You call that a sales call??

Some weird coincidences seem to be happening to me since I started writing this blog, and heres another one. As can be seen here I'm a big fan of the film Boiler Room. One of my favourite scenes is when the main character (who's job it is to sell stocks by cold calling), receives a sales call himself.





After watching this scene as well as the film Glengarry Glen Ross recently I have developed a real interest in sales/salespeople and the language they use. It also got me thinking that the next time I received a sales call I would try and keep them on the line so I could learn more about improving my selling skills. Just yesterday I received a call from an unknown number, and it turned out it was NTL Chorus. This is the company which provides me and my housemates with internet service. They have provided us with excellent service throughout the year, and we have only had one outage, which was solved quickly. So as far as receiving calls go, it was from a company whose service I was happy with and willing to listen to. The following is a transcript of the "sales" call.

Salesman: Hi is this "Fiscal Student"?
Me: Ya it is
Salesman: Hi Fiscal I can see from my file that you have Chorus internet, and I was wondering if you would like phone service?
Me: No thanks
Salesman: oh.....ok......you probably use Skype (internet phone service) or something do you?
Me: ehhh....ya
Salesman: ok bye

I was shocked, much the same as the character in the above clip is, at the poor quality of the sales call. I had watched said clip recently, so I wanted to see how good this guys sales skills were and had hoped to learn, what to say to someone when they don't want your product. But as it turned out this guy was useless and I learned nothing from him. It made me consider again the idea of commission, commission is crucial in the sales industry to ensure that people are attempting to sell to the best of their ability. If this is the length, of the guys calls with a happy customer, who is willing to listen, then I hope for his family's sake that he's not on commission.

I've never worked in telemarketing but I'm amazed at the amount of mistakes this guy made in 4 sentences. The following is an example of how I would of conducted this sales call

Fiscal (working for chorus): Hey John hows it going.*
Customer: fine
Fiscal: My names Fiscal and I'm calling you from Chorus. I'm just checking to make sure that your happy with our current service?
Customer: its ok......I would prefer if ye were cheaper
Fiscal: Thats exactly why I'm calling you. Chorus have just announced a new deal where we bundle phone and internet services together and are **20% cheaper than our competitors.
Customer: Sorry I use Skype
Fiscal: While Skype offer a good service it is only available when you are online and the reception is often poor. For a small extra cost we can ensure that you receive the great service and reliability you have already experienced with our broadband for your telephone needs.
Customer: nah...Im gonna stick with Skype
Fiscal: ok, no problem, if you ever change your mind, remember that you can get Chorus's great service for only ***€9.99 extra a month


* He called me on my mobile so it was obviously me!
**Insert whatever figure relevant here
***Insert whatever figure relevant here

In the second scenario I'm taking a customer who is much less interested than I was. But it's all about the way the questions asked. The sales guy asked me a question which I could say "no" to. The majority of people you cold call are looking for an excuse to get rid of you, so by opening with a question a customer can say no to, he's pretty much ensuring everyone says no! His opener made it obvious he was reading my name from a sheet (and I know he is, but if you want to keep someone on the line you have to personalise it, make them feel bad if they hang up!). And then incredibly he actually offered me an excuse not to buy, he mentioned Skype and I had an easy out. He then hung up promptly, which I think is an action mirrored by anyone this guy calls.

^Update

I have been contemplating whether I was too harsh on this individual. I read an article today though from the last weekends Sunday Tribune which might explain why I'm not being harsh, and also why this type of sales call may be a common occurrence. The article stated that many important sales skills had been lost in Ireland in the last 10 years. Business was so good for everyone that sales people became order takers, and in effect forgot how to sell! What do people think?