I was asked recently, what tool that I use the most during any given sales day. It took me awhile to figure out a suitable answer. Because I have a work from home sale job, I no longer employ just one piece of technology, I wrap several into one to create a picture of the prospect before I call, while I’m working them and during & after the close.
To say that someone could just use the telephone to do all this would difficult at best. Also, most likely inefficient with both man-hours and budget, you’d lack common knowledge that is on the Internet and more.
Look, part of it is simple – tenacity for any sales person. The other half is technology, how to harness its power is one of man’s greatest achievements. While the original inventor of the telephone, as with many modern advances, is heavily disputed the first person to be awarded a patent for the telephone was Alexander Graham Bell. His device took sound waves, converted them into an electrical current, and then reconverted them back to sound on the other end, and this is how the telephone started. If it were not for the fist telephone we wouldn’t have cell phones most likely and even satellites.
Even if Alexander Graham Bell didn’t invent the telephone it is in fact ubiquitous part of our lives and the way we live. Forget sales for one moment; yes, I know it is hard, and think about a world filled with handheld communication devices that in many cases you can see the person you’re talking to in some cases a world away. The telephone is an amazing tool that has helped sell trillions of dollars worth of merchandise over the past 100 years or so give or take.
In fact, the telephone may just be one of the most important inventions of all time given that it is still widely used today, is vital to how modern business functions, and allows for an incredible speed of communication.
As with anything a great invention was exploited and a new industry was born: Telemarketing. The term telemarketing was first used extensively in the late 1970s to describe Bell System communications which related to new uses for the outbound WATS and inbound Toll-free services.
The rise of telemarketing can be traced back to the 19th century telephonists, or switchboard operators. Trans-cultural hiring of switchboard operators (mostly women) became especially popular in North America throughout the 20th century, partially due to popularity gained through advertising.[2] After the shift from public switched telephone network to computer-based electronic switching system, the job of switchboard operators gradually diminished. However, with the rise of advertising and with the popularity of the telephone use, new jobs, including telemarketing jobs, were created.
So, the next time you take a sales call you’ll know more about the person you call by using the Internet and the telephone as a combined tool to know more BEFORE you call.
Carpe Diem My Friends
Sources: https://en.wikipedia.org, The Brickell Media Group, LLC