Turning Around a Bad Perception

A bad perception in the market can be the result of anything from real product or service problems to bias, mis-information or trashing by a competitor. But its impact on your sales can be devastating. Not only doesn't the phone ring, but your salespeople can seem helpless to make headway with the market. And the worst part is that, according to the rule of thumb, you only hear about 10% of the bad perceptions; so it's always 10 times worse than you think.

The responsibility for turning around a bad perception in the market usually defaults to PR. But PR is one-way, like advertising. And people, that is, those who harbor the bad perception, aren't passive recipients of information, corrective or otherwise. They need to be heard, and know that you heard them. They need to confront you with their opinions, and the criticisms need to be addressed. Only then will they be willing to consider re-considering you as a vendor.

Because it is "high touch," professional B2B telemarketing can reach the people you need to reach, it can re-establish two-way communications, and it can draw out the negative opinions and the bases for the bad perception. A good Lead Generation Specialist can then respond to the criticism (since it's usually just like any other objection,) turn it around and open the door for reconciliation. Most importantly, though, a good Lead Generation Specialist can let the prospect "vent," getting the concerns off his shoulders so they can be dealt with rationally. And they can then move on to get you back in the door.

Not every bad perception in the market can be turned around, especially if the criticism is justified and you refuse to acknowledge or fix the problem. But people are human, and they respond to other people who are interested in their opinions, compassionate and caring. And the personal - and professional - touch of B2B telemarketing is ideally suited to the task.