Complacent Selling

I received a call the other day from a very well known CRM company...

The salesperson came on and proudly introduced his company.

My immediate response?

Sales resistance automatically kicked in & I thought -

"This guy is going to product pitch me..."

And that's exactly what happened. 

As a sales trainer I'm fascinated by what works vs what doesn't - it makes me a better coach. 

So here's the lesson...

Wearing your company name as a badge of honour is all about you & achieves very little.

It causes resistance.

It signals to your prospect that you don't really care about them.

And I'll tell you one thing for nothing - no-one is rolling out the red carpet just because your company is a household name...

"John from XYZ!! I was just wondering when you'd call about your cloud-based CRM system...offering a one stop shop solution to streamline my entire workflow. Would you kindly run through all your jargon-heavy features & benefits?"

If anything it gives your prospect a heads-up on what you're going to be selling them on. 

"But it's professional." Some might say 

Define 'professional'...

Is it not someone who gets their job done effectively? So to hinder that objective must be the polar opposite.

Now don't get me wrong, I'm not saying don't ever say your company name. 

But this should only be secondary to a well- honed introduction and reason for calling, which is problem-led and specific to your potential buyer.

Using your company name to lead the conversation turns it into a crutch & causes resistance, doing nothing to improve your skillset or having meaningful conversations. 

If you work for a relatively unknown company it achieves even less...

"I'm calling from ABC company." 

"Sorry who is ABC company?"

- and you're pulled into a product pitch.

Takeaway -

Always lead with the problems you solve in a way your prospect will understand & relate to. 

Your company name is far less relevant than you imagine.

#sales #coldcall #sdr