How To Write An Email To A Resistant Prospect
In this tutorial, Bill Caskey, author of Email It — A Seller’s Guide To Emails That Work, discusses one of the most stressful emails a salesperson needs to write.
Maybe you’ve had a prospect who suddenly begins to resist your offer. Bill walks through the exact words you should use in that email.
You can learn more tips on how to write emails to a prospect or your client at: http://emailitsellersguide.com/
Josh Hamilton – A Refreshing Relapse
Texas Ranger outfielder Josh Hamilton recently made sports headlines when he relapsed from his drug and alcohol treatment program. Although celebrity relapse is not new, I thought the way he handled it was.
In an era when politicians and celebrities find it impossible to accept responsibility – instead, blaming others for all bad things that happen, Josh got up in front of the microphone the next day and said, “I messed up. I hurt people. I let down people who lean on me.”
You can argue all day about Josh’s baseball talent. He has been injured a lot and had some very average years. But in this case, he came through victorious.
Alcohol and drug recovery is a one-day-at-a-time game. I have a little experience in that game. Sometimes, when you feel vulnerable and weak, you have to put your game face on and be vigilant about relapse. Apparently, Josh wasn’t.
But rather than be quick to judge him for why it occurred. I am quick to judge how he handled it.
We sales people and business leaders can take a page from the Hamilton playbook when it comes to accepting responsibility, taking the blame and doing it in a ‘stand-up, head-on’ way. Wouldn’t it be refreshing if some of our politicians had the courage to stand up and say, “I screwed up by voting for that bill. I messed up. I don’t know what I was thinking. I’m sorry I hurt people inadvertently.”
Wouldn’t that be refreshing–especially if it came from the heart?
Or wouldn’t it be nice if a company leader had the bravery to stand up in front of the executive team and admit an error in judgement? Or, if a sales person who wasn’t achieving at the level he/she desired, to stand up and admit that it’s, “all on me” instead of blaming the pricing, the website, the customer demands, the weather?
Or, if a sales manager would go into the President’s office and accept responsibility for weak sales performance instead of blaming his sales team? Or, if a customer service person would admit that they screwed up the shipping instructions?
As we go about our day in our business lives, check out when we take accountability and when we shirk it. It probably would surprise us. The great paradox is that we think it’s a strategy of strength to never admit errors. But it’s quite the opposite.
Sales Discovery – Not Interrogation
Leave some breathing space. When we do role-plays in our training class, it’s amazing to us how often the discovery part of the sales process becomes an “interrogation.” When you ask the prospect a question, give him or her a chance to answer and follow up that answer with subsequent answers that probably get you closer to the theme. Stop getting in the way of the sale.
Are You Bringing ‘Presence’ to Your Prospects?
Not donuts…or lunch…or coffee mugs. But are you bringing your ‘full self’ when you meet with people?
In this video, Bill tells you a story of how he and his team are brought in to interview sales people upfront before an offer is made. What they see is not good. And it all gets back to the little word with big implications: Presence.
He tells you what he looks for in those interviews and how you can think about what you bring to prospect meetings.
Aristotle Taught Us But We Weren’t Listening – 3 Ways To Improve Your Sales Strategy
OK, sales folks. You got some advice from your friend Aristotle in 350 BC and I don’t think you were listening. It was while he was being taught by Plato and just before he hooked up with Alex the Great.
His advice was very simple. In order to be a great sales person, you have to have 3 parts to your strategy.
In this video, Bill calls up some Aristotle wisdom and shares what those are.
Are Your Best Years Behind You or Ahead of You?
It seems like an obvious question doesn’t it? If I were to ask a hundred people on the street they would all say their best years are ahead of them. But would they really feel that way or would that just be the politically correct thing to say?
I was doing my annual New Year’s cards for my daughters. One daughter is 18 while the other is low 30’s. I believe the future is so bright for that generation that they should feel blessed — they have some many great years in front of them.
I actually believe that although most people do not.
And as I wrote their cards, I wondered aloud whether I felt that way about myself at 55 years old. Can I honestly look in the mirror and say that my best days are ahead of me when I’ve had 55 years of a great life?
I have some rather long lifelines in my family (my dad lived to be ninety-seven and his mother ninety-five) and when people ask me when I’m going to retire I tell them retirement for me would be certain death.
So, for those of us that are in our 40’s, 50’s and 60’s, how do we ensure that in fact the best days are in front of us?
Here is a list:
- Stay current. As we get older it becomes harder to stay current with the new technology/social media/web world but we must. I know several people who have not been able to figure it out on their own but they have hired technology coaches. Great idea.
How To Keep Talent. How To Grow Talent. – Video Reaction To A Forbes Article
We received a link recently from an Advanced Selling Podcast Listener to an article in Forbes called 10 Reasons Large Companies Fail to Keep Their Best Talent.
In this video, Bill Caskey reviews the Forbes list then comes up with one of our own on HOW TO GROW YOUR TEAM’S TALENT.
