It happened no fewer than four times this week. We recently registered for two additional URLs, and that information is apparently available to website developers and designers. E-mails, voice mails and phone calls have been abundant.I don’t mind receiving sales calls and admire the sellers who are making contact to look into this potential opportunity. I don’t mind sellers who see that I might have a need and are responding to help me with the need. I don’t even mind the idea that I’m just one of many leads generated by monitoring new registrations.
Here’s what I do mind. I mind when my day is interrupted by a seller who opens up by asking the lame and not-at-all-courteous question “Do you have just a moment so I can tell you…”
The answer will always be “No! I do not have a single moment!”
Like buyers everywhere, I am busy all day long. There has never been and never will be a moment when a seller calls, and I have time to spare to listen to a generic sales pitch.
You know that. I know that. So why bother with the pretense that you care if I have time or not?
“Can I have a moment of your time?” is a throwaway question. It’s meaningless. It isn’t polite. By the time this question has been asked, the work the buyer was doing has already been interrupted. The concentration on a task at hand has already been broken.
When you ask this question, your timing is terrible. You’ve just triggered disappointment and irritation because the buyer realizes his or her attention has been redirected to a seller. No matter what you’re selling, this call is low priority for the buyer.
So the question isn’t going to serve you well. All it really does is give permission for the buyer to cut the call short. Then you start all over again, calling back and going through the same cycle – asking a pointless question that is, at best, a pretense of politeness; getting put off by the buyer; logging it into your CRM and wasting everyone’s time again.
Here’s what I’d prefer. If you have something to offer me that’s truly of value, then say so. Don’t wait for me to give you an opening – it’s your job, not mine, to open the sale. Don’t wait for me to have time or make time for you. I won’t. Why should I? There’s nothing of value you’ve said or done to give me a reason to spend time with you.
When you make initial contact with me or with any buyer, forgo the pseudo-niceties. Get straight to the real kindness you can do for me. How? By confirming what I need and then providing the solution to meet my needs.
That’s what I have time for, not just a moment but as much time as it takes. We all have time for what we value, so put value right at the forefront.
