The week of the sales call

If the Chinese named weeks instead of years, and I was the one in charge of the naming, I think I'd name this week "the week of the sales call" because it is the week I have been making sales calls. So I've managed to get a few people on the phone to pitch them my awesome products. I quickly realized however, that once you have someone on the phone, you have to have something to say to them. Should have thought that through I guess. Sure, I could sit down with someone face to face and tell them about how I could help them sell their products with my awesome software, etc. etc. but I think over the phone you have to be more structured. After all, they can just hang up. It's so easy, and tempting, and so impersonal talking to joe schmo on the phone.

How life was so much easier when I was just calling people and leaving messages, not actually talking to them. So anyway, the next step in my sales evolution is to write down not only my talking points, but my roadmap for a conversation, and contingencies for when things don't go as planned. What's the next step? Do I tell them I'll send them more info? Do I set up another meeting? Do I try and find their problems and outline some ways I could fix them specifically?

I've got some good books to read through this weekend so hopefully I can get down my plan of attack for Le Phonecalle, and the process from cold call to making the sale. Also got this nifty sales software to keep track of who I've talked with, where we left things, and my upcoming todo list. Software always saves the day. Maybe I should just develop software that manages your software. Speaking of which, let me just add that for the Iphone, Geodefense swarm is hands down the best game ever. If I was to develop a game, this would be what I'd model mine after. If I was at work at my previous job and not working for myself, I'd so be playing that game right now over lunch instead of writing an e-mail as a stall tactic to making my next cold call.

Well, the boss is looking over my shoulder, so I better go...