A Valuable Lesson
- Scott James Purves
- Sep 28, 2021
- 1 min read
I received a call last week from a sales guy trying to pitch me into his event. He got me on the hook by asking some pertinent questions, building great rapport and clearly demonstrating the potential value. It was clear he was relatively junior, and I was impressed by his approach.
We booked a follow up call for the Monday and I was seriously considering moving forward. He emailed me 15 minutes before to tell me his event manager was going to call - obviously to close me. Fine, nothing new there.
From the moment this guy came on the phone I was put off. With disingenuous enthusiasm, he dived straight into how amazing his company was, how they thrived during covid, opened a number of new offices around the world and rammed various growth figures down my throat.
He didn't ask me one question.
His only strategy was to try and upsell me in a clichéd 1980s Wall Street style, which was unsubtle to the point of being insulting. I couldn't get off the phone quickly enough and had lost all motivation to do business. I actually felt bad for the junior guy who made the first call as his manager had, through this approach, lost the deal.
Moral of the story - sales managers should never forget the basics, they need to focus on rapport building then asking more questions to fine-tune the client's needs. This is how they can reaffirm a strong fit, build value further and successfully close deals.
A closing call should never be taken for granted. It is never over the line till the client has signed. #salesconsulting#salescoaching#saleseffectiveness
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