Sales Prospecting: An Experience

Sales Prospecting: Frédéric’s Experience

Frédéric has been a sales representative at Veetnecni for ten years. Last February 15, he was on the phone with a perfectly qualified prospect from a prestigious company. The call went perfectly, and the prospect’s project came to fruition. Finally, the prospect thanked him and told him he would call back on Wednesday at 11 AM.

It’s Wednesday, 10:31 AM. Frédéric gets ready. He has prepared a sales proposal and studied the project in depth. From 10:40 AM to 10:55 AM, he rereads his proposal. At 10:59 AM, he is ready. It’s 11:05 AM, and the phone hasn’t rung. He uses the time to review his responses to objections. At 12 PM, the prospect hasn’t called back. He starts by sending an email, then a LinkedIn message. No response. At 1 PM, Frédéric is hungry. He tries to call him back, without success. At 7 PM, the prospect still hasn’t called, and Frédéric, persistent, decides to sleep on site “just in case”.

Our salesperson ultimately spent 32 days waiting for the call. It was the concierge who found him, 8 kilograms lighter, on the couch, performing incantations near his phone at five in the morning on a Saturday.

Today, Frédéric is still in shock. He talks about his trauma “At night, I can’t help but wonder: what if he was going to call me?” His treatment requires him not to see a phone for a month. Since then, he does all his sales prospecting on Minitel. “Somehow, my trust in people has been broken; the more I think about it, the more I realize he had no intention of speaking to me again,” he states.

To conclude this story, we just have to tell you… April Fools’! At Incenteev, we can’t make all your prospects call you back, but we can motivate your sales team and focus them on behaviors that create value.