So a couple of weeks ago, we got some leads from a contact of ours in our industry. Today, my husband called them.

One guy told him in a very rude tone "I do my own Revenue Management. I don't want yours" and hung up.

One wouldn't take the call.

The other three went exactly like this...

"Hello, my name is -_-. I'm an owner of Proxor LLC. I'd like to request an appointment to talk about revenue management.." My husband is then interrupted with the following...

"Is this a sales call?" - Manager/Owner then hangs up without waiting for an answer.

I have been in the hospitality industry for ten years. My husband has been in for 17. Never have we seen the outright rudeness displayed today and we are both shocked.

Unfortunately, he's rather hurt by this behavior and its freaked me out a little so I'm not so sure about cold calling now.

Have you ever seen anything like this? How have you dealt with it? Can I get your advice?

Thanks.

I'll tell you why they hung up. Because people who do cold calling these days don't know when to shut up and hang up. I'm NOT saying that is you. I'm just saying there are enough people out there who don't know when to quit and it leaves a bad taste in the mouths of the receiver. It's nothing you or husband did it's past experience on the receiver's end of dealing with sales calls. They just don't want to be bothered with it because they believe if they are nice then the caller will not shut up when told no. The best you can do is be sure to cross them off your list, brush it off, and move on. Don't take it personally.

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Can your contact give you email addresses instead of phone numbers? Most people hate cold calls and I think the best way to reach people nowadays is through email. Even better... get your contact to introduce you to said leads via email. That way you're not being too invasive.

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Paulette R.
Rhythm Virtual Solutions | Alpha & Beta Translations

Originally Posted by Paulette

Can your contact give you email addresses instead of phone numbers? Most people hate cold calls and I think the best way to reach people nowadays is through email.

I'd have to agree with Paulette about trying to email your prospects. If I was someone who was looking for services, I'd most likely email first. Email is easier because of so many people being able to use it on their smartphones/iPhones, whatever the case may be. Plus, I see so many people working on their laptops and are on the go. When I check email on my iPhone, I LOVE that I can dial the number FROM the email, if it's highlighted. It's done all my work for me and all I have to do is press a link and there you go!

Another scenario (which was happening to me until I got my Skype telephone line for calls) was that people were calling my cell phone and using my minutes up during the day. When people call, I either had to wait until the weekends to respond to them to not eat up my minutes, or wait until after 9 to call back friends and family that were not on my network. It's also like that at my work. Everyone (including my boss) has Verizon and I'm the only manager who has AT&T. Because of that, she prefers to text message me, rather than call me.

With this said, I prefer people to email or IM me when they like to share news, or talk about something important--and that way I can respond to them faster. I'm one of those women who have email on my iPhone, and I check it once every hour. I use Meebo on my phone, and Facebook.

You never know the situation with most business owners, and smaller business put their cell phone number as a form of contact so they can directly handle things sometimes. I know a few who have done that because they own construction businesses, but can't afford to hire a secretary to take all their calls. It may be all they have to get their business started, and it's hard for people to change numbers once they become established.

I wouldn't take it personally, honestly. I'd just try a different method of approach and see what comes out of that. You tried, did your best, and had an experience. That's what we all learn when starting out, or even being in it long enough.

I'm sorry that it happened to you, and wish you better success with anything else you try.

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Elizabeth Whittaker
Renegade Virtual Services

I had an interesting discussion about this on LinkedIn in the Direct Sales Best Practice Group - where I p´d someone off for calling him on his ´phone tactics.
I agree with Rhonda. People get called up so often by salespeople with the craziest of spiels that many hang up before you´ve even had a chance to explain what it is you could do for them and the value you can add.

I work as a virtual PA for 4 small companies and get many cold calls. I always try to remember that there is a person on the line and I do not want to be rude. I take the message, give my email address and they can take it or leave it. When people do decide to send an email I take the time to read it, decide who should handle it and it gets treated with due respect. So, I would also agree with Paulette and Elizabeth that email is the better route.

Another route you might try is LinkedIn. When you connect with people on LinkedIn, it is much easier to establish contact, as you have already taken the first hurdle. People already have accepted your connection request. Give a try, LinkedIn works for me.

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Hilde
www.vbbassociates.com

Thank you for the advice everyone. Its appreciated.

I think I was more shocked at the complete and utter rudeness considering they are in the hospitality industry. We both were. I would NEVER do that to someone even after 10 years in the industry. The ONLY time I ever hang up with someone is if they are swearing their heads off horribly and I can't get a word in edgewise or if they are saying something sexual in nature (trust me, its happened). Even at home, when someone calls to try to sell me something I say "I'm sorry, I'm not interested" if I'm not screening my calls (no answer is better than a hang up). I'll say it at least twice before I hang up and I will always wish them a good day or night.

Originally Posted by ewhittaker

Another scenario (which was happening to me until I got my Skype telephone line for calls) was that people were calling my cell phone and using my minutes up during the day. When people call, I either had to wait until the weekends to respond to them to not eat up my minutes, or wait until after 9 to call back friends and family that were not on my network. It's also like that at my work. Everyone (including my boss) has Verizon and I'm the only manager who has AT&T. Because of that, she prefers to text message me, rather than call me.

Have you ever considered setting up a google voice number? I have a regular cordless phone with this device called an Obihai100 that I got from Amazon for like $40. You hook it up to the cordless phone and set up google voice on it and now you have a free home office number! I love it, I had a cordless phone laying around that I wasn't using since I dont have a home telephone line, I got the device and now I have a dedicated home office line and all I paid for was the device. You should look into it.

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Paulette R.
Rhythm Virtual Solutions | Alpha & Beta Translations

I have had a different experience with cold calling and it is a method that is working for me. I try a slightly different tactic though, opening up by introducing myself, my company and then I say, the reason why I am calling is because I offer *** services that I feel can benefit your company (explain briefly how). Most of the time people are willing to talk and discuss their business needs so at the end I ask for a valid email address to forward further details and say that I will call again to follow up. If I get the impression they are busy I stop talking and ask for an email address instead but I try to be brief. I'm not a fan of sending out unsolicited mail as most people bin them without reading. When I send a PC an email, I often put in the subject: Requested information from Canary Admin Services so they know not to delete.

I have gained a few clients this way and fortunately have not come across anyone like the person you described. There is no need for such bad behaviour but as somebody mentioned before, it probably has nothing to do with your particular call but pushy sales people they've dealt with in the past.

Don't let a couple of rude people stop you from marketing your business in this way or take away your joy as they're the minority.

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Sabrina L. Williams
Your Property and Admin Needs Made Simple

Originally Posted by Paulette

Have you ever considered setting up a google voice number? I have a regular cordless phone with this device called an Obihai100 that I got from Amazon for like $40. You hook it up to the cordless phone and set up google voice on it and now you have a free home office number! I love it, I had a cordless phone laying around that I wasn't using since I don't have a home telephone line, I got the device and now I have a dedicated home office line and all I paid for was the device. You should look into it.

I haven't looked into this, but it may be worth doing.

Right now, I got Skype to handle my calls. You can get a subscription and it's just like a normal call. It's $12 dollars for three months and I don't have any problems. I can also use it on my Wi-Fi connection and anywhere in the house, with my iPhone or on the computers. It's good until July, so I'm good for now.

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Elizabeth Whittaker
Renegade Virtual Services

My husband and I set up a google voice number for our business. I'm really liking it.