Cold calling sales people
Cold calling sales people
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Sixpackpert

Original Poster:

5,325 posts

244 months

Friday 31st October 2008
quotequote all
There I was sat in the office, busy as usual, engrossed in what I was doing when i heard the front door open. In walks a rep from BT. Ours is a family business and Mother sits nearest the door. I am about 10 feet away in the same office and Dad is in the next office with his door open as usual.

Rep: Can I talk to the person who looks after your marketing please?

Mother: What's it regarding.

Rep: Advertising in the Phone Book and our website.

<I start shaking my head>

Mother: No, I'm afraid he's busy.

Rep: Well it's only to make an appointment so I can come back at a more convenient time.

<Me still shaking my head>

Mother: No, really we aren't interested.

Rep: But it will help to increase your sales and get those phones ringing!

Me: Really we aren't interested.

Rep: And do you deal with the marketing?

Me: Yes I do and we are not interested and I am very busy at the moment.

Rep: But having a good advert in the book will increase your sales, that's a good thing isn't it?

Me: We do not do direct marketing so I am not interested thank you very much.

Rep: What is it you do here?

Me: We sell through a distributor network and so do not require your services, now I am very busy and not interested so do you mind leaving please.

Rep: And do you have a website.

<I am starting to get rather annoyed now>

Me: Yes and it's a tool for our distributors to use, we do not sell direct and so are not interested, now do you mind leaving please!

<Mother has now opened the door behind him>

Rep: Well there is no need to be rude.

Me: I have told you numerous times that we are not interested and asked you to leave, now will you please leave I am very busy!

<Starts to back out the door muttering and gets half way down the path>

Me: Do you mind shutting the door behind you please?

Rep: She opened it.

I then get up and shut the door whilst stating that he is an arrogant tt (not cleaver as I had been quite polite up until then). He swings round and comes stomping up the path and opens the door.

Rep: What did you just call me?

Me: Arrogant.

Rep: Is it because of my colour? (He was black) It is isn't it? I've had this all morning, is it something about Stroud?

<Both myself and Mother look to the ceiling>

Me: No it's nothing to do with your colour, it's the fact that I had asked you to leave countless times and you did not. It is the fact that you are not a very good sales person.

Rep: I want your name I am going to report you.

Me: For what?

Rep: Abusive language.

<My Dad (Managing Director) stomps through>

Dad: Please leave, you have been told we are not interested and asked to leave many times now kindly remove yourself from our property.

Rep: I want his name <pointing at me>

Dad: I want your name, can you uncover your badge please?

Rep: I'm going to report this to your head office.

Dad: Can I have your name please as I would like to report you to your superiors.

Rep: Where's your head office?

Dad: Germany, what is your name please?

<Rep walks off>

Sorry it's so long but I couldn't believe this guy. How many times should I have to say we are not interested?? I don't mind it on the phone as I can easily hang up or leave it on speaker but when he's stood in the middle of our office getting arsey because we will not give him an appointment. tt.

And breathe.

Republik

4,525 posts

220 months

Friday 31st October 2008
quotequote all
Racist wink

Just kidding, he sounds like a tt.

largerandrock

652 posts

234 months

Friday 31st October 2008
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One word for these kind of salesman

C NT!

507bhp

7,192 posts

217 months

Friday 31st October 2008
quotequote all
Iz it cos I iz black?

8Ace

2,836 posts

228 months

Friday 31st October 2008
quotequote all
Jesus. You don't want to buy what I'm selling, so I'm going to report you. What a tt. Beautiful use of the race card too.

Should have replied: If it was because of your colour I'd have callled you a [removed on legal advice], but I didn't, so it's not.



madrob6

3,594 posts

250 months

Friday 31st October 2008
quotequote all
That's how to make a sale, be overly pushy and piss off the person you're 'pitching' to.

Did you ever get his name?

Sixpackpert

Original Poster:

5,325 posts

244 months

Friday 31st October 2008
quotequote all
madrob6 said:
That's how to make a sale, be overly pushy and piss off the person you're 'pitching' to.

Did you ever get his name?
Funnily enough no, his books and sales guff were obscuring it quite nicely.

Taita

8,000 posts

233 months

Friday 31st October 2008
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Punch him, then say it was reasonable force. Get the parents to back you up wink

MentalSarcasm

6,083 posts

241 months

Friday 31st October 2008
quotequote all
Even if you didn't get his name you can still report him, phone up the company and explain that one of their sales people became very pushy and refused to leave even though you asked politely several times. If you say what part of the city you're in and what time it happened they can probably work out who is was (I would think all the sales people are given a particular area to travel around each day).

Dizi

1,053 posts

219 months

Friday 31st October 2008
quotequote all
<flame suit on>

I cold call myself (over the phone) as part of my job in pre sales but that is just ridiculous!! There are far too many ppl out there that think they can simply steam roller individuals into something they are not interested in. At the end of the day, cold calling is a numbers game, if you get someone at the right time and they are happy to listen, then sell till you hearts content, otherwise they will not be interested. Surely this is just common sense?

