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Worst sales call ever

by MeTellYou
14 replies
Hey,

Just curious: what was the worst sales call you've ever got?

Share some horror stories
#call #sales #worst
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  • Profile picture of the author kenmichaels
    Originally Posted by MeTellYou View Post

    Hey,

    Just curious: what was the worst sales call you've ever got?

    Share some horror stories

    I made the sale and was pulling the card number when
    I knocked my coffee onto my brand new laptop.

    I dropped the F-bomb and lost the sale.

    That was over twenty years ago and I still get embarrassed thinking of it.


    ---

    The next one is bad too,
    At my first sales job, the top sales lady sat next to me.
    Which I thought was going to be awesome until I realized she threw up into
    her garbage can every thirty minutes or so...

    She told every phone call she was on that she was on chemo and then used her cancer
    as a way to warm up the prospect.

    I heard her say that for so long I thought it was fake and then about
    two and a half years later she died, so, maybe it wasn't.
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    • Profile picture of the author MeTellYou
      That first one was hillarious! The second one not so much... poor lady.

      Originally Posted by kenmichaels View Post

      I made the sale and was pulling the card number when
      I knocked my coffee onto my brand new laptop.

      I dropped the F-bomb and lost the sale.

      That was over twenty years ago and I still get embarrassed thinking of it.


      ---

      The next one is bad too,
      At my first sales job, the top sales lady sat next to me.
      Which I thought was going to be awesome until I realized she threw up into
      her garbage can every thirty minutes or so...

      She told every phone call she was on that she was on chemo and then used her cancer
      as a way to warm up the prospect.

      I heard her say that for so long I thought it was fake and then about
      two and a half years later she died, so, maybe it wasn't.
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  • Profile picture of the author Claude Whitacre
    Originally Posted by MeTellYou View Post

    Hey,

    Just curious: what was the worst sales call you've ever got?

    Share some horror stories
    These are in person sales calls.

    I had a man answer the door naked once. I had a young female trainee (her first day) with me that day. It was the first door I knocked on. She asked "Does everyone come to the door naked?".

    I had a woman go topless the entire time I was there, just to upset her husband.

    I made the mistake of taking a new guy with me once. The couple was going to the bedroom to get the down payment, when I saw the new guy make an obscene sexual gesture (the woman was really attractive). I glanced up and saw that the woman saw the gesture in a mirror.

    I told the guy "You just cost me a thousand dollars". Sure enough, a minute later, they came out of the bedroom and told us to leave.

    I was in a home once where a party was going on. I didn't want to be there, but the homeowner insisted I do my presentation. There were 8 couples there. I was there for 8 hours. All eight bought. The smoke (from them smoking) made me lose my voice and get sick for a few days. And the next morning, seven of them cancelled their order. Lessons learned.


    I went on an appointment to a single woman's house. A sheriff was there the whole time. I finally asked if they were married, or just dating. The sheriff told me that he was just there because the woman called him, because she was afraid I was going to rape or murder her. It took me about 5 seconds to decide to just pack up and leave. I never met the woman before. I just knew I didn't want to be there. I remember asking her "So....you made an appointment with someone you thought might want to murder you?".


    Out of maybe 50,000 calls, 12,000 presentations and 7,200 sales....I've only been asked to leave maybe 3 times, and never been threatened.

    Oh, I knocked on a door, where the woman living there was thinking of suicide. She let me in, and a few hours later she bought from me. That was interesting.

    Added later; The ones that were the least enjoyable were the appointments where they were trying to recruit me into an MLM company, or wanting to talk about their religion the entire time. Of course the MLM people always bought, because they believed their MLM would make them rich, and the religious folk bought, because I was willing to agree with them about just about anything. Profitable, but unpleasant.
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    • Profile picture of the author MeTellYou
      Such cool stories!

      Originally Posted by Claude Whitacre View Post

      These are in person sales calls.

      I had a man answer the door naked once. I had a young female trainee (her first day) with me that day. It was the first door I knocked on. She asked "Does everyone come to the door naked?".

      I had a woman go topless the entire time I was there, just to upset her husband.

      I made the mistake of taking a new guy with me once. The couple was going to the bedroom to get the down payment, when I saw the new guy make an obscene sexual gesture (the woman was really attractive). I glanced up and saw that the woman saw the gesture in a mirror.

      I told the guy "You just cost me a thousand dollars". Sure enough, a minute later, they came out of the bedroom and told us to leave.

