I am often amazed at how some people can find the horse sh*t before they notice the horse. A horse can be a majestically beautiful animal.... and yet some never see it because they are so interested in the poop.
I recently have been proactively reaching out to potential customers to talk about speaking at their events, sales training programs, and other consulting projects. These efforts lead me to conducting some cold-calling and cold-emailing, which has both positive and negative aspects.
The good side is that I get the chance to talk to many very interesting people who are driven to achieve success. They are interested in helping me connect the dots to the right person in their company, and go out of their way to take an interest in the stranger on the other side of the call. This is bringing me new business opportunities and ongoing interactions with cool folks.
The dark side is that some people are jerks. Their instant reaction is to find the negative and then to be sure to point it out. They seem deeply bothered and are fast to be dismissive. I don't ever let these few bad apples spoil my attitudes about the overwhelming good in people, but they are intriguing in how they can suck the good vibes right out of the room. No wonder people hate to cold call.
Each time I encounter person who is an "ass" I am surprised. One would think after two decades in sales and marketing that I would be used to people like this, but I still am shocked when I get attitude from someone. They are few and far between, but these types are out there looming.
How do people go through life with these rain clouds in their soul? It makes me sad for the people who know them outside the office.
What do you think? Do you encounter these people often? How do you react?
Are you one of these people? Why?
Have A Great Day.
thom
5 comments:
I always think of myself as a realist as opposed to what some would call a pessimist. I guess there are times when even our reality can be out of focus. Thanks for the reminder.
I am a big-picture optimist and a small-picture pessimist. In other words, in 100 years we will solve the energy crisis, most racist jerks will be dead, we'll have moon colonies and access to affordable healthcare, and will have cured cancer etc.
Meanwhile, we'll figure out a way to screw things up all along the way, every step of the way, every day, until we get it right. *shrugs*
And I reserve the right to snicker while it happens.
Optimist: glass half full
Pessimist: half empty
Me: why is it "half" anything? And why isn't it vodka?
What I mean is that we need people to be realistic, something that the "chipper patrol" usually lacks. Most times they also get excited for a very small thing and need to dream bigger.
This is an example of why sales 2.0 is so important. Imagine calling only people who have a level of interest in what you do, sell, or deliver?Would your conversion rate increase? In the end would you have more revenue?
This terrific commentary really points out the inefficiencies of cold calling and the need to really market.
What this reminds me of is traveling in airports. I cannot tell you the number of times I found an unhappy traveler screaming at a gate or ticket agent. The agent did not create the problem and is there to help. Being an assh*le never gets someone to help you any faster.
In your case, being a jerk to ANYONE will come back to you. Whether it is someone observing or experiencing the situation karma has a way of making it self known!!
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