<flame suit off>

Unfortunately sales as a whole seems to attract a certain wideboy character, seems there is little room left for a genuinly consultative sales person like myself! I've sat through countless training sessions with boiler room type individuals spewing forth the apparent benefits of overcoming objections, and it really infuriates me, if there is no genuine interest then that is that - to quote Nicki Shakespear - FACT. biggrin It's down to the sales indivual to identify truely worthwhile opportunities.

Good business is done through referral and reputation, I beleive that although cold calling can turn up some genuine opportunities, it is only one of many methods. And when you have idiots like that doing it, it hardly projects a good image of your business!!!!!

Sorry, bit of a piss boiler for me!


Mc Lovin

5,588 posts

251 months

Friday 31st October 2008
quotequote all
what a total prick, do you want to buy any advertising in the wales 6nations programmes? hehe

Sixpackpert

Original Poster:

5,325 posts

244 months

Friday 31st October 2008
quotequote all
Dizi said:
And when you have idiots like that doing it, it hardly projects a good image of your business!!!!!
To be fair as he works for BT he can't make the image any worse!

He then decided to leave his car in front of our shutters while he toured the rest of the estate. I duly opened the shutters, drove the forklift out, past his car and parked it behind his car. I then shut the shutters and went back to work. It was funny watching him do a 25 point turn to get his car out.

Dolf

487 posts

243 months

Friday 31st October 2008
quotequote all
MentalSarcasm said:
Even if you didn't get his name you can still report him, phone up the company and explain that one of their sales people became very pushy and refused to leave even though you asked politely several times. If you say what part of the city you're in and what time it happened they can probably work out who is was (I would think all the sales people are given a particular area to travel around each day).
"Sure Sir, Can I make an appointment and come and see you?"

...same guy turns up...

eek

dickbastardly

450 posts

238 months

Friday 31st October 2008
quotequote all
see i was with you untill you said you were from Stroud!!! I know its just the other side of the swomp from me but they are strange there!! laugh
only place i know where you can get your car serviced and your banjo tuned at the same place!!nuts
Andy

Mc Lovin

5,588 posts

251 months

Friday 31st October 2008
quotequote all
dickbdly said:
see i was with you untill you said you were from Stroud!!! I know its just the other side of the swomp from me but they are strange there!! laugh
only place i know where you can get your car serviced and your banjo tuned at the same place!!nuts
Andy
True my father lived in Stroud breifly, i have never seen so many wrong people in one place before in my life!

Sixpackpert

Original Poster:

5,325 posts

244 months

Friday 31st October 2008
quotequote all
Mc Lovin said:
dickbdly said:
see i was with you untill you said you were from Stroud!!! I know its just the other side of the swomp from me but they are strange there!! laugh
only place i know where you can get your car serviced and your banjo tuned at the same place!!nuts
Andy
True my father lived in Stroud breifly, i have never seen so many wrong people in one place before in my life!
Oi, were not wrong, just pleasantly different.

Mc Lovin

5,588 posts

251 months

Friday 31st October 2008
quotequote all
Sixpackpert said:
Mc Lovin said:
dickbdly said:
see i was with you untill you said you were from Stroud!!! I know its just the other side of the swomp from me but they are strange there!! laugh
only place i know where you can get your car serviced and your banjo tuned at the same place!!nuts
Andy
True my father lived in Stroud breifly, i have never seen so many wrong people in one place before in my life!
Oi, were not wrong, just pleasantly different.
rofl

mrobertshaw

2,187 posts

260 months

Friday 31st October 2008
quotequote all
Are you sure this Twonk didn't really work for a telephone company (speak speak). Had a pillock similar to yours standing on my doorstep earlier.

COnversation wen't something like this

him- Hi, can I ask who your broadband and telephone is with?
Me- BT and Be
Him- BT! Oh my god, do you know how expensive that is.
Me- Yes I pay the bills...
Him- Speak speak will do your line rental and broadband for £20.
Me- Not interested
Him It's faster than your interent now!
Me- Doubt it I'm on 16 meg, how fast is yours then.
Him -8 meg, 8 meg is its it's physically possible to get through a bt phone line.
Me- no it's not
Him- yes it is
Me- Isn't!
Him- BE are lying to you you cant get more than 8 meg.
Me- numerous websites confirm that my speed is 16 meg, I'll get my laptop and show you.
Him- Be own all the speed checking websites and they give false readings on purpose.
Me- Your full of st! Bye!


WHere do they get these blatant liers? They make it up as they go along. I think they should make knocking on doors to sell illegal without prior appointment, cold calling on the phone as well. If I wanted to change my internet service provider I'd go and do it. I don't need some nobber in £20 suit pestering me.

Edited by mrobertshaw on Friday 31st October 15:24

spitfire-ian

4,231 posts

258 months

Friday 31st October 2008
quotequote all
As an ex-Stroudy I think I'm qualified to say that there are some 'characters' in the valleys biggrin

I went to college in Cheltenham and there was a coloured guy on the course who immediately thought I'd be racist because I came from Stroud.

gti-ted

1,029 posts

239 months

Friday 31st October 2008
quotequote all
DRAG HIM IN THE CELLAR AND BEAT THE fkING st OUT OF THE fkING SCROTE

Oh just me that's having an off day then