There’s an old, very true saying –> “NOTHING happens without a SALE.” What it fails to say is - “But a SALE can’t happen without a PROSPECT!”
And that’s what over 95% of ALL these so called “SALES POSITIONS” really are –> PROSPECTING! Those businesses, for whatever reason, cannot find people to whom they can sell their product or service. So, “they” advertise for “sales” People to do their prospecting for them.
But no matter how fancy the title “they” give the so called “sales” position*, it is still prospecting -> finding someone who may have a NEED for whatever product or service “they” are selling.
- “Brand Ambassador”, “Consultant”, “Account Executive”, “Contract Manager”, “Marketing Specialist”, and many other totally misleading, pretentious titles.
And the primary reason they need Prospectors is that “they” do not have, and/or do not want, to spend the money necessary to find prospects, such as TV, Radio, Newspaper, Magazine, Mail, Referral Incentives, or other traditional prospecting advertisements used by successful companies.
And those who promise ”LEADS” and/or “NO COLD CALLING” are full of you know what. The age old definition of a LEAD is someone responded to an advertisement. A lead is NOT a name on a list of Dentists, or Seniors, or someone who once took a vacation. That is COLD CALLING!
And “they” love to use an old, cheap trick on you, which is called the “take-it-way” –> “they” want YOU to prove to “them” why YOU may be qualified to do “their” prospecting! They’ll tell you the product or service “sells itself”! HOGWASH! If that were true, why do they need you?
To FILTER OUT the BS, I find that if the following data is in the ad, it MIGHT have some truth to it:
- Is it telephone sales or person to person sales?
- Name of their Company.
- Telephone number with extension, if any – I prefer the phone to be answered LIVE and not “hullllooo”!
- Name of Individual to be contacted.
- Description of Product or Service to be prospected and sold.
- Is it working from home or from their facility or in the field.
- The ad is short -> under 400 words
THE FOLLOWING are some of the things I DON’T WANT to hear when responding to a sales ad:
• “They” want US to PAY THEM money up front!
• “They” want US to listen to a long, boring, webinar. That being said, a short (under 7 minutes) fact filled video is OK, but not what I call those typical, “diarrhea of the mouth” ego trips making wild promises using those vague, generalized, ambiguous, WEB SPEAK words!
Now, I’m sure you can add dozens of things you really want and need to hear as well as things you just don’t want to hear, so feel free to call me, John Charles, AFTER 10AM PACIFIC TIME, 6 days, at “Bottom Line Team, Inc.” My mobile is 888-475-1400 (Alternate -> 617-455-7811), again, AFTER 9AM PACIFIC TIME. Any comments are appreciated!!! END #1