Sales isn’t an easy gig. Cold calls can be a pain. But there’s an art to the sales call which involves knowing how to build rapport with a lead. It also involves not calling your lead “stupid.”
Kevin LaFata blogs that he was on the receiving end some telemarketer abuse, courtesy of a man claiming to be the director of Blueprint Web Marketing, a UK-based firm.
The man didn’t state his name, but wanted to speak to the person in charge of the Google AdWords campaign, and seemed rather surprised that that person also answered the phone.
LaFata, who owns the small company too, was polite enough not to seem surprised that the director of Blueprint was making sales calls.
Instead, the real trouble began because of LaFata’s difficulty understanding the British man on the other end. Part of this may have been the accent, but LaFata says “profound” hearing loss is another factor.
When he told the caller he was having a hard time understanding, the caller asked him if he understood English, called him “rude” and “stupid as George Bush.”
Ouch.
At this point in the story, you expect a quip like “needless to say, he lost the sale,” but the caller really didn’t leave time to lose it. He hung up after sending a tongue-lashing across the pond. Had he not hung up so soon, LaFata may have had time to tell him he was being recorded.
You know, for quality assurance purposes. You can listen to the call at LaFata’s blog, and read a transcript at Daiv Russell’s Small Business Marketing blog.
LaFata says Blueprint Marketing called to assure him that the man on the phone was not a director of the company, and they were investigating internally.
