I’m constantly astounded at the disparity of the human condition on this planet. When I log onto Twitter or get my daily RSS feed from a favorite blog and read about a newly discovered tribe of indigenous people living in the Amazon who have yet to discover fire, all while checking MLB.com for last night’s scores and geo-locating the closest Starbucks on my iPhone, I am reminded that we’re all not at the same place in our evolution.
[wow! That was quite the lofty set up for what comes next!]
Apparently, neither are sales organizations. On the one hand, we have companies that have embraced social networking, the concept of value creation, of giving something of yourself, exposing yourself prior to asking for a transaction and of full transparency.
On the other hand, there still exist sales people that think an email like this is somehow going to get their trinkets in front of me and I’m going to write a check for 100 of them:
Barry,
Since last month for our lunch date didn’t work out, I wanted to see if we could get together next Tuesday or Wednesday.
Let me know
Thanks
[name withheld]
Huh? Did I miss something here? Ok, I’m getting older. Maybe I forgot I had a buddy that sold networking and web design services. Maybe we spoke last month about getting together for lunch and I completely spaced it. No! I’m not even checking my past emails. I know I’m not crazy. I have no idea who this clown is. But, apparently that’s what he’s hoping for. He’s hoping I’m a complete idiot who will humbly apologize and, for being so inconsiderate, reciprocate with an immediate offer to meet next Tuesday or Wednesday.
Or, on the phone call I got this morning:
ring, ring
Me: Hello?
Sales Guy: Hey Barry. What’s up?
[silence]
Me: Who is this?
Sales Guy: It’s Bill. It’s been a while. You have a second to talk about that VoIP project?
Me: Actually Bill, its been forever. Cuz you and I have never spoken. Cheers.
[click]
This is why I don’t answer the phone unless I see your smiling Facebook avatar on my screen below the number. This morning, yes I admit it. I was caught off guard. Probably right after reading that email.
Who’s the sales trainer that’s teaching this garbage? And I wondering if he used the same techniques to sell his program to the organizations for whom these two gents above work. P.T. Barnum is laughing in his grave.
So, while so many of you are doing great work in mapping marketing’s new role and engineering the optimal customer engagement models that will lead to long-term value co-creation, there are still many tribal sales people rubbing sticks together hoping for a spark.
Makes me ponder how they knew to use email or dial the phone.
