Sales Calls Gone Wrong: The Flop Sweat Factor

--Dan Fogelberg, Lessons Learned

As a sales, marketing and Public Relations professional with 20+ years' experience making sales calls, I've seen the good, the bad and the ugly when it comes to pitches, presentations and cold calls.

But even if things go badly, you can benefit from the experience. What follows is an true story about a misguided sales call...in which the account executive did not do the work necessary to properly qualify the account in advance of making the sales call. The results were an uncomfortable sight to witness.

Here is how it happened...

A major financial services company announced it was opening a new branch in one of the communities served by our newspaper. They called one of our local offices saying they wanted to advertise. The account executive in charge of that community got so excited about the possibility of a new account that he hastily arranged a meeting with the bank's local manager in hopes of beating the local competition to the punch. He invited me to to join him in the field to provide marketing support in case the account was looking for "value-added" promotions or other benefits.

He set up an early morning meeting with the bank representatives. It was an sunny spring day and their offices overlooked a stretch of river front brightly lit with morning sunshine. We took our seats near the window. The account executive situated himself with his back to the sun so the would not have to stare into the glare from the sunshine bouncing off the river as he made his pitch.

Unfortunately he also sat where the sun beat down on the back of his dark suit. He was not the most athletic or fit person in the world. He also tended to be a bit of a "nervous Nellie" when it came to making sales calls. Between the heat from the sun and his anxiety about making the presentation, his face turned flush red and he began to sweat profusely. Sweat droplets were falling off his eyebrows, nose and cheeks. His shirt collar soaked through. At one point I genuinely feared he was about to drop over dead from a heart attack.

Finally he finished his presentation on ad rates and I could take over the meeting. I did everything I could to draw attention away from my sweat-stained associate who was mopping his forehead with an already soaked handkerchief. Our clients looked a bit anxious themselves. Perhaps they were wondering if we'd soon face a medical emergency.

As it turned out, the account really had no local budget for advertising. All their media buys would done out of a regional office. They pretty much relied on television advertising to promote their brand.

I felt bad that our account executive did not get any business after it seemed like he was going to die during the appointment. But I felt just as bad that we had no clue going in about how their company's media purchasing operated. A simple question such as: "Who handles your advertising buy?" would have saved everyone a little trouble and a lot of sweat.

Lesson learned: No matter how good the prospect looks on paper or by reputation, always qualify the account before making the sales call.