RSW/US Twitter Feed:
- Thanks to Deb Budd, from @secondwindbuzz for the guest post on our ANB blog! http://t.co/1OHDeEXg
- IPO hangover? “Facebook still hasn’t stumbled upon a model that’s proven consistently successful for marketers." http://t.co/DTANzFsE
- Social: "it’s at the point now where marketers need to show results." http://t.co/vj2LmAqL
- Survey: "The top agency concern is client attraction." Keep that new business train rolling! http://t.co/YRLCjXhI
As we alluded to in a prior post, the new business directors here at RSW/US recently attended a very interesting sales training session.
Consider this post a part two of sorts, there were all kinds of takeaways “worth mentioning.” Before the instructor began his class, he warned us that he was not “politically correct,” and so apologized in advance. As one who formerly worked for a professional hockey team, I can tell you, I’ve heard things you typically don’t expect to hear on the job, so I was expecting to hear maybe some four-letter words or a few off-color remarks, but not quite prepared for what followed.
The instructor was providing insights on how to break through with voicemails and get past gate keepers to speak with decision makers – the goal of every sales person. Quite honestly, most of his strategies reminded me of the horror stories you have read about collections calls and he mentioned one in particular, leaving a message either on voice mail or with an admin, stating that you had Mr. Jones’ test results and to please call you back.
Besides being awful and somewhat unethical on it’s own, he went on to say this “strategy” was effective only about 65% of the time for women, but higher for men, and then peppered a few more techniques throughout with a better percentage of male success (with little to no back-up as to why or where this stat came from.)
What’s next? He’s going to suggest I wear a Wonder Bra and mini skirt to all of my sales calls? As I looked around the room of about 50 people, half were easily women; hard-working, professional women who were there because like our male counterparts, we were committed to increasing our sales and improving the bottom lines for our companies.
At the end of the training, I wanted to ask him if I could have 35% of my “tuition” returned since his techniques are only effective for me and my female colleagues 65% of the time.
What this trainer failed to realize and what all GOOD sales people should ALWAYS realize is KNOW YOUR AUDIENCE. You had to be there for the full effect, but this man was clearly ill-prepared to help women in sales.
Half of today’s work force is women. If you are going to present yourself as a “sales expert,” shouldn’t you be able to help women as much as men? Clearly this trainer does not have a clue about his target audience and that’s a problem many sales people have.
One of the biggest complaints marketers have is that agencies “don’t understand their business.” If you are representing your agency as an “expert” in that prospect’s sector, you have got to understand the ins and outs of his/her company and industry.Obviously you won’t know every intimate detail, but take the time to read some industry publications, do a quick Google search to see if you can find information about that prospect’s company or the prospect’s LinkedIn bio.
Be informed, be knowledgeable and demonstrate to your prospect that you get his/her business before you even think about opening up that laptop with your portfolio of past work. You don’t want to come across as clueless as this “expert” did and alienate a room full of potential clients.
I want my money back
