There's Nothing More Deceptive Than An Obvious Fact

Arh, the game's afoot. I was reminded of this Sherlock Holmes quote, as so beloved of detective novelists in general, through helping overcome a cold call objection.

There's a few ways of looking at it. Yet not accepting things at face value, resolving to question everything, and not go with the first thought (especially one soaked in the smug glaze of confirmation bias) cover a fair bit of it.

Working with a software vendor seeking greater lead volume from telephone prospecting - a crucial entry point for many if not most subsequent star solution sellers - alerted me to this.

In a not uncommon market shape, there were a couple other purported 'leaders', a host of smaller niche players and a long tail of cobbled together leftfield and even self-made options.

When ringing in, asking about which 'system' they used for the task in hand, you can often be greeted with the dismissive, 'we're all fine, thanks'.

I've long since been utterly disinterested in any incumbent in this context.

I get why supervisors and lead recipients alike expect to see who's already in. They consider it 'qualification'. They gleefully reach for their bullets of where 'we' are better than 'them'. They flick through the list of competitive displacements with relish.

A combination of misplaced orientation and fool's gold.

If forced to ask, I did admire a route being used which can be adapted to many an Enterprise pitch;

"You do it in-house or outsourced?"

It seems most then simply splutter the name of current vendor.

A potential customer saying they've a system in place should never allow a call to end.

"Fine" is meaningless. Their current supplier is an obvious fact. We must uncover any deception hiding in such plain sight.

"What do you like about it?"

After they've stuttered through something, you can indeed probe.

Noting fertile ground for later.

"What else?"

You'd be amazed at how few can illuminate a second 'like'.

Part the value of the opening gambit is that it jolts them. They'll have likely never heard it before. The obvious, tired old skirmish is around what they'd not like. We can be better than that.