she sends a candidate to a client she guarantees:

• They are qualified for the position
• Their references check out
• They’re a good fit (she interviews them beforehand)

Business in her mind is founded on:

• Honesty
• Integrity
• Doing the Right Thing

Sales Resources for Recruiters

Jamie Homa and Associates.com

This is Jamie Homa on LinkedIn.

This is the guide containing Interview Questions

Past Podcast Mentioned

This is the link mentioned in the episode. Brad Walker is an expert in enterprise sales and how you selling requires a lot of finesse after the cold call.

How to Win Complex Sales in Technology – an Interview With Brad Walker

Sales Training

Learn Sales in 10 days and grow your business. Check out the Selling With Confidence Sales System for both new and experienced sellers. This is an opportunity for  you to

• Hone your sales skills,
• Beef up your persuasion,
• Grow your influence and
• build relationships with clients for life.

This is not a time to be shy. Share the secret that your business provides the VERY best.

Download the 20 Secrets for Sales Success and make sales!