The Value of Taking (and Returning) Phone Calls

It seems that nearly every week a printing company complains to me that the people they are calling on do not call or e-mail them back. Ouch! I hear this from the sales staff, as well as the executives and/or ownership. So why do I bring this up?

I find it humorous that people complain that their prospects do not get back to them or return their calls/e-mails. Why? The same people complaining (oftentimes executives) are usually not good at getting back to the salespersons who are calling on them. For example, I hear executives say, “put them in voicemail—it is a salesperson, right?” Also, they may tell the receptionist to tell the caller they are in a meeting. Or, they simply have the salesperson leave voicemail after voicemail and do not respond at all.

In my humble opinion, this is not good. You see, we are no longer in the printing business but indeed are in the communications business. The way we communicate with everyone defines our brand. Not getting back to people, even if it is to say “no thanks” is bad communications and hurts your company’s brand.

I believe in the golden rule of life which applies to sales as well. We should treat others the same way we want to be treated. If a person calls you, then you should return his call. If a person e-mails you, you should return his e-mail. You may not be interested but they, too, are a person and are trying to sell their services the same way that your sales team is, right? Well, if this is the case should we not walk the walk and not hide behind technology? Are we better than the salesperson calling on us? Are we too busy to take one minute of our time to respond? Wouldn’t you hope an executive at another organization would at least respond in some professional manner to your sales team?