I got a cold call today from a salesperson at Echosign - a company that enables digital signatures online so that a client doesn't have to "print out, sign and fax back" a contract. This solves a major problem we have encountered and I reference in my blog entry, The Seven Levels of Approval Hell (http://tinyurl.com/cuo9ee).
I asked the caller some questions and told him I was HIGHLY INTERESTED and to please take me to the next step which involved him having another person call me next week. I agreed to this but then thought of all the companies out there that call me – about 20 per week – that I have never heard of. I began to worry, what happens if I forget who these guys are? I’ve never heard of Echosign. Never seen their ads. Never even seen a logo to visualize. I know nothing about them, their product, what they stand for, how long they have been in business etc….
For 19 out of these 20 cold calls I receive per week I hang up briskly after the hapless rep asks, “have you heard of us?” Poor guys. “NO I have NOT heard of you. Would you like to know WHY? Because your CEO and CFO don’t do print advertising.” If you want to do business with me you will first advertise in INC Magazine, which I read to learn about how to improve my business. And I look at ALL the ads (some longer than others, of course). By the time I do a google search, it's too late. More on that in Part 2.
That is how I learn of what bank I am going to switch to. What software and hardware solutions are out there. Whether to use some wacky AdminiTempHealthPackageSoft product. What needs can be solved by this product or that. I come to learn who the players are, who the leaders are - whose phone call I should return! On my own time, in a place on my choosing, I will get to know you.
I told the EchoSign rep to go talk to his CEO and CFO. No, not the Marketing director – that’s not where the problem lies. The CEO and CFO think that if something isn’t measurable, it serves no purpose. I guarantee that if Echosign advertised in INC Magazine and Sales & Marketing Management for 9 months and THEN rented their lists and telemarketed that their hit rate would jump from 1 in 20 to 3 in 10 - or more. They don’t need to advertise everywhere. Just pick a core magazine or two and brand your company and product.
I can’t stand companies that just call me out of the blue. It’s so ignorant and, frankly, rude. It’s like going up to someone and just asking them to sleep with you. Excuse me??? Who are YOU? Do I KNOW YOU?
Think about it.
