As if using the phone in sales and prospecting wasn’t challenging enough on its own, we also have to deal with working in an environment where there are scumbag scam artists duping unsuspecting targets. The legitimate office supply dealers and document imaging companies that sell toner know what I mean, since that is a classic scam, which makes their calls even more difficult.
You may have received a version of the call I’m sharing today. As you’ll hear, it’s a guy calling with some type of credit card/debt reduction offer. It was provided to us by Steven Bryant who said,
“Art, Here’s a pretty good voice mail message I thought you might enjoy…Problem is…I never spoke to this guy and his scumbag company ever before. When you call they of course try to sell you, but if you ask ANY questions, they promptly hang up.”
Anything positive we can learn from this? From a sales perspective, he sounds very natural, perhaps even intentionally inserting a few “umms” to sound conversational. (I suggest using no “umms” but his add to the effect here.) The value statement is actually pretty compelling. Then he said, “This is the last courtesy call I will be making…” which is a stronger-than-I-recommend version of what I call the “Last Resort” technique, letting them know that you won’t be calling anymore.
But again, there was no previous conversation, and I’m assuming the company is not legit since, as Steven said, they hang up upon questioning.
What are your thoughts/experiences with this type of company? Anyone ever actually worked at a place like that and can share some inside info?