War Stories Archive
A Canadian plan sponsor told us this story at a conference: “The marketer for an investment company called to arrange a meeting with me. I told him I could give him 20 minutes. He showed up at my office and launched into a description of this new product his firm was offering, the best thing since sliced bread, etc. etc. There was just one small problem. Our investment guidelines don’t allow us to invest in anything like that. I cut him off as gently as I could when I realized this. He tried to shift gears and talk about another product his firm offered, but frankly, at that point, his time was up. Couldn’t he have spent just a little more time with me on the phone beforehand, to find out what we do here? A few minutes by phone sure would have saved us both a lot of time and his firm a lot of money.”
Moral: Qualify the prospect.