...turns out he was dead. He died 2 years ago.

They bitched me out for calling for him, as he was apparently a very beloved person.

I apologized, then proceeded to ask for someone else to talk to.

Then, I had to go back to jigsaw and update the account. Sadly, when you say someone is no longer a good contact, they call it "putting him in the graveyard".

I had to put a dead guy in the graveyard today.



Back to the salt mines.

1/13/2010 11:51:04 AM

so what are you, a glorified telemarketer or some shit?

1/13/2010 11:52:19 AM

Welcome to sales

1/13/2010 11:54:06 AM

the fuck does it matter what this guy does, listen to his goddamn story.


go on...

1/13/2010 11:54:09 AM

I have no clue about what's going on here...

1/13/2010 11:55:41 AM

and for the record, telemarketing is an essential part of being successful in any outside sales environment.

1/13/2010 11:56:29 AM

Cold Calling is antiquated, but still essential

Nobody lives to make calls, nobody likes to receive calls, buts its one one of the few proven ways to consistently get new business

1/13/2010 12:00:20 PM

and the most efficient

1/13/2010 12:00:50 PM

I'd argue with that

Social media has overtaken the throne in that regard

1/13/2010 12:02:42 PM

You guys are making me feel like I'm the only person that hangs up the phone on salesmen...

1/13/2010 12:03:35 PM

I don't get sales calls

1/13/2010 12:04:23 PM

I hang up on them all the time.

1/13/2010 12:09:42 PM

EMCE you wouldn't hang up on me

1/13/2010 12:10:42 PM

If I don't recognize the number, I hang up as soon as I hear the word "mister."

1/13/2010 12:13:10 PM

That's why I start all my calls with "Listen, asshole"

1/13/2010 12:14:44 PM

lol

inside sales ftw

1/13/2010 12:15:49 PM

I hang up on them so no one wastes any time. I think they appreciate that more anyway.

1/13/2010 12:22:36 PM

Let's revisit this...

I am in a hybrid outside sales/inside sales role.

The money is great and the commission is uncapped. Also, I am in an industry that is booming right now (email marketing) where there is a heavy influence on Social Media.

Cold calls are a necessary evil of my line of work. Phone calls are above email, any social media outlet and just below face to face in terms of getting deals done. You have to call.

The cold calling is strategic in terms of businesses that I feel we as a company can add value. Cold calling in it's old sense (similar to knocking on random doors) is dead. I would agree with that.

This is just a one off experience that I figured some one could relate to.

Carry on.

1/13/2010 1:20:25 PM

I realize this thread is about those who have cold called dead VPs.... which I have not. Hear me out, maybe I can offer some insight.

I am in outside sales, which is currently salary+commission, but will move into straight commission starting at the beginning of July 2010. I have been in this position since July 2009. I have competition from several direct manufacturing sales reps, large distributors, and local distributors. Here are the advantages and disadvantages of each:

Direct Advantages: Immediate knowledge of new technology, no middle man mark up, one shipping bill (paid by manufacturer or buyer of goods), access to larger range of non-commodity items, control inventory, have access to many distributors that can effectively sell their goods which increases market share, and set prices of commodity they manufacture.

Direct disadvantages: Typically have 1-3 sales reps per region (i.e. southeast, mid-atlantic, northeast, etc.) limiting the number of accounts they can successfully manage/cold-call, lack physical customer service or physical technical service available to or affordable for smaller users or altogether, are sometimes not trustworthy because they will go in behind their distributors that sell their commodity to one account in large quantities (i.e. they missed a big account, and have found out about it through a distributor selling their particular product) which leads to the distributor not selling their product anymore, have too many distributors selling the product ultimately driving the set price down through deviations, possibly rely on distributors to actually sell the product, and competition from other direct sources.

Large distributor advantages: have access to other commodities that go hand in hand with other manufacturers (poor example- grocery stores sell milk as well as cereal), get direct pricing, many locations regionally or nationally easing the shipping burden of buyers with multiple locations, personal service either customer or technical, many sales reps that are able to cover a broader territory, access to multiple manufacturers of the same commodity allowing to keep prices in check, service programs that smaller companies can't offer and direct providers can't match in price or value, and experts of many many commodities as opposed to one or a few.

