Magnus Marketing Blog

For those of you desiring to work in sales or business development, keep in mind that there is a huge difference between sales/biz dev and customer service. What brought this post up is that many times people in customer service (aka INBOUND) think they have what it takes to do biz/dev or sales (aka OUTBOUND). Survey people are much like Customer Service folks - another point to why Market Researchers are not suited for Prospecting. THE SKILL SET IS DIFFERENT.

Asking rote questions whether surveying or diagnosing issues, is NOT THE SAME as asking probing questions to uncover issues and SELL. One is information extraction, usually from a willing party, the other is information extraction, plus the push to secure a buying goal. A lot more persuasion, tenacity, and rapid thinking is needed - especially when the sale is around something that isn't so completely and comprehensively defined. While clarifying questions may be asked, dealing with rude people will be encountered, and uncovering issues is shared - the way it is executed and the processing is different. There is also more hunting in biz dev and "complex schmoozing" involved in sales.

I also think that in each case the "script" varies from company to company and person to person, which also means the questions and conversation will vary. No true script exists for real prospecting or sales.

It is a leap to go from customer service to outbound calls where rejection is common, pressure abounds, and stronger goals exist. It almost impossible to fail as a customer service rep, while not everyone is going to make it in sales/biz dev.