Business Development: What NOT to do (4 cardinal sins)

I recently received a cold-call from a saleswoman, trying to sell me advertising space in a yearly book, which is distributed throughout the N.H.S (a key client for me). Her product was of interest to me, it has some useful 'add-on features', and the pricing is right.

But the positives end there ...

1) She talked too much

She talked SO much, that I was able to walk to the post-office, purchase some stamps, post the letters and walk back and she was still talking... and I'd barely said anything!

2) She repeated herself

What she did say could have been whittled down into a sharp introduction of a few minutes, rather than the lengthy preamble, in which she repeated herself on several points.

3) She didn't pick up on my buying personality or timing

When I was finally able to say something, it should have been obvious that my buying personality is skeptical, particularly with cold-callers. As a result of my buying personality, I will need convincing from various angles and not just on the phone. I will want to review the company, talk with some of my existing contacts to ensure that they really do receive this annual book, and also check out the social media presence of the publisher.

With regards to timing, I am at my capacity and until I've launched my new products 'Clockwise' and 'Mind Matters', I'm not in a position to sanction more funding for a random magazine, however good it may be. It would be better for her to understand my restrictions and keep in gentle contact with me, before securing my business for next years' edition.

4) Poor note-taking 

She promised (eventually) to send me an email with some information and we agreed she'd call me back next week. But she called me back a few days later rather than next week, something which irritated me.

To make matters worse, her organisation publishes hand-books for different parts of the public sector and she'd forgotten that she'd been talking to me about the N.H.S. When she started trying to sell me her book for eduction contacts, I had to remind her that we'd been talking about the N.H.S.!

Outcome:

She has a good product which was of interest to me and which is generally affordable. But because she was so focused on selling to me, she didn't stop talking, eroded my trust and increased my levels of skepticism towards her,  something which will make her job far harder if she approaches me again.

Thanks for reading

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