Is it just me, or is there an irritating new trend among sales people to go for the pre-emptive close before they've even actually spoken to you?
I've just received an email entitled "Your lunch reservation" which goes on to say:
"I haven't heard back from you regarding your lunch reservation and want to make sure we can give an accurate head count to our venue partners in London. If you are unable to make it to any of our lunch seminars, please click here to cancel your complimentary reservation (or forward to others in your organisation)."
I've never spoken to anyone at this organisation, nor have I shown any interest, as far as I'm aware, in what they're selling - events management, since you ask. The irony.
I find it presumptious in the extreme that they are expecting me to get back to them if I don't want to go. Still further, if I can't make it they'd rather like it if I could do their job for them and get a colleague to attend instead. This can't be an effective tactic.
It's second only in rudeness to another alarming new approach which we experienced the other day when the entire KMUK marketing department, past and present, received a direct outlook meeting request as a first point of contact from an organisation trying to sell us marketing services. They received short shrift when they finally bothered to pick up the phone.
I find these sorts of approaches highly discourteous, and more than likely to create a negative impression of the organisation and people using them, which, when they're trying to sell me marketing services, is counterproductive on more than one level.
Anyone else experienced this sort of approach? Does it make you reet furious?
