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Have low expectations. Across all industries, only about 10% of cold calls typically result in new business, and that's after multiple contacts from the vendor. Vendors know this, which is why they cast such a wide net. Nonetheless, it pays to remember that you are the customer and deserve the vendor's respect, whether in the amount of time you are willing to spend on the phone or the manner of contact you request.
Unlike Smith, who surreptitiously scratches out his trade show name badge, Texas Medical's Russell recently went to a conference and wanted to hear back from a vendor he met there. Then six months went by before he got a call from a salesperson. "If it takes a company that long to follow up with you, that tells you something about that company," he says. Indeed it does.
Megan Santosus, a former senior editor at CIO Decisions, is now a features editor for SearchDataCenter.com. Write to her at msantosus@techtarget.com.
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