As business owners or directors, we have all had it before! That annoying, unwanted, cold sales call.
The phone rings out of the blue and the ‘canny’ sales rep on the end of the phone uses their deceitful techniques to get past the receptionist and through to you.
As soon as they speak, you know that this is a conversation you don’t want to have. It usually starts with the rep playing out the ‘best friend’ routine, and with an overly enthusiastic tone they ask, “How has your day been?”
In today’s pressured workplace, time is tight for all of us and already we are irritated that someone thinks it’s OK to waste some of this precious commodity, but we don’t want to be rude, so we answer, “OK, thanks!”
This polite reply opens the door and gives the salesperson just the opportunity they’ve been waiting for. They launch into their script, designed to trip us up at every stage and keep the conversation open.
Quickly, we try to head them off at the pass, “This isn’t a great time for me!”
A reply comes back along the lines of, “You’re not interested in more business?” or, “You’re not looking to grow your organisation?”, with the tone in which it’s delivered becoming slightly more aggressive.
This ‘back and forth’ battle of wits goes on until all patience is lost and you hang up.
Surely, this tricky salesperson must be thinking there is a better way to approach his or her calls. Hang-up after hang-up can’t be good for morale and it’s certainly not good for business.
If your company is using these or similar tactics to try and generate sales, you need to think again!
Take a look at the basic anatomy of Outbound Sales vs Inbound Sales and make your decision on where your focus should lie. The choice should be easy!
Outbound Sales
Cold
No-one likes cold calls – even cold call salespeople don’t like cold calls. Need I say anymore?
Interruptive
In today’s modern society, we are all becoming experts in filtering out unwanted, interruptive communication, does this approach provide any ROI?
Pressure
Is pressuring someone into a sale really a sound tactic? Surely you will build a better working relationship with someone who actually wants your product or service.
Inbound Sales
Warm
Never make a cold call again! You know about the prospect you are about to call. You know they have been on your website and researching your service. You have built up a case for making the call and done well, they will be looking forward to it!
Choice
By profiling, inbound gives you the power to identify which prospect is a fit for your company and allows you to choose who you want to work with.
Scalable
Once you have defined your inbound sales process, you can measure the results and scale, inline with your targets and growth goals.
If you would like to hear more how basic inbound marketing and sales enablement can have a huge impact on how you generate and convert leads, give us a call, we would love to see if we can help!
