Young Man: "Could I speak to someone in marketing?"
Me: "I guess that would be me."
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Me: "Hmm, I guess I need to know which client said our website was 'rough'."
Young Man: "I am not here to share any names."
Me: "Oh, I see."
Young Man: "We do website work, would you be interested in exploring an update to your website? I did take a look at your website and honestly, no offense intended, it is a little dated. Do you do any selling of product online?"
Me: "Well, thank you for your opinion. We do not sell online, that is not our business model. We are not interested in making any changes. We have a partner that provides the content, keeps prices and product information updated and it works quite well for us thank you."
Young Man: "What is the name of the company that does your website?"
Me: What I should have said, "I am not here to share any names." I simply said, "It is not a local company".
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Also not a great idea to lie to a prospect, or to totally trash some portion of their business.
I hope he finds a new cold calling tactic, because I don't think this one will work well for him. Remember people buy from people they like and people they TRUST.
P.S. Do you want to buy any outdoor flags? We have great flags and I promise I will do a great job selling it to you.
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Lori Hanken has been in sales and marketing for over 30 years. She is passionate about service and providing value to her vendors, prospects and clients. Lori is currently co-owner of Total Displays with her husband David. They help people look great at events, trade shows, in retail, museums and develop long partnerships with customers and suppliers. If you would like to learn more, email her at lori@totaldisplays.com. She is an open networker, connect with her on LinkedIn here.
Read other Total Displays Blog posts at http://totaldisplays.blogspot.com/