This Tuesday, I am going with a rant, an apology to Simon Sink for paraphrasing his “Start with Why” and a cold call….
For context, as I wind up to this, I should share that if you phone me on my mobile/cell phone, in my mind, I feel it’s an intimacy that you might think is peculiar. I really am not the call-me-out-of-the-blue sort of chap unless we are pretty tight.
And, if I don’t recognise your number, I won’t answer.
I am pretty confident that if your number is not recognised and you are calling to say my house is on fire, you’ll leave a message.
Although, I can’t claim to be that strict, as this rant will expose.
Soooo…..
My wife was in London, as her father was unwell.
I got a call from London.
I answered the call from London.
They said:
“Hello, I am <whatever> from <vendor>”
We then played the whole “who/what” game. I was confused by why I had answered, as this was clearly not news about my wife’s mission in our capital city.
“You’ve recently become the CMO at Dodona Analytics and…”
That’s a fair point. I just started a new gig a few days before. Well done fella on that. However, I still feel like I have walked into a bar, and someone has offered to, you know, do things we are not quite ready for, at least buy me a drink first.
He continues, “…..one of your business development representatives has been in touch about our solution, and I should give you a call to continue the conversation”.
I’m thinking… Hmmmm… We are a very small company. We do have someone in business development, but I’m so new that he doesn’t have my mobile number yet. Plus, we are a startup. I know the marketing budget, so this is not something we’d be considering for now.
Aside from my feelings of intimacy invasion from calling my mobile, my bullshit spidey senses were tingling, and so I brought the call to a close, suggesting I would check this out (as I am so new), and he should connect with me on LinkedIn.
Which is perhaps how this communication should have started.
Maybe that’s what this rant should be about—the channel.
Why call me on my mobile cold when this could have been warmed on LinkedIn?
Or maybe it’s about privacy.
This chap had GDPR “legitimate interest” on his side. It was probably perfectly legal. But just because you can, should you? Is calling someone on day 3 of a new job because you have the data and their mobile number the best way to go?
I understand, I’m in B2B, and business needs to get done. Of course, as we are all remote(ish)—(and I’m sorry if your employer is getting all 20th-century on this and trying to chain you to a desk)—I understand why I got the call.
I no longer have a desk phone, your father’s legitimate place to call me to flog something. But good lord, when your father had a desk phone, he was not publicly available to woo on every social media channel or email.
But no, my rant is that this conversation was based on a lie.
As you’ve probably guessed.
You’ve had these conversations countless times yourself; no, our BD had not been in touch with this company, let alone shared my details.
You might think this is a little thing, and all is fair in love and sales.
But with all the ways we have to connect today – why start with a lie?
Fancy more of this?
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I’m a 3xCMO, now a marketing strategy advisor and podcast host at Rockstar CMO. Although, I’m not a rock star, but a marketing leader, strategist, content marketer, columnist, speaker, industry watcher, and creator of ART (Awareness, Revenue, and Trust) for the companies I work with. But most of all, I am an enthusiastic tea drinker.
You can find me on LinkedIn, Twitter, or now Threads! – or listen to my weekly podcast at Rockstarcmo.com
The half-baked thoughts shared on this blog may not reflect those of my employer or clients, and if the topic of this article is interesting or you just want to say hello please get in touch.