Why are Minnesotan's so rude to business calls? (how much, school)

[acrylic]

Originally Posted by youngurbanprofessional

Thank you for your responses, some of you please try to answer the question.

Now I understand why people are so "rude" to you. People already answered you, and you want more answers? That doesn't make sense.

[uptown_urbanist]

OK, here it is, direct and straight from a native MN.

You: Can I talk to someone with some real power? [tip: this does NOT go over well with most receptionists. Maybe it irritates MN receptionists more than those other places.]

Me: No. I am not going to waste my time or my supervisor's time. It is not YOUR decision as to how MY office spends our limited time. If you are calling me unsolicited then you are still a telemarketer; I don't care how much research you've done. If we want your services we will contact YOU at OUR convenience.


End of discussion.

As to why Minnesotans act differently then the rest of the country (again, never true in my own years of office experience on both coasts and in MN, but perhaps your particular field is different) then maybe it's because based on MN culture you ARE pushy and very rude. I'm sure you know your product, but apparently you don't know Minnesotans. And, based on your refusal to listen to the comments made, your goal with this post seems to be criticizing Minnesotans and their very valid annoyance with cold calls than it is actually figuring out an alternative strategy that would work in the state.

[uptown_urbanist]

Here's another suggestion: given that everyone on the MN forum is either Minnesotan or has some sort of Minnesotan connection, I doubt you'll be able to get whatever answer you want here (maybe we've all been "tainted" by the MN approach or something). Why not post some version of your question on the general US boards and see what people from across the country say? Not necessarily to see what their opinions are about Minnesotans, but rather how they personally in their region would view these phone calls and how they would react. Give them your opinions from your experience and see how people's reactions match up to your own views on the subject. Then, maybe, you'll be able to better figure out regional differences, or at least regional differences in perceptions. Otherwise I doubt that you're going to get much more out this particular thread, given that everyone's response has been pretty much the same.

[rcsteiner]

Originally Posted by youngurbanprofessional

I am NOT pitching myself to receptionists. I'm simply asking to reach someone who is in a position to make decisions in a particular area. I work for a fortune 500 company that is #1 in it's market that provides IT products and services to business on all levels. I do have thick skin, and I will say that these responses are common ALL OVER THE COUNTRY. I'm not complaining, I'm simply asking why Minnesotan's react differently.

I've never worked for a company where getting past the receptionist in your case would be an easy task. Not in MN, and certainly not here in GA.

I've worked in IT for 20 years, and we simply don't have time to deal with sales calls. We're busy designing and implementing solutions for our own customers, or for our own internal use.

If we want your services, we'll call you. End of story.

[miramera]

I don't live in Minnesota now, but grew up there. I have salespeople call our office often, and I always give them a quick "I'm not interested" answer in an effort to get them off the phone. I have no interest in their products because we don't need new products, my boss hates when I forward sales calls to her, and I have no incentive to listen to these sales calls. The decision makers in our office have even less interest in listening to sales pitches than I do, and I'd rather not have a boss annoyed with me for forwarding her an annyoing phone call. That said, I will listen to a LOCAL business owner who comes into the office IN PERSON, and I have had the power to make some product changes in those cases. Same goes for my coworkers. I don't think it's specifically a Minnesota thing, but I think a lot of people simply dislike impersonal phone calls from all over the world that have no real interest in their business. So many business calls I get are read from a script, from people who don't speak good English, from people who don't have the correct name for our organization, and who ask for people who haven't worked here in 10 years. A lot of businesses don't need new products, and if they do, they don't get their recommendations from salespeople....they get them from other people in the industry, friends, business networks. What kind of research do you do---websites? Not a good source of info in my experience. And ditto the others--if we want products, we'll come to you.

[ozzie679]

Originally Posted by youngurbanprofessional

Minnesotans are just very turned off and extremely skeptical of sales people. I never understood it, and I grew up and spend 23 years of my life there. Can anyone explain?

I am a business owner who get 5-10 sales calls/day. The bulk of the calls are from credit card processors, equipment leasing companies, finance companies, and internet advertising services. You know who has ruined it for you? The internet advertising companies and the credit card processors.

Those online ad companies will verify your store information and somehow they sign you up for an ad. I was burned once, but never again! I will never verify my business information with anybody that I don't know. I won't even give it to D&B over the phone. There are too many snakes out there that ruin it for inside sales people. Every one of them gets a... "I'm sorry, but I'm not interested. Thank you." (click) If they want my business they can make an appointment and physically call on me.

