Jill Konrath | Selling to Big Companies

Curing the "Bull in a China Shop" Syndrome

Why is it that smart people do the dumbest things? If they thought for one moment about what was coming out of their mouth, they'd keep it shut. Yet day after day, I see sellers talk (or write) themselves right out of opportunities.

Shortly after I sent out my ezine article on Promiscuous Prospecting, I got an email from a reader. He wrote: "I notice you're processing credit cards through your site. That's what I provide my clients! If you're dissatisfied with your card service or you think you're paying more than you should, perhaps we can talk!"

I responded: "Thanks for the note. I'm in the process of switching to a new web master and doing a major update on my site. Right now everything is fine. Things that aren't causing me problems are not on my priority list. But you were smart to check me out!"

Although I was politely trying to rebuff the seller, my response only seemed to have the opposite effect. It invigorated him.

What followed was ...

How to Quickly Blow an Opportunity

Recently I was talking to one of my clients, the president of small technology firm. She was livid. Earlier that morning, a salesperson had contacted her firm and the conversation went like this:

"Who am I talking to?" he immediately demanded. She gave him her name - which isn't a typical one.

"How do you spell that?" he asked. She slowly spelled it out. Confused, he asked her to repeat it several times, which she graciously did.

"What does your company do?" he asked next.

That was the final straw. She finally butted in: "Are you selling something?"

"Yes," he said. Then, undaunted, he continued his interrogation. "So, what does your company do?"

"I can't believe you're asking me this," she said in disbelief. "You expect me to take up my time to educate someone who's too lazy to even visit my website and find that out? Why would you think I'd do that?"

He sputtered a couple of times and then apologized. But he'd already blown it. No recovery was possible.

The lesson: Contacting prospective customers before you've invested time learning about their business is a sure recipe for disaster. Don't do it!