ArticlesPete Townshend and Cold-Calling - The Who?
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by Kraig Kleeman The Who's Pete Townshend wrote Won't Get Fooled Again as part of a project named Lifehouse. Townshend had hoped to release a double-album and film about a world where the people are oppressed, but saved by a rock concert. The project never emerged commercially, but the song was wildly successful. Part of Townshend's wish was to show the power of music and how it reflects the people. Won't Get Fooled Again is about a revolution. In the first verse, there is an uprising. In the middle, the rebels overthrow those in power, but in the end, the new regime becomes just like the old one ("Meet the new boss, same as the old boss"). While Townshend's revolution was imaginary, I know a group of people that need a real revolution. Sadly, sales professionals have been spurred on by elders who are wrong. Very wrong. Appalingly, they sit in judgment, offering nothing but old-school ideas that do not work. All the while proclaiming themselves as experts. It's time to revolt. I attended a cold-calling workshop recently where the presenter gave a way-lame presentation. This guy was loaded with hype, but he sorely lacked substance. You know the shtick: overcome your reluctance; research your prospects; prepare an opening statement; make gatekeepers your allies; stay focused; avoid common mistakes; stick with it. He sounded more like a high school basketball coach preparing teenagers for an upcoming tournament than a professional instructor equipping sales professionals for the difficulty of cold-calling. Did I mention that it's time to revolt? Maybe the two most incalculably deceptive books on the subject are Selling to Vito and The Power to Get In, written by Anthony Parinello and Michael Boylan respectively. These two sales slugs, er uh... "sales gurus" may be the most responsible for ineffective, product-centric selling. They teach the same tired, underdeveloped & overused cold-calling script which follows the same-old product-benefit approach. And because thousands of sales reps use this same basic chatter, it all sounds like the same white noise to buyers. And no one gains access to targets. The good news is that there is a new breed of sales professional emerging. It is inter-generational. It is comprised of individuals who have said good-bye to old school selling. They understand the power of deploying a masterful call structure. They never back down from managing objections. They are skilled at providing research-briefings as an introductory dialog so as to get in effectively, qualify, and start sales cycles in earnest. They are certified in The Must-React System. They are part of a selling revolution and they won't get fooled again!
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 Pete Townshend, The Who And the men who spurred us on - Won't Get Fooled Again, |
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