Telephone Sales

Admin Gal received a call from a company that specialized in 'College Recruitment'.

Education is absolutely important. Trawling for customers via cold calling, not so productive.

Just saying.

Soliciting...

Admin Gal recognizes that the world is turning, companies are struggling to drum up new business.  She receives dozens of cold calls during week of products that will better the bottom line, provide outsourcing services that will save the company and make us heroes (not), or have the next best widget in the universe.

What Admin Gal sincerely dislikes are sales people who call with the sole intention of annoying her.  Aside from their actual existence, no sales person should annoy Admin Gal or any other person on her staff.

Today's winner in the 'Uber Annoyance' category is a repeat caller.  This individual sole goal was/is/will be to speak directly with my boss.  I have indicated numerous times our specific process for handling these requests. After repeating the instructions three separate times in one conversation, Admin Gal asked the individual to repeat back what had been said.  What did the individual do?  'I can't tell you specifics, only Mr. XXXX.'

ARRRRRRGGGGHHH!!!!

No reference to the instructions Admin Gal had given were acknowledged.  Finally, Admin Gal said (in clear and concise language), "Do not call back.  We are not interested."

Admin Gal is positive there will be another call in approximately 3 weeks.

Admin Gal is Annoyed...

by the machinations of persistent sales people.  Honestly, you'd think after giving them clear and precise directions of how your company accepts their information, they would be grateful.

Instead, Admin Gal finds herself besieged by the peppering calls of salespeople who are hoping and praying that the boss will pick up the phone on a number he doesn't recognize.  

Seriously? 

Were these people born in the cabbage patch?

Admin Gal's job is simple, get the information, direct it to the correct person and get on with her day. Sales people have become the static that you can't drown out of the stereo system.

Sales Call Fail #2

Admin Gal:  Thank you for calling ABC Company, how may I assist you?
Persistent Sales Guy: I'm calling for Mr. X.
Admin Gal: Whom may I say is calling?
Persistent Sales Guy:  He knows who I am, it is on a need to know basis.
Dear readers, after uncurling her fingers from her cracked telephone receiver Admin Gal replies.
Admin Gal: I need to know as I let Mr. X know who is calling.
Persistent Sales Guy: No, you don't. You are only the admin.
CLICK!
oops!

Admin Gal has Failed

Admin Gal was bamboozled, snookered, beguiled, and hoodwinked by an evil rotten scoundrel of a sales person.

She had noticed a proliferation of calls from a certain organization.  Her caller ID would not register a number just a company name.  This time the caller ID came in through the company tree.  The sales person provided just enough legitimate information.

Admin Gal prides herself on being able to sort through the dross and know my legitimate callers.

Admin Gal has failed in her front line duties to block the evil phisher of information.

sigh

Sales Call Fail #1

Admin:   Good Afternoon, thank you for calling ABC Company, how may I help you?

Sales Person:  I'd like to speak with Mr. XXXX.

Admin: I'm sorry he is unavailable, may I take a message?

Sales Person: If he is unavailable, no. Click

Admin Gal as a few pithy remarks about this brief yet memorable conversation. 

Her boss is never available on first blush to a stranger.  If you don't leave a message, Admin Gal PROMISES he will never ever be available to you.  

The arrogance of assumption that you are able to speak to a ranking executive in a Fortune 500 company based on a cold call, tells Admin Gal that you have an elevated sense of importance.  She'll be happy to send you crashing back to earth.  Painfully or politely is entirely your choice.

Asking the best way to contact the executive WILL win points in Admin Gal's eyes and might get you in the door.  

Voice Mail Etiquette

Have you ever gotten a voice mail that has exceeded the time on the voice mail system and the caller has called back to call AGAIN?  Admin Gal has twice - on a Monday - before 8am.

A voice mail is a simple finite message.  It should include 3 things:

1. Your name
2. Your method of contact 
3. A BRIEF message with pertinent facts.

No more and no less.

Exceeding the 90 second space allotted on your voice message with your resume, your sales qualifications, content that should go into an email but you are too lazy to type and you know the admin will have the privilege of transcribing your rambling, is NOT appropriate.  Adding insult to injury, creating another voice mail that will fall in front of the old one, therefore out of sync, just annoys the admin.  Your messages will then end up in the our phone system has been acting up lately file (oops!).

If you can please apply the simple and finite rules listed above will ensure your message reaching the appropriate person.

BEEEEP!

How RUDE!

Earning an income is a simple equation:
Work x Application = Income
This isn't rocket science (unless of course you are a rocket scientist, then it's a whole other ball of wax).
Admin Gal has an ax to grind with Sales People.
Admin Gal gets the fact that sales people need to make a living.  If they are respectful of her, she will do what she can to get them to the right people to open a dialog.  No, sales people do NOT need to speak to the top of the totem pole at the first swing.  Let me get you to the correct person.
DO NOT call incessantly hoping, beyond hope, to catch Admin Gal's boss on the phone when she is 'off duty'.  It isn't going to happen.

A - Admin Gal's boss won't pick up a number he doesn't recognize.

B - Breathing heavy then hanging up is just plain RUDE.

C - Just do what Admin Gal has asked you to do.