Diary of a Dialler

another sales blog - 2

Dear {First Name},

Thought I would check back in to see if you have had a chance to read my first blog entry, if not, that’s fine. To be honest, this is becoming an incoherent ramble of my struggles, take it as a playbook to not what to do. Regardless of your lack of interest in my initial struggles, i would like to refer you to my second-ever sales blog.

Just scroll down

As I begin my second week, I was starting to grasp the lingo, I had already been making calls and was having some success with my conversations, it seems though as I speak with more sales directors, they all like the ice broken in different ways.

One chap told me “You’re not having 30 seconds of my time because you didn’t introduce yourself or your company” I apologized and asked if it would have made a difference to which he snarled “Absolutely not but would be nice to know who is wasting my time!” I hadn’t been spoken to like this before on a cold call, so at least we are breaking new ground. I followed up with a question that may have poked the bear.

“I feel that I may have caught you at a bad time, is there a better time to call?” I asked, they retort with “Not that I now know you’re a sales call!”

Wow, I was shocked that someone that oversees people cold calling was so abrasive to the dance of the dialler. “Well thank you for your time, I know its precious, just one last thing before we leave. What advise would you give your SDR’s if they just came off a call like this?”

Stone-faced, id imagine, he barks “They wouldn’t waste others time with asking permission for 30 seconds!”

“Thank you sir, this call has been 3 minutes and 48 seconds, so thank you for my 30 seconds.”

He grunts and the line goes dead.

This felt like a victory. On one hand, a seasoned vet in cold calling may have turned it around to a call back or even a meeting. I however am not seasoned, but like British cuisine I wasn’t salty. I never had to talk to him again. Let’s just move on with my life. 🇬🇧🧂

I have no idea what to say to people when they pick up the phone, and it’s even worse when they don’t pick up. The silence is deafening, and I just want to scream to their answer phone, “It’s not you—it’s me! I’m new here! Please help!” But I dont, I pop on my big boy pants and start probing for problems.

Week three was a quick one, Queen Elizabeth II was buried on the Monday and I had a dental surgery booked for the Friday. This left me with a three day working week that I tried to make the most of, and think I was doing okay up until my first call on the Thursday –

I did so bad on that call, I forgot my script while speaking with the young lady on the other end, it was a shit show, I lost my narrative and just rambled about sales agents not hitting KPIs and the difficulty in forecasting across multiple platforms, she politely interrupted me and said

“All of our job opening are posted on LinkedIn and I wouldn’t be the person to speak to regarding employment”

She then skilfully relayed a number to their HR department and told me to send my cv to hr@acme.com (this is a real email)

I was so embarrassed that I just said “Thank you, you’ve been a great help.” Leaving the call with rosy, red cheeks and a nervous sweat.

The whole office laughed with me, or at least thats the narrative they wove.

Anticipation is leading into the last week of the month, wanting to finish my first month on a high I hit the phones. No answer, no problems I will try them again later, who’s next. No answer, that’s alright I will try them again later, next! No answer, this continues all morning. I end up having only a handful of conversations and convert none of them to meetings.

However, my LinkedIn is starting to grow, and I have made some demo appointments through connections, I never used LinkedIn before I started in this role and although I am still learning, it seems to be Facebook but for important people. I feel somewhat out of place, I was even messaged by a connection who was just curious about me personally!

Still makes me chuckle to think about it, you must also bear in mind we just spoke on a sales call –

LinkedIn Ding! – “no offence kid, but are you a bot?”🤖

To start with I am 33, and although I don’t mind being patronized occasionally, there is something about being called a kid by someone younger than me that made me want to fax his superior with a harshly worded letter, but then suddenly remembered, I don’t really care.

Things I learnt so far.

I know what CRM means now, but still have no idea how to manage it
Phones dont dial themselves
You need a thick skin in sales because rejection is inevitable
You can’t just do what everyone else does—you must do something different to stand out from the crowd
I will die one day. (thanks Jack)

Thanks for reading {FIRST NAME}, I will be in touch if i dont hear back from you, shall we say later this month?

I will continue my diary of dialling …. So, this is my diallery? (sorry.)

Best Wishes,

The New Kid

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