Wally's Blog

I got a phone call from my "Alma Mater",one of the leading online Universities/Colleges out there, on Wednesday or Thursday, it went like this.

Hi, my name is (insert name) is this (insert name, pause and wait. If target, continue if not ask for target and repeat).

Hi (insert name) this is (insert name) from the University, how are you doing today? (Pause, wait for response. If positive: That's great, it's a wonderful day here & continue. If negative: Sorry to hear that, hope your day/week/month/year gets better & continue)

I think I spoke to you awhile back about how you were interested in pursuing your Masters degree to help you rise further in your company, is that something you're still interested in doing?

My response was:

I am pretty sure you have never spoken to me as I own my company and I am pretty sure I am as far as I can go.

The response was:

Oh

Now, I understand the need for scripted sales pitches when doing phone sales. I have written scripts for this exact purpose before but I would never and have never written a script which places the person making the call in the position of looking like a complete idiot. Granted, I may be the exception to the norm when it comes to these scripted sales calls, but to write something for someone that frankly places them in the place to be exposed like that to me seems like a lack of respect for the people that are working for you.

What really gets me here is that this organization just lost a chance to convert a, for all intensive purposes, prior client into a recurring client. There is absolutely no way that should I choose to purse a post-grad degree that I will contact the them as they obviously have no interest in knowing what their alumni and past clients are doing.

If you expect and want to turn past clients into returning and recurring clients, you have to be involved and know what they are doing. I have built my business on the premise that if you are involved with your clients and know what is going on, not only in the professional sense but also the personal sense if they want to share that information, you have a much better chance of keeping them long term. This experience only drove that axiom home.