Help me be a better salesperson.......

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
1

I have, since I was a young child and was traumatized when I got a wrong number once (what can I say, I was a sensitive kid) hated calling people I don’t know or only barely know on the phone.

Fast forward to today. I still am not exactly comfortable with it but I force myself because it is how I must conduct business to a certain extent. I find myself frequently calling restaurants, nightclubs, agencies, party planners, etc. and trying to get work for my band.

Sometimes my cold calls are successful, sometimes not.

Like today for instance. I first talked to this guy about three weeks ago. I found out that the restaurant he manages might be having live music and wanted to get my foot in the door before anyone else got the gig. The other restaurant bearing the same name employs a group playing a similar style of music so I thought I’d be a good fit.

So, I called, talked to him, sent him my promo package and an e-mail link to my web site. It’s all very spiffy looking. Professional. I asked him when I could call back to follow up. He indicated he was going on vacation and told me what day it would be convenient for me to call back. I called on that day and he was with the owner talking about the entertainment and could I call back on Monday. Fast forward to today. I call (I am very conscious never to call during lunch hour, happy hour or dinner and try to call in the morning or mid afternoon when the restaurant is not likely to be slammed) he picks up the phone.

Me: Good afternoon X, this is Velvet Jones, how are you?
X: I’m find how are you?
Me: I’m doing great. I’m calling because when we talked last week you said you might be making a decision regarding entertainment this week.
X: Yes, I’ve talked to the owner and we’re looking at the numbers from our other location to see if it’s financially successful before we make a final decision. Should be later this week.

(At this point I’m getting a heavy I’m ready to hang up the phone now vibe)

Me: OK, great. Can I call you later this week and see what decision has been made?

X: Tell you what, I’ll call you.

(Once again heavy get off the phone now vibe)

Me: OK, thanks for your time.

X: click

Mostly what I got from all of my conversations with him was a heavy “why are you bothering me” vibe. Maybe I’m overly sensitive.

I sit here wondering what I could have done differently to make this conversation more successful. At this point I don’t know if he listened to my stuff, if he’s actually considering my group and I can almost guarantee that he won’t call me.

I’m frustrated. Help me Dopers. I need to be a better salesperson.

Where did I go wrong?

2

I am a sales person and I spend a large part of my day making cold calls. It’s a royal pain in the ass.

Here is what I suggest.

Ask questions about the place. What kind of dinners are they trying to attract, what types of music do they think those dinners would appreciate. How much is dinner for 2 there? This will also let you know if they have no clue as to what they are doing and should be avoided.

He is giving you the brush off. You need to endear yourself to the guy, get him to like you. He would be more likely to give the gig to a friend than a stranger, make him your friend!

That is sales 101.

Barrels

3

Barrels is right. I am not in sales, but I do buy stuff for the company I work for. Simply liking the salesperson makes a big difference. Even when I know they are being my friend on purpose, I still tend to buy from them.

In the example you gave, the guy was going on vacation. At that point you could ask if he was going somewhere special, and try to chat a bit about his plans. Then, make a note for yourself about what he said. When you call back, you have something fun to talk about.

Here’s a big one for me: Be honest. I get tons of calls from people who promise me the world. I don’t buy from them.

Keep checking in with people. Tell them you still want to work with them. Do it in person if you can. Go to the place and have a drink. Chat with the bartenders. Don’t be a pain in the ass, but don’t slink away either. I’ve started relationships with new vendors simply because they happened to stop in on a day that I had a problem that they could fix.

4

Thanks. Good advice all.

I just have such a hard time talking on the phone to these people. They can’t wait to get me off the phone but I really can’t wait to get off the phone either. That’s the biggest part of my problem. I’m going to work on that. Maybe I can practice on my husband.

5

I’ve been doing a fair bit of reading on how to sell (and communicate in general) better and have had the following two pieces of information drilled into my head from almost every piece of literature on the subject that I’ve been able to read so far.

  1. Meet their need. No one cares what you want to do. If you want results, start and finish by addressing their needs and what you can do to meet them.

  2. Be honest, confident and enthusiastic. Do this regardless of the tone they take with you.

I’ve read a lot of WTF articles and books on the subject, but The Little Red Book of Selling is a pretty good read and I’ve recently started on How to Win Friends and Influence People, which I can’t believe I haven’t touched until now.

Now if only I can find The Little Red Book of World Domination and How to Win Planets and Establish Global Leadership, I’ll be in business. :smiley:

6

Lemme give you a perspective from the other end. If I were to tell a salesguy something like Barrels describes on his second or third call, it’s almost certainly the truth - I just don’t have enough information yet to give you a conclusive answer. If it’s your first call to me, and I ain’t interested, I’m likely to give you a brush off. But not if we’ve talked previously and I promised you an answer to something.

In addition, if a salesguy, whether on his first call, or any other, is trying to chat me up at any length, I’m gonna get a bit annoyed. I don’t have a whole lot of time to socialize with folks over the phone that I don’t know. Plus, if there’s something I think you need to know, I’ll volunteer it. I don’t care for inquisitive salespeople.

7

Here you go. http://www.terebess.hu/english/mao.html

8

I guess I’m different. I deal with some contractors at my work. I’ve always liked and remembered the ones that called or stopped by just to bs. I’m so use to the seller pitching that I don’t even care what they say most of the time. All I really care about is the bid. A good personality will make me lean towards one person over the other.

9

I borrowed them from Winston… might have 'em around here… roots around in handbag

10

Would showing up in person to make your pitch help? It’s much easier to brush off or say no to an anon voice on the phone that it is to a person standing right in front of you.

11

I thought that only a small percentage of cold calls were successful anyway.

Hopefully if your advertising and word-of-mouth about your band starts bringing in leads, you won’t need to cold call so much.

12

You know my mom always says meet them in person. That it’s more effective than a phone call and she may be right. We’ve had equal success with both techniques.

gleeThis area is fairly competetive in terms of musicians and it’s also a younger crowd in terms of clientele so there are few places that want a :ahem: mature jazz band. We’re getting more and more exposure and name recognition but it’s an uphill battle. Hell, it’s an uphill battle for everyone.

Thanks Malkavia I’ll look into both of those books.

I’ve always been basically shy (so of course I decided it would be a good idea to front a band :rolleyes: ) so all of this is a stretch and a struggle for me and yet I’m the only one in the group willing to do it and since the group has my name on it I guess I’m elected.

Thank you all for your input. I’m taking all of your suggestions to heart.

13

Any chance of a item about your band in the local paper? I know it depends heavily on where you live, but most journalists are pleased to receive some news.

Obviously you’ll need some sort of storyline - has you band been together long enough to celebrate an anniversary, or do you have interesting day jobs?