      I was in a home once where a party was going on. I didn't want to be there, but the homeowner insisted I do my presentation. There were 8 couples there. I was there for 8 hours. All eight bought. The smoke (from them smoking) made me lose my voice and get sick for a few days. And the next morning, seven of them cancelled their order. Lessons learned.


      I went on an appointment to a single woman's house. A sheriff was there the whole time. I finally asked if they were married, or just dating. The sheriff told me that he was just there because the woman called him, because she was afraid I was going to rape or murder her. It took me about 5 seconds to decide to just pack up and leave. I never met the woman before. I just knew I didn't want to be there. I remember asking her "So....you made an appointment with someone you thought might want to murder you?".


      Out of maybe 50,000 calls, 12,000 presentations and 7,200 sales....I've only been asked to leave maybe 3 times, and never been threatened.

      Oh, I knocked on a door, where the woman living there was thinking of suicide. She let me in, and a few hours later she bought from me. That was interesting.

      Added later; The ones that were the least enjoyable were the appointments where they were trying to recruit me into an MLM company, or wanting to talk about their religion the entire time. Of course the MLM people always bought, because they believed their MLM would make them rich, and the religious folk bought, because I was willing to agree with them about just about anything. Profitable, but unpleasant.
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  • Profile picture of the author max5ty
    Back in the early 90's I worked for a automotive sales team that would go into dealerships across the U.S. and do 3 - 4 day sales. We'd end up selling more than the dealership sold in the entire month. Supposedly, we were the best of the best. Looking back, we were just high pressure salespeople which wouldn't fly today.

    One day at a dealership in Florida, I went in to close a deal. A 20 year old kid was buying a car. He told me how on that date one year ago him and his girlfriend were crossing a train track and got hit by a train and she died instantly, and he survived.

    He bought the car. About 3 months later I learned that on that very same night he had been hit by a train on that very same railroad crossing in that car and had died instantly.

    It still haunts me to this day that I could have said something to him or helped him in some way.

    Now, I always realize everybody has a story. Everybody wants someone to listen to them. There's always something there if you listen close enough...and there's always a way you can offer help.

    Although it's not a sales call story, it's about sales.
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    • Profile picture of the author Monetize
      Originally Posted by max5ty View Post

      Back in the early 90's I worked for a automotive sales team that would go into dealerships across the U.S. and do 3 - 4 day sales. We'd end up selling more than the dealership sold in the entire month. Supposedly, we were the best of the best. Looking back, we were just high pressure salespeople which wouldn't fly today.

      One day at a dealership in Florida, I went in to close a deal. A 20 year old kid was buying a car. He told me how on that date one year ago him and his girlfriend were crossing a train track and got hit by a train and she died instantly, and he survived.

      He bought the car. About 3 months later I learned that on that very same night he had been hit by a train on that very same railroad crossing in that car and had died instantly.

      It still haunts me to this day that I could have said something to him or helped him in some way.

      Now, I always realize everybody has a story. Everybody wants someone to listen to them. There's always something there if you listen close enough...and there's always a way you can offer help.

      Although it's not a sales call story, it's about sales.

      That is a sad story but I don't think there's anything you could
      have said or done, Max. He bought that car knowing that he
      was going to commit suicide in it. He probably had survivor's
      guilt and just couldn't deal with it.

      Anyway, there's been some interesting replies here but I think
      the OP is referring to sales calls you get from people who want
      to sell you things you don't need.
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      • Profile picture of the author max5ty
        Originally Posted by Monetize View Post


        Anyway, there's been some interesting replies here but I think
        the OP is referring to sales calls you get from people who want
        to sell you things you don't need.
        Ok, fine then...you're probably right...love you Monetize

        so, I've mentioned this before, but will tell it again.

        When I was 9 or 10, I saw an ad in a magazine for a door alarm. It was one of those with a chain and when the chain was hooked and the door was opened an alarm would sound.

        I could buy them for $1.

        I thought this would be a great money opportunity because I didn't see how I couldn't sell these for at least $5.

        So I ordered one.

        When it arrived I decided to go door to door in the little town we lived in and sell these by taking orders.

        I knocked and knocked...no sales. Maybe it was my presentation...or maybe it was because I was a nerdy looking kid wanting 5 bucks for something that I had to order.

        Eventually, I knocked at the door of my piano teacher. Was refreshing that she actually seemed to show some interest...and actually ordered one and gave me $5. Looking back, she didn't really want it, but was just being nice.

