Help! No One's Answering My Calls - What Should I Do?

[AmyP]

Ok so the people say call me in January to book...I call...leave messages and no one answers!!!! What should i do...My upline director said mail new catalogs to them...any other suggestions???? Thanks

 

[DebbieJ]

Leave a message saying "I know you are busy, so I will try to reach you again and hopefully we can connect soon,"

Try again in a few weeks. If you never hear back and you can't get through, bless and release! Easier said than done, I know, but there is too much energy and effort expended in trying to track down those who don't make good on their promises.

 

[jenniferknapp]

Try with a different phone number, at different times of the week/day, email them..or mail a new catalog or mini catalog! Good luck

 

[C. Schapker]

One thing that often happens is we tend to call at the same time of the day. Make sure to pick a different time in the day. You may just be missing them.....
If you still have no luck leave one more message so you are not "stalking" them and really be excited and use the approach as, "I did not want you to miss out on our exciting new Spring season. We have new catalogs that begin the Spring selling season in March with over 35 new products. I know we discussed doing a show in.... but I want to make sure you get in on the action with March. I have just a few dates left and want to make sure you are marked on one of them. Call me back with a few dates you have available and we will take it from there."
It may just be your message. If not send a mini catalog with a sticker saying..."Book in March receive a free gift!"
Good luck!

 

[chefkristin]

Personally I think the reason they say call me in January is to get you out of their hair. But little do they know that we cheffers are persistent!!! LOL!!!
Keep calling and everytime you call say "ok, I will try again on such and such a day".

 

[beepampered]

Remember that you are planting seeds and that eventually it WILL pay off. At least one of those people you are calling will book somewhere down the line. Mentioning the new catalog and all the great new products might peak some interest as well. Good luck.

 

[DebbieJ]

Good point, Bee!

I did an open house once at a women's health club. It was when I first started my biz, so I called and called and called and called those people. FINALLY, FOUR MONTHS AFTER THE OPEN HOUSE, one of them called me back and booked a show. None of the bookings from her show panned out, but I did keep in touch with a few of them and had a show for one of the guests this past November. FOUR bookings from that one. So the line of business keeps growing because I KEPT CALLING.

Persistence pays off sometimes.

 

[Kathytnt]

I would send a mini-catalog and offer a full catalog if they contact you. Save your postage. My director suggests sending out a few mini and full catalogs and the following up with those people - SHe feels if you are just going to mail them out that your are wastig your money THE FORTUNE IS IN THE FOLLOWUP

 

[DebbieJ]

Exactly Kathy. Only mail as many as you can follow up with.

I got a bunch of minis to mail to my "potential hosts." I'm sending them out ten at a time. No more. Then I can call and contact them in a reasonable time frame to make sure they recieved the catalog and see what they think.

 

[lacychef]

THe biggest pet-peeve of mine with this biz is people not calling me back! But, I've come to realize that it's not THEIR job to remember to call me; it's my job to keep trying
Just stay persistent, you'll get ahold of them sometime

 

[Kathytnt]

It is unbelievable how many direct sales people I have tried to contact and they never returned my calll

 

[Chef Kearns]

It is unbelievable how many direct sales people I have tried to contact and they never returned my calll

I hear you!! I bought some Tastfully Simple (or something like that). I bought from 2 different consultants and neither one ever called me after the sale. Their product is a consumable! They should definitely follow-up, don't you think?

Every time I get invited to a direct sales party I will send an email afterwards to the consultant telling them I think they did a good job then asking if they have a Pampered Chef consultant already. They may not respond because they know I'm fishing for business, but it is always nice to know a bunch of different direct sales people. You never know when it will come in handy. We can all help each other. If I hear of people needing a particular type of consultant I can pass their name along and vice versa!

Anyway...just keep trying honey! I set up a tickler file with the months of the year then cards with the numbers 1-31 for the days of the month. I keep the drawing slips and write notes on the back...when I called (day and time), what was the result (needed a call back, left a message, booked for May...whatever), then I tuck it behind the month or day of the requested follow-up. It is a system that works for me! I am not a techie and using a computer system would not work for me.

The only problem I have with it is my 3 year old likes to pretend she's me so she gets into all of my PC stuff. She will take all the drawing slips out and write on them in her little made-up writing way, then tuck them back in the wrong spot.

 

[DebbieJ]

THe biggest pet-peeve of mine with this biz is people not calling me back! But, I've come to realize that it's not THEIR job to remember to call me; it's my job to keep trying

Exactly! This is even what I say to those customers who say they will call me back. I tell them, "oh no, it's my job to call people back. How about I try back in a month?" and they usually say yes.

 

[AmyP]

Thank you all for your suggestions! It really is frustrating for me and really upsetting because I don't want to be that annoying PC lady!! Im gonna order some mini cattys and mail them but first I am going to call them ALL today since it is Saturday and maybe they are home! I usually have called at a weeknight so maybe a new time will work! Thanks all!

 

[beepampered]

Unless there is some pressing news, I personally don't call people back. Why should I? I had someone in a large moms group I'm in call me about Arbornne. She left a generic "give me a call" message. I felt guilty when I deleted it three days later but figured she'd give me a call back if it was urgent.

 

[Sk8Mom209]

Everyone has great ideas on CS! I would call your local Chamber of Commerce and find out what events are coming up. Festivals and fairs are a great way to get a LARGE number of contacts fast.

Good luck.