Photo by Bev Sykes

I got a cold-call message on my answering machine the other day. The person was selling me the opportunity to buy booth space at a local business show. Their phone message ended with the statement, “…please have the courtesy to call me back at (800) 555-1212…”. I didn’t call them back. Would you have?

The problem with the phone call was they knew nothing about my business, my target market, my demographic, my skills, or me. They were likely given a list of business names and phone numbers in the region and proceeded to cold-call everyone. They were banking on the message that “there will be lots of very motivated business owners attending” to hint that simply by being at the show I’ll make money (or at worst, be seen by many prospective clients). They were playing a numbers game. And like any casino, the only one who wins these games is the “house”.

Instead, if the caller first called me to find out more about me, and my business, they would’ve impressed me and then be better able to sell to me in the future. They might create a leads database that knows what opportunities I’m looking for and only pitch me when they have something close. Of course, doing this involves work and skill. You can’t simply hand someone a script and ask them to interview people over the phone to get to their core business needs.

So the next time you try to market your offering to someone, please have the courtesy to find out about them first. Otherwise, you’re simply being rude. And rude people don’t get noticed for the right reasons.