For some time, I’ve had a thorn in my side about a particular ‘insight’ floating around the sales punditry.
I’ve grumbled when it was repeated on conference stages, scowled reading it on blogs, and I might have exclaimed ‘for f***s sake’ when I found in Dan Pink’s (otherwise) excellent To Sell is Human.
But earlier this week, I heard it from a young Inside Sales Rep as a ‘justification’ for not picking up the phone. That did it. I'm as mad as hell and I'm not going to take this anymore!
Here’s what he said:
I don't believe in outbound calling. Maybe years ago, when sales reps had more info than prospects, it made sense.
Now, the buyer is educated and has all the power – better to wait for them to come to me.
This essentially a parroting of the information assymetry idea: that pre-web we lived in an era of tyrrany where sales ruled over buyers mercilessly.
