Thursday, August 26, 2010

The irony of it all...

So, imagine you just took part in a lead generation seminar. In addition to needing the particular niche service yourself, you were also on the hunt for a subcontractor for your clients.

Now, imagine you (as one of their brand new leads) are treated dismissively & unprofessionally on both the phone & through email by this 'leader in lead generation'. Well, imagine no longer. This just happened to me. Literally, 10 minutes ago.

To say that I am flabbergasted (or as Tabatha would say, "gob smacked") is to put it mildly. I'm almost at a loss for words (well, almost!) but I just had one of those "I feel a blog coming on" moments & had to let you all know that:

1. If you don't practice what you preach then you're kinda useless.
2. Anyone can say anything just about anywhere online these days, but the proof is in the pudding & when it comes time to prove yourself you either sink or swim.
3. If you have all kinds of restrictions, qualifications, minimums, etc. then they ought to be on your website, blog, social media, etc.
4. If you say you serve 'Fortune 500's to start ups' then you ought not blow off a small business who has raised their hand to you.
5. If you can't talk, then let your call go to voice mail. It is so very off-putting & utterly disrespectful to give someone (aka 'your brand new lead') the bum's rush on the phone.
6. If you're not 'on' during your business day, I guarantee you that your competitors are & will be very happy when they get the business you just dissed.

Ugh! So, I guess I'm back to square one but the good news is that I will NOT be put in a position to embarrass myself with a client. It really is better that I was treated this way, then to have had this company treat a client of mine this way & make ME look bad in the process.

A friend of mine always says, "if you are not your word, then what are you?"

I completely agree.