        That night at dinner, the you know what hit the fan when my mom confronted me about my sales efforts. I hadn't thought my piano teacher would rat me out. But, she did...

        probably was more about my moms ego...and having one of her kids going around town knocking on doors trying to sell some cheap alarm. I learned later that my piano teacher wasn't the only one that called my mom...the mayor of the little town had actually called her also.

        My sales dreams were over. I had to refund my music teacher her 5 bucks.

        I was upset that my plans didn't go according to plan and my empire never got off the ground.

        Was a good lesson in sales though, and it's one that shaped my future experiences
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        • Profile picture of the author Claude Whitacre
          Originally Posted by max5ty View Post


          When it arrived I decided to go door to door in the little town we lived in and sell these by taking orders.

          I knocked and knocked...no sales. Maybe it was my presentation...or maybe it was because I was a nerdy looking kid wanting 5 bucks for something that I had to order.
          When I was a kid, for whatever reason, I found things to sell door to door. I sold seeds, greeting cards, and candy bars.

          After I sold a box of candy bars for school, it occurred to me that I could just buy candy bars and sell them myself. Of course, I wasn't really selling. People bought because they thought they were helping me out. I had no idea what I was doing, except that it was working.

          And, for whatever reason, my little mail order ventures always made money.

          I would buy chameleons from Florida, 100 at a time, and sell them 4 at a time through the mail. My Mom was very excited about having a large aquarium full of lizards in the basement. I knew she was excited...because of the yelling.

          I sold comic books, knives, and other cheap things, through classified ads. I was maybe 14-16 at the time.


          about taking orders...
          When I was selling vacuum cleaners in people's homes, rarely, my supplier would run out of stock, and I'd just have one to demonstrate. i would sell it and take orders. A financing agreement was filled out, and I would order the machines to deliver. It took me quite a while to put it together that these sales almost always cancelled when I went to deliver.

          If I left the vacuum with them, about 5% would cancel. If I was going to deliver later that week, maybe 75% would cancel.

          I spent quite a lot of effort in my later years, making sure sales didn't cancel. I would have far preferred not getting the sale, than getting a cancellation. Whether I made the sale or not, I didn't take it personally. I wasn't excited when the bought, I wasn't upset when they didn't buy. But I took cancellations personally. It was another trip to their home, to pick up a dirty machine, that I could no longer sell as new.
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          • Profile picture of the author max5ty
            Originally Posted by Claude Whitacre View Post


            I would buy chameleons from Florida, 100 at a time, and sell them 4 at a time through the mail. My Mom was very excited about having a large aquarium full of lizards in the basement. I knew she was excited...because of the yelling.

            .
            Oh my gosh...way too funny!

            You're a true salesman!!!
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            • Profile picture of the author Claude Whitacre
              Originally Posted by max5ty View Post

              Oh my gosh...way too funny!

              You're a true salesman!!!
              Something I should mention.

              I always made money as a kid selling something, whether by mail or in person.

              But my first job selling was selling Vanguard fire alarms for a company. They gave me two appointments a day. I got a week's worth of training (maybe at 19 years old.)

              I worked there six months...and didn't make a single sale. I have no idea why they didn't fire me.

              My car was repossessed, I was evicted from my apartment, and moved back in with my parents. I worked a few jobs at factories.

              I decided to sell life insurance at 21. By sheer work ethic, and reading a few books on selling life insurance, I started making a living. I was with the Monumental Life Insurance Company. In 1977, I was the third top salesman in the company (out of 2,200 agents). I still had no idea what I was doing, but if you talk to enough people, some will insist on buying.

              A guy came to my home selling vacuum cleaners, and I bought one. The idea of selling something and getting paid a few days later really appealed to me.

              I quit selling life insurance. I was still getting paid on past sales for several months, and started selling vacuums.

              After a few months, for whatever reason it occurred to me that I probably wouldn't be the greatest life insurance salesman (Those sales records were mythic in their volume), but I thought I could become the world's greatest vacuum cleaner salesman.

              The next 30 years were dedicated to that goal.

              Had I stayed with life insurance, I'd certainly be wealthier now. In fact, lots of businesses would have paid more than selling vacuum cleaners one at a time. In my own life, my speaking and training business far outdistanced my vacuum sales income.

              But there is something satisfying about being the best at one thing, even if it's just selling vacuum cleaners.

              At an industry convention I met the woman who sold the record for in home vacuum cleaner sales in a month. We recognized each other...two predators circling each other, looking for weakness.

              She told me she sold the record of 60 vacuums in a month. I asked how many presentations that took. She said "120".

