So, you want to be a “Salesman”?
By: Ned

Here at Racer450, we have to deal with all of the companies that are out there building products and selling parts. Sometimes our dealings are not always the easiest things to accomplish. We try to sell ads to these companies to make sure that we can afford to bring you the quality race coverage that we strive to provide. If for some reason, you think that you would like to get into advertisement sales for some company or perhaps even want to start racing and need some sponsors, since you really just sell “yourself” there, here are some things that you might like to know.

First off, if the company that you are calling has a machine that answers the phone and you don’t know the extension of who you want to talk to, just push 0 to get the operator. Sometimes this puts you in a situation where you might end up being more productive talking to the machine. Also, know what you want to say before you ever get on the phone. If you call up some of these companies and you are fumbling over yourself, they are going to think that you are incompetent.

Next, occasionally, being pushy and making sure that the person that you wanted to talk to will actually talk to you is the only way to get anything done. Voicemail is something that the devil thought up so that people could just ignore you all together. About 1 in 25 people actually respond to voicemail messages. Now, if you ever get transferred to someone named Ned, don’t be surprised if you don’t hear back from him or can never talk to that person. Most likely, people named Ned don’t exist.

If someone does actually talk to you and sounds interested, don’t let them string you along over a budget. Some of those guys that tell you they don’t have their budget set up are just looking to get you to stop calling. At this point you might as well cut back and only call them when you have something really important to tell them…like the fact that you just potty trained your dog. If someone seems really interested, don’t be surprised if that interest fades as they get closer to getting their budget done.

Now it is time to get into the situation where you have been promised something from someone, but you don’t ever seem to get it. This is a little tricky, you need to stay on them about it, but most likely they won’t answer your calls after they haven’t obliged for about a month. That is when you need to find some other reason to talk to them and they will probably try to do whatever they have been putting off after that. Oh, and don’t forget that occasionally you should still mention what they were supposed to be doing for you.

Sometimes people will tell you that your company doesn’t meet what they need. These people for the most part don’t know what they need, but sometimes they can still be helpful. Finally, if you are talking to someone and they tell you that they don’t have time to play around with you, just politely tell them that you don’t need them and hang up. Now, you should call this person about once a month just to make sure that they still don’t want to play.

Well, hopefully these tips and strategies will help you to make the right choices and talk to the right people. Don’t ever think that someone is going to do something just because you talked to them. You have to make them realize that they need to do it. That way next time you call they will know who you are and want to do whatever you lay out in front of them.

Till next time,

Ned.