Ah the ancient sales ritual of hemming and hawing (aka pissing and moaning) about the prospect who isn't calling us back.
Unfortunately I've been there many times and it definitely isn't fun, but I'm just curious
Why do we act so shocked and even offended when we don't get the call back?
Are they bound by some "good manners" code of conduct whereby they must hear us out otherwise they defile the sanctity of everything good and holy?
Or better yet . . .
What makes us think we're so special that they have us on the brain?
But it doesn't stop there . . .
In some cases we just continue with the same, identical activity that got us the non response or better yet, we increase the frequency of the activity to the point of pissing off the prospect.
Or maybe we just continue to vent about it. That can be OK until it consumes us.
I've even seen sales people blog and tweet about specific people who aren't giving them the courtesy of a call back. It always amazes me how people will treat social media as some private "dear diary" thing when in fact all this stuff is quite public and quite searchable.
And before I conclude this portion of my rant, I think this is particularly dumb considering that most prospects will google you and or pull up your Linkedin profile. Do you think it makes them feel warm and fuzzy seeing a blog post or Tweet that basically calls them an ass for not returning your call? Think dude!
So what's an aspiring sales rock star to do?
1) Stop with this call back entitlement crap. You knew damn well when you went into sales that this is part of the deal. Get over it and use that energy to get more strategic in your approach. Psst . . . your coworkers will thank you too!
2) Take a good look at your messaging. Is your message compelling? How compelling? Compelling enough to stand out from the 40+ voice mails, 100 + emails they get each day? But it doesn't end there dude . . . the average person is exposed to over 3,000 ads per day (Fast Company Magazine) That same person is interrupted 56 times per day according to Wendy Cole at Time Magazine. Are you compelling enough to pull an "Indiana Jones" through that crazy obstacle course?
3) While you're taking a look at your messaging . . . are you saying the same thing, every single time? Might want to rethink that. If I'm your prospect and I know that you say the same, identical thing each time, why would I expend the extra 10 seconds to hear the rest of your message? Been there, done that because you've conditioned me to move on.
4) Take a good look at how you message them. Are you just leaving a message? Are you just emailing? What if that isn't their preferred communication venue? And don't kid yourself into thinking you are using a well thought out "sales mix" just because you call and email. What about snail mail? How about emailing through a social networking platform (there's a higher open rate). How about something creative? How about using your network for an introduction? How about physically dropping something off?
5) Cool down/heat up: This is one of the hardest things for us to do in sales. We seem to be more comfortable either deleting the contact after a few attempts or getting ultra competitive and going overkill on the amount of contacts within a short time period. Sometimes, you are much better off letting it cool down a bit, stepping back, rethinking your strategy and then heating it up again later. An added benefit to that approach is that you get to cool down a bit too and lose some of the "but they owe me a call back" thing.
Any who, if Call Back Entitlement Syndrome has shown its face to you, or someone you love . . . it might be time for you to do something more productive with that energy!