Poorly informed sales calls are bad for business

from iamhilarious.com

I share with you today two very embarrassing stories, not because I get pleasure out of doing so, but to prove the value in sales intelligence and doing your research before a business call. Thankfully, neither of these are my own tales of awkward torture so I shall refrain from naming any names. Rest assured though, both prove the advantages in monitoring who you're selling to and making sure you've qualified the value in the call you're making.

Story 1) This story was taken from Sales Pop
An IT sales rep calls a potential client trying to sell a SAP upgrade. He thinks he has all the answers. He is wrong...:

Prospect: "You know what version of SAP we are running?"
Salesman: "Yes I do. You are running ____"
Prospect: "You know what we are planning to upgrade to?"
Salesman: "Yes. To version ____"
Prospect: "Do you know when we plan to do the upgrade?"
Salesman: "Yes I do."
Prospect: "And you know my email ID and direct line as well?"
Salesman: "Yes. I have been trying to reach out to you for 2 months now."
Prospect: "Good job. Now what you need to do is. Erase all that information
you have and don’t call me back, coz we just signed a contract yesterday with another company!!!"

Story 2) Sometimes just cold calling isn't enough. It may be an idea to qualify who you're calling first, to save yourself time more than anything:

Salesman: Have you thought about your companies logistics provider at all?
Prospect: haha, yes.
Salesman: Sorry, did I say something wrong?
Prospect: No, not really. It's just we are a logistics company...

Now of course, the likelihood is (fingers crossed) that you won't face such horrendous phone conversations but knowledge of who you're calling still comes in handy. Saying the wrong name, asking for someone who doesn't work there anymore, or simply failing to acknowledge a key piece of news surrounding that company turns noses up very quickly. Likewise, if you're wasting time selling to people who don't need or want your product you're losing time you could be using to sell to genuinely interested prospects. Knowing who you're selling to is just as important as knowing what you're selling, just ask the two examples above.