Working Wives & Bachelorettes: Call Me... Maybe?

Sales calls… I HATE sales calls. I HATE sales calls, especially when I am at work, and I have made it VERY clear that my company does not need your business.

For example, months ago (and I mean like March) I downloaded a white paper on social media… I do this a lot, especially if I see a paper on something that sparks my interest, and I download it, print it and save it to read for a rainy day.

Well, within minutes of me downloading this white paper, I have a sales person from the company blowing up my phone. I give them credit – as a marketing and sales person, this was a strategic move. At that point I told him I appreciated his call, but clearly had not read this informational document yet, so I didn’t have any questions. But, I guess I opened the can of worms when I told him to give me a couple weeks, and feel free to follow up later. And he did. Every week since March, I have received a phone call or email “checking in” to see if I have read the white paper yet.

Guess what, it’s September, and I STILL haven’t read your damn white paper. I also haven’t read the six others it is sitting with in a pile! Every week I tell you, “No I haven’t read the paper. I WILL CALL YOU WHEN I DO, if I have any questions.”

But like habitual insanity, I get a call… every.freaking.week. Sometimes more than once a week. In fact, this morning he called TWICE before 9 a.m. Holy shit dude! I am annoyed. In my email replies to him I have noted that I’m not sure my company even needs your service. I basically just downloaded the document for my own educational interest. In 7 months, if you have not yet successfully converted me to a client, you are probably not going to do so. It is probably best for you to focus your energy on prospects that have an interest in your product.

Sales calls are the worst. And I suppose in our personal lives, we have managed to weed them out with the option of Do Not Call Lists and getting rid of home phone numbers. But dear god, please leave me alone at work. But that’s just it… how desperate is this sales guy that he is willing to follow up with me every week for 7 months? The art of sales have changed over the years, as we all know. Email campaigns, viral marketing… and truthfully my company does a lot of this too. But when do you call it quits and throw in the towel on a “prospect?” How much is too much? I would feel awful bothering someone this much. I actually wonder how he feels about his job.

Anyway, I guess what I am trying to say is that day in and day out we are being pushed to buy a product or service. At times so much so that we become numb or annoyed with the situation, which turns us off all together. But what if we are missing out on something awesome, just because we have been turned off by their approach? Sometimes, subtle is better. Less is more. A little goes a long way… etc. Think about it.