Some advice for all of the salespeople
As you can imagine, we get a lot of salespeople trying to sell us one thing or another. Pretty much every day of the week our phone rings off of the hook with salespeople trying to sell us everything from hardware servers to recruiting services — and even some folks trying to sell us buildings. It gets tiring after a while to listen to these sales pitches. Each salesperson thinks they are unique in their approach, and some salespeople just don’t know how to take “no” for an answer.
In the past I sold software, so I have some experience in cold-call sales. At the time, I was told that I was a natural at selling, and the numbers seemed to prove that. I financed most of the bill from my last year of college on commissions I had made over the previous summer. That doesn’t make me an expert, but I do have a basic understanding of how to conduct sales in an effective way.
So in that spirit, I offer a list of advice for all of the salespeople who are calling on Punchbowl Software these days:
- Don’t call on the day when company news hits the wires (for example, when we announce funding). This is the worst possible time to call. We’re already busy enough with press and other folks calling us. Rule of thumb: call one week *after* we announce big news. You’re much more likely to have success by waiting.
- Do some basic research on our company’s website. Don’t call the office and ask to speak with the person in charge of hiring .Net or Java developers (we are a Ruby on Rails shop). If you can’t take 3 minutes to do some basic research, don’t waste our time (or yours) with a sales call.
- Take 2 minutes to sign up for a free MyPunchbowl account before you pick up the phone to call. You will be able to start the phone call by saying “I just signed up for a MyPunchbowl account, and I’d like to talk to you about how we can help you.” You’re much more likely to get my attention with this approach (one note: please spare me the over-the-top praise about the site. I’m glad you like it, but it’s not going to impact whether or not we engage with you).
- Don’t call and ask to speak with one of the engineers. Our developers are too busy to take your sales call, and it’s unlikely they will purchase your service anyway. Asking for one of our engineers is a dead giveaway that you’re trying to sell us something that we don’t need.
- Don’t call and ask for the IT Department, Marketing Department, or HR Department. Do some basic research and you’ll quickly learn that we are very small startup and we don’t have departments. The most likely person to answer the phone is me — the CEO.
- Don’t call and ask for one of our remote employees. I understand that you have no idea who works at the office but we’re a very small company, so ask to speak with the CEO.
- Tell me upfront that this is a sales call, and you’re more likely to get my attention. Be ready with the 30 second pitch, and try not to use jargon and buzzwords.
- It’s ok to ask if you can follow up with me in the future, but be willing to take “no” for an answer. I don’t want to waste your time with a lead that is not going to end up in a sale. I hope you will respect my time as well.
- If you engage with one of us, be ready with a trial offer. We’re a startup, so we’re looking for vendors who are willing to stretch to meet our short-term budgetary constraints. If you get our business at this early-stage, we’re likely to grow with you as we have more money to spend.
- Do the proper follow-up by email. Ask me for the best email address for follow-up and I’ll gladly give it to you.
- Don’t bother sending anything by U.S. mail unless it is really unique and interesting. It won’t help convince me to use your services.
- Do not — under any circumstance — come by the office unannounced. It’s inconsiderate and inappropriate, and will ensure that we never use your service. Call (or email) us to see if we would be interested in having a salesperson stop by before you decide to stop by the office.
I’ll keep adding to this list as I think of others. I understand that sales can be a tough and often frustrating job. We’ll do our best to listen to your pitch, but please respect our time. I hope this advice will help anyone who is calling on Punchbowl Software.
