Does Common Courtesy Apply To Selling?

Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote, “Good manners are made up of petty sacrifices.” Being polite, takes effort, and even if it only takes 90 seconds to dial the phone and say, “Thanks, but I’m not interested,” many buyers won’t take the time. Here are three reasons why:

Reason Number One: The buyer tries to tell you they’re not interested, but you smell blood because they called you back and draw them into a conversation so you can overcome the objection. The buyer doesn’t have time for this discussion, but they’re too nice to be rude. Melissa Siegel, a New York buyer said, “I’m trying to let you down easy, but you won’t let me. When I tell you I already have a vendor who does what you do, you tell me you’re different and ask to meet. If you really were different, you would have started the conversation that way and told me exactly how you were different.”

Reason Number Two: You called six times. By the time you’re on your seventh round of dialing, you’re frustrated that the buyer doesn’t realize that you can make their life better, if only they would talk to you. The frustration leaks into your tone and the buyer hears it. Before they didn’t call you back because they didn’t need what you were selling today. Now, they don’t want to call you back because you sound unpleasant to deal with.

Reason Number Three: Yes, it’s the buyer’s job to talk to vendors, but right now, they have higher priorities. David Forsyth, Business Development Manager with InnerWorkings in Dallas said, “Everyone is stretched to the gills....less resources and more responsibility. It’s easier to not make a decision rather than commit either way.” And to quote Chris Carr, “For me, it’s easy to bid out jobs to the 'normal' line up and forget new vendors. The 60 hours that hit my timesheet each week does not need to include additional time for courteous call backs to unknown salespeople.”