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 Message Boards » » sales question? need advice Page [1]  
sneakuz
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scenario: have placed numerous calls and have left numerous voicemails with a prospect in order to secure 20 minutes for a presentation whether in phone or in person.

obviously have had no success in him calling me back at all. now i am thinking of sending an email to secure a meeting, and realize that i have never gone about doing this over email.

anybody ever successfully secure a meeting over email with a cold prospect? if so, what did you say?

2/18/2009 7:10:50 PM

erice85
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if they havent bit on your phone calls and voicemails an email is prob a waste of time

but good luck

2/18/2009 7:12:13 PM

djeternal
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I've been in sales for over 5 years. In my experience e-mails are hit or miss. On a rare occasion you may get someone to commit via e-mail because they just prefer to use e-mail instead of the phone, but like I said, it's rare. Have you tried going by there in person? Is that even an option, or is it an out of state type of deal? Whenever I can't reach a prospect on the phone I drop in there. It is a lot harder to ignore someone that is standing in your lobby rather than someone leaving you voicemails or e-mails.

[Edited on February 18, 2009 at 7:14 PM. Reason : blah]

2/18/2009 7:13:39 PM

ScHpEnXeL
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Might as well follow up with an email. At least he'll get all of your contact information in writing and it'll still (probably) be there if he ever does need you unlike a voicemail which everybody deletes as soon as they hear it isn't something they want. Or at least I do

2/18/2009 7:14:05 PM

erice85
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dropping in there def would be best route, if possible

2/18/2009 7:15:21 PM

djeternal
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However, let me follow up with this. DO NOT GIVE UP. Leave that nigga a voicemail every other day if you have to. A pretty large portion of my appointments have come because of my persistence. I love when I get the "OK OK OK, will you stop calling me if I give you 20 minutes?"

2/18/2009 7:16:13 PM

NeuseRvrRat
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i hate salesmen

2/18/2009 7:17:33 PM

djeternal
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without salesmen, you wouldn't have a job

2/18/2009 7:17:48 PM

sneakuz
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he is out of state. i def will continue to follow up by phone, and would prefer keep doing this. my boss wants me to shoot him an email. i agree that the chances of success are much lower

2/18/2009 7:18:09 PM

NeuseRvrRat
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Quote :
"without salesmen, you wouldn't have a job"


yeah, all those salesmen cold calling people to see if they wanna buy some electricity

2/18/2009 7:20:03 PM

djeternal
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an e-mail definitely wouldn't hurt. like I said, some people do business SOLELY through e-mail these days.

is this a target account for you? by this I mean, is this an "elephant" or a potential big pay day? I always rank my prospects in order of the size of the deal. the bigger the deal, the more often I call. don't put too much effort into the small fish.

Quote :
"yeah, all those salesmen cold calling people to see if they wanna buy some electricity"


No, I mean everything in your workplace that makes your job easier was supplied by a salesman at some point. Everything from your copy machine to the fucking paper you put in it, to the soap and toilet paper in the bathroom.

[Edited on February 18, 2009 at 7:22 PM. Reason : a]

2/18/2009 7:20:35 PM

Tiberius
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^ omg I hate salespeople like that!1 I don't need to fuckin' talk to a salesperson, I know what I'm trying to order, all I want to know is if you're going to give me the lowest rate. If not, quit fucking calling and wasting my time

When feeling out competitors for a product or service I go with whoever has the least pushy salespeople and the most upfront pricing structure, all else being equal. To me that implies they are a wholesale operation and they cut salespeople out of the picture to drive costs lower. Sometimes I err on the side of simple pricing structures over lower (theoretical) cost, due to the possibility of hidden costs negating the advantage.

I would definitely send him an e-mail. I personally only do business via phone or in person if I can't avoid it, e-mail and IM are strongly preferred.

[Edited on February 18, 2009 at 7:24 PM. Reason : lulz]

2/18/2009 7:22:28 PM

djeternal
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being persistent IN NO WAY is the same as being pushy. if you have confidence that you have the right solution and the right pricing, why not be persistent when trying for an appointment? In other words, how would you even know that I have the PERFECT solution at the PERFECT price if you don't even give me 20 minutes to show you what I got?