I'm sorry if that seems disheartening to you. But that's how I handle my business.

[MN-Born-n-Raised]

Sorry..... Anybody who asks "to talk with the person in charge" is in telesales or "telephone sales". That phrase is an intro to a script and it is code word to shake the person off the phone ASAP. It doesn't matter how friendly your voice sounds or how much research you did; you started with a script! You are refusing to admit the obvious.

You need to do some discover on how to get past the receptionist. Ask for the IT manager. Example say " This is Bill Smith. I forgot....., what is the name of the IT Manager again..." That will get you though 10 times faster than asking to speak with the decision maker.

Maybe use some humor and say "Say, I was looking for the Grand Poobah in the IT department. Is that person in the office???" (while having a lot of inflections in your voice). When they ask "what is it in regards to" tell the receptionist "I wanted to fax him a quote that he would be interested in." Tune the message and get creative. If they don't let you though, ask for his or her name and fax # so you can send off a 1 page document. Now you have the name to call back another day.

I stand by my point. The MN workers are probably more savvy at sniffing out sales calls than those calls you make into Arkansas. You need to be a better sales person. Right now, you are too boring and scripted. Don't call people RUDE for protecting peoples time. It's exactly how you would behave if the tables were in reverse. If you don't understand that, then you cannot be helped.

[MN-Born-n-Raised]

Originally Posted by ozzie679

I am a business owner who get 5-10 sales calls/day. The bulk of the calls are from credit card processors, equipment leasing companies, finance companies, and internet advertising services. You know who has ruined it for you? The internet advertising companies and the credit card processors.

Those online ad companies will verify your store information and somehow they sign you up for an ad. I was burned once, but never again! I will never verify my business information with anybody that I don't know. I won't even give it to D&B over the phone. There are too many snakes out there that ruin it for inside sales people. Every one of them gets a... "I'm sorry, but I'm not interested. Thank you." (click) If they want my business they can make an appointment and physically call on me.

I'm sorry if that seems disheartening to you. But that's how I handle my business.

+1!

When they want your credit card processing, they always say "we have someone in your neighborhood and want to set-up an appointment." Again, scripted.

10 years ago, it was long distant carriers that were annoying. Lately, the Star and Tribune has been bugging me.

[youngurbanprofessional]

Oh boy, amazing how much a thread can twist in a day. I simply asked some questions, very politely, and I'm already seeing personal attacks. I'll just make some points as I believe many (not all) responses misunderstand where I'm coming from:

1. I was born and raised in MN, live there for 23 years, I'm a product of the very environment you are telling me I don't understand.

2. I do both inside AND outside sales, and many of my calls ARE IN FACT to set up onsite personal meetings and appointments. I've always considered it rude to just show up unannounced to an office and demand a meeting.

3. I have been very successful at sales, inside sales, telesales, whatever you want to call it. I wasn't looking for advice and I wasn't implying that I'm stuggling. Despite a tough economy, I've been able to help a lot of companies stay in business by helping them save money, be more cost effective, and make smarter and more educated business decisions, particularly in their IT infrastructure.

4. Eventhough some of these responses aren't what I was expecting, I'm starting to see the light as to why MN are more reluctant to work with businesses through initial phone contact: It's the MN pride issue. I do remember it from living there. I had a parent from Chicago and one from MN, so while living in MN I was never led to believe that MN was a better place than anywhere else in the world, but growing up there and living the majority of my life there I have noticed it in others. I think I can attribute that to the passive-aggressive responses.

Thanks again for replying. I will probably take the suggestion of posting this on the US Forum, it would be interesting to see what all parts of the country has a for a response, not just minnesota.

[golfgal]

Again, people in general don't like telemarketers and cold calls. Perhaps if you got a referral to what ever business you are tying to solicit you might have better luck. If you are cold calling businesses you have to expect the 'not interested" response more often then not. I fail to see how MN's are any different then any other part of the country in this respect. I also fail to see how "not interested" is rude in any way, shape or form. In fact, it is much more polite then hanging up on someone, which is what you will find elsewhere. You have had a chip on your shoulder about MN since you started on this board and perhaps that causes you to assume people are being rude.