Large distributor disadvantages: smaller local distributors creating price wars (think Michael Scott Paper Co vs Dunder-Mifflin), direct mfg's going in behind and stealing business, limited access to all of the mfg's (you won't find Harris Teeter name brands in Food Lion and visa versa), can't truly set prices because it's based on both supply and demand, territory management, and tough growth prospects in slower economies (this is true for direct as well really)

Local distributor advantages: Typically a good ol' boy setting where the seller and the buyer know each other for years (this does happen at all levels, but mostly at the local level), local folks are right down the street and can be used in emergencies, if the local guy buys at high enough volumes then there is no shipping charge to the end user, and access to both direct mfg's and large distributors.

Local distributor disadvantages: easily beaten in price, array of commodities, array of technology, lack of trained staff, low cash flow, etc etc etc.

This is what I have noticed in my six months, I am sure there are plenty more that need mentioning. The way I am setting myself apart as a sales person is this: I go after the big accounts right now while I am new. The big accounts, if I land them, will take care of me while I am new and building a customer base. The money made off of those allows me to focus free time on smaller accounts that get me higher margins. I build up big accounts, I would like to have 5-10 of these, then get 20-30 medium accounts. If I lose 1 or 2 big accounts, the 20-30 medium accounts keep me afloat while I go after new big accounts. I don't really waste time on small accounts simply because they basically pay for breakfast or something really small.

I will say this, if you can't get a big account in the first 6-8 months (assuming you have cash flow that you can ride this long) you could be in a world of trouble. If you can get one, it will really make going after the others a lot more enjoyable and less stressful. It's simply just very exhausting wasting any time on anything other than big accounts in the very beginning. You work just as hard on the medium sized accounts and see 1/3 to 1/36 of the money in my situation.

If you have any other questions, you can PM me. I hope this helps in the slightest!

1/13/2010 1:22:24 PM

Quote :

"I hang up on them all the time."

1/13/2010 1:23:50 PM

^^ and having been in outside sales for over 6 years, i would advise against this strategy. Don't spend too much time hunting elephants, when there is plenty of low hanging fruit to keep you afloat. Sure you want to go after the big accounts, but they typically take a lot longer to close. Have several of them in your funnel that you contact on a regular basis, but don't let it take time away from the easy sales

that does, however, depend on the industry you are in.

1/13/2010 1:36:49 PM

dj you just got goofed on

1/13/2010 1:38:05 PM

um, ok

1/13/2010 1:38:43 PM

meaning that post has been circulating around here for the last few days

1/13/2010 1:40:10 PM

oic

joke's on me i guess

1/13/2010 1:40:40 PM

I hadn't seen it.

^ And you're right.

Funny thing is, when they start a sales job, they always go after the whales (or elephants) to "prove" themselves. I've seen it happen so many times, I can't count all of them.

The inevitably don't close those deals, get burnt out, and either quit or get fired.

Ahhh, to be in Sales.

1/13/2010 2:33:18 PM

Only 2 more years for me, then I'm done

1/13/2010 2:37:39 PM

our sales team doesn't cold call at all.

i once worked at a company where they did cold call, and those were the worst types of sales guys. Fairly uneducated, pretentious and had an aura of used car salesman about them.

1/13/2010 2:54:55 PM

I use craigslist to find people to cold call

1/13/2010 3:08:41 PM

so you work for a spam company?

1/13/2010 3:24:28 PM

^no, we're the good guys.

The Anti-Spam guys.

Strictly permission based and we police the hell out of it.

1/13/2010 3:25:32 PM

i hate receiving calls from telemarketers at home, i can only imagine how much i would hate if i received them while at work too.

1/13/2010 3:26:55 PM

That's business. As long as you are ethical, it's all fair game.

People get WAY more cold calls at the office than at home, in general.

1/13/2010 3:29:24 PM

Its better at work

Most people hate their jobs

Getting interrupted there is less of a bother

1/13/2010 3:29:49 PM

jesus NRR is failing so much at this thread

so much he doesnt understand

1/13/2010 3:33:10 PM

1/13/2010 3:33:40 PM

Its not his fault

He unclogs toilets for a living

1/13/2010 3:34:53 PM

*for beer money

1/13/2010 3:36:53 PM