[Edited on February 18, 2009 at 7:24 PM. Reason : a]

2/18/2009 7:23:26 PM

NeuseRvrRat
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yeah, you're right. without a salesman we never would've went out and got the damn supplies we needed on our own.

all i know is that the salesmen i've dealt with are always misleading. they'll never give you the whole story or cons of their product.

2/18/2009 7:24:06 PM

djeternal
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yes, there are definitely shitty sales reps out there. and it makes it REALLY hard for those of us trying to earn an honest living with our customers' best interests in mind

2/18/2009 7:25:16 PM

mdozer73
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i would certainly send him an email.

i deal with salesmen regularly and i prefer the ones that email vs. the ones that call me. I can answer an email at my convenience, but most of the time, i am too busy for your phone call (unless i called you first)

2/18/2009 7:25:39 PM

Tiberius
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I prefer to do my own market research, rather than have it spoonfed to me by a salesman who is strongly motivated by personal interest to neglect negative details and avoid direct comparisons to competitors superior offerings

I don't believe in an honest salesman, basically, but if you have something even resembling ethics it's a start

I am not trying to criticize you personally with this, by the way. Or at least, I don't want to be, but I think some of it came across that way. All I'm really trying to say is that I'm bothered by the persistence of some salsepeople in response to my attempts to compare and contrast offerings ;-P

[Edited on February 18, 2009 at 7:31 PM. Reason : LULZ]

2/18/2009 7:26:47 PM

khcadwal
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but are all sales people paid by/with/on/whatever the correct word is commission?

if not, wouldn't they be less personally motivated?

2/18/2009 7:27:39 PM

djeternal
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again, you have obviously dealt with shitty reps. I prefer to point out the negative aspects of my product up front, and I NEVER bash my competition. NEVER. Like I said, being in sales for several years you learn that honesty is truly the best policy. And bashing the competition just destroys your credibility.

^ I have always been base salary + commission. and I have always been able to live on my base salary alone. the commission is usually just my toy money.

[Edited on February 18, 2009 at 7:29 PM. Reason : a]

2/18/2009 7:28:51 PM

mdozer73
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no, there are some salesmen that are salaried with tiered commissions.

there are all kinds of performance structures for sales positions. technically, i am in a sales position, but i am salary (construction estimator) and i do not have to make "sales calls"

2/18/2009 7:29:38 PM

thegoodlife3
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2/18/2009 7:30:52 PM

djeternal
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The job I am currently in the final stages of interviewing for is $40k base salary plus commissions. If I do the bare minimum I should expect to make around $75k in my first year. On top of that the car package is phenomenal. I get $350 a month for my car payement, $50 a month for oil changes and maintenence, full gas reimbursement, and they put me on the company car insurance. So basically I will be driving a free vehicle.

2/19/2009 10:01:52 AM

Stimwalt
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^ sounds pretty epic

Cold calling sucks. I'd get a new job, lol.

2/19/2009 10:05:40 AM

djeternal
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I really enjoy face-to-face cold calling actually, which is primarily what this new job will be. I HATE cold-calling on the phone, but it's a necessary evil in most sales jobs.

2/19/2009 10:08:34 AM

iphotou
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Hate salespersons? I have news for you: we are all salespersons.

The Doctor must sell you on taking the medicines and taking care of your health.
The Actor must sell you on the role they are portraying.
The Grocery Store checkout clerk must sell you that they are ringing up your order accurately.

etc.

2/19/2009 10:10:04 AM

Aficionado
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^ yeah, well i dont know what you are selling, but it must not be worth anything given the quality of your "models"

2/19/2009 10:14:09 AM

Skack
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We've got some real Zig Ziglars in here.

2/19/2009 11:20:07 AM

sglazier
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^^^troof

2/19/2009 12:46:28 PM

djeternal
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Quote :
"yes, there are definitely shitty sales reps out there. and it makes it REALLY hard for those of us trying to earn an honest living with our customers' best interests in mind"

2/19/2009 1:04:56 PM

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