              I told her my record was only 25 in a month (net sales I got paid on). She asked me how many presentations that took. I said "26".

              We spent the next hour debating who was actually the better salesperson. I insisted it was her. She insisted it was me.

              She asked me why my record month wasn't more., because 26 presentations a month are just a tad more than one a day. She went on 5 or 6 presentations a day.

              I told her I didn't actually enjoy selling. I just did it for the money, and to get better at it. She was a believer, and was very brand loyal.

              I'm not sure I ever mentioned this to anyone before. We compared income on the sales, and I made a little more with 25 sales than she did with her 60, because I charged more for my vacuum (the same brand), and didn't discount as much to get the sales.

              I just got a postcard from her yesterday. She's still with the same company, except now she's the National Sales Director. I considered getting back into it, for about 5 seconds...just to see what I could do.
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              • Profile picture of the author Monetize
                Originally Posted by Claude Whitacre View Post

                But there is something satisfying about being the best at one thing, even if it's just selling vacuum cleaners.

                I have never posted this but back in the 80s, while I was
                working full-time for Dept of the Army, I took a side hustle
                presenting Rainbows.

                I only did a couple of presentations but I loved doing them.
                I would have the homeowner vacuum a 4-5 foot square area
                of the carpet with their current vacuum until they swore it was
                clean, and then I'd put that clean water tank in front of them
                while I went over that same exact area and watched their
                faces cringe when the dirt filled that water tank.

                The company sent me on one too many calls where people
                didn't answer the door, so I quit in frustration. But I think that
                if there weren't so many dangerous lunatics out here I would
                have loved to sell Rainbows. Other than the schlepping part,
                I really enjoyed it.
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                • Profile picture of the author Claude Whitacre
                  Originally Posted by Monetize View Post

                  I have never posted this but back in the 80s, while I was
                  working full-time for Dept of the Army, I took a side hustle
                  presenting Rainbows.

                  I only did a couple of presentations but I loved doing them.
                  I would have the homeowner vacuum a 4-5 foot square area
                  of the carpet with their current vacuum until they swore it was
                  clean, and then I'd put that clean water tank in front of them
                  while I went over that same exact area and watched their
                  faces cringe when the dirt filled that water tank.

                  The company sent me on one too many calls where people
                  didn't answer the door, so I quit in frustration. But I think that
                  if there weren't so many dangerous lunatics out here I would
                  have loved to sell Rainbows. Other than the schlepping part,
                  I really enjoyed it.
                  When I hired new reps, I would guarantee them ten sales. How did I deliver? They would set the appointments, and I would do the presentations, with them there watching.

                  I would do that as many times as it took to sell ten. And I paid the new person as though they made the sale. Why did I want them to see me make ten sales?

                  1) I wanted them to see that people bought. That a sale was normal and even expected.
                  2) I wanted them to see that just about everyone is the same. Almost all are nice.
                  3) I wanted them to see that nothing bad ever happens. There is no reason to fear an appointment, or be nervous about asking anyone to buy.
                  4) Money is being made selling. If they stick with it, they get good at it.

                  It also kept me busy. When you are training someone, you can't call off work, or leave the office early. Training new people in the field kept me working when I wasn't in the mood.

                  And them seeing 15 presentations (an average to get ten sales), in addition to training in the office, prepared them to start really making money.

                  Anyway, I hope some of this is helpful to someone.
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              • Profile picture of the author animal44
                Originally Posted by Claude Whitacre View Post


                In my own life, my speaking and training business far outdistanced my vacuum sales income.
                What's that saying. Those who can, do, those who can't, teach...

                Now where's me flak jacket...
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                • Profile picture of the author Claude Whitacre
                  Originally Posted by animal44 View Post

                  What's that saying. Those who can, do, those who can't, teach...

                  Now where's me flak jacket...
                  I know you are joking. But I've heard that from people who aren't.

                  Those that can do, do, those that can't, teach. But you know who else teaches? Those who have accomplished much. If you have accomplished much over a long period of time, sharing what you know seems kind of obligatory, don't you think?

                  As I get older, I find (as I'm sure you do too) your body of knowledge and experience is vast. Your interest turns to preserving what you know, by teaching it to others. Passing the torch.


                  On the other hand, some teachers have never accomplished anything, except teach. Fine with music teachers, or math teachers....they are teaching knowledge outside their experience. They aren't sharing their experience, their knowledge and insights.

                  But that's not OK with sales authors and trainers, in my opinion.
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