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/
How To Write Business Emails That Get Results – Email Tips for Salespeople
Sales people, business leaders and marketing types are always looking for the magic dust when it comes to writing emails.
Well, in this video, you’ll see why most ‘persuasion techniques’ fail when it comes to email. It’s not because your writing is weak.
It’s not because you use the wrong font. It’s much deeper than that. It has to do with the state of mind you’re in when you write them.
And once you’re done with the video, head over to http://emailitsellersguide.com/ to check out the 20 most common scenarios that create ‘email opportunities.’ I think you’ll find some you recognize.
The Four Most Annoying Habits of Salespeople
Below is a list of habits millions of sales people do that annoy the hell out of most other human beings. If you partake in any of these, please stop. If you don’t, let’s keep it that way.
1. YOU TALK TOO MUCH AND DON’T THINK YOU DO.
In the movie When Harry Met Sally, Harry Burns said to Sally Albright, “You’re the worst kind; you’re high maintenance but you think you’re low maintenance.” I can’t tell you how many new clients have talked for 20 straight minutes on the importance of being a good listener.
My advice: Be quiet. Be quiet. Be quiet.
2. OVERLY ENTHUSIASTIC.
Here’s a conversation at national sales meeting between two territory managers who haven’t seen each other in a while:
- “Bobby Z whasssup dog? Still killin’ it in Hotlanta?”
- “Dude we killed it this year, up 28%! How are things on the left coast?”
- “Same bro numbers this morning had us up 32″
- “…Great! Fantastic! I’m finer than a frogs hair split three ways!”
My advice: You annoy the hell out of people if your energy is too high. Relax bro. Watch the two bulls on a hill story in the movie Colors with Sean Penn…just walk down.
Do Project Managers Need Sales Training, Too?
(If you don’t have Project Managers in your firm–and instead, have Customer Service agents or Technicians, then substitute that title for PMs)
Well of course, you know the answer to that question before we start.
But I’d like to share some observations that may make it easier for you to train your PM’s in communication skills. It seems that companies are relying more and more on their PM’s to manage the client relationships and generate referrals so this topic might be relevant for your firm.
One chapter in Same Game New Rules is titled Process Makes Perfect, and it’s about how engineers and technical sellers make the best sales people. Mainly because they are in the right place to bring tons of value.
1. Need for Good Communication. In most projects, there are many tiny details that can spin out of control. Since the relationship is only as good as the project process, then it is necessary for PM’s to know how to communicate issues to clients. The PM must have a “relationship awareness” all the way through.
This includes: bringing up sensitive topics PRIOR to them becoming problems; knowing how and to whom to communicate these issues at the client; knowing how to keep the atmosphere open and honest so bad matters don’t get worse; and having a paper stream of promises so that there is nothing left to memory.
2. Having a Problem-Solving Attitude. I like to think of selling as problem-solving. And nowhere does that get stated like it does in project management. The PM is always solving problems and keeping things on course. It may be that they don’t want to be in front line sales (and they shouldn’t) but it doesn’t mean that they can’t have the same attitude that the top flight sales person has.
3. Referral Generation. Most times, the PM is the exact person who should be cultivating referrals. In most B2B businesses, referrals make up 60-80% of new business. It’s a bit of a stretch to think that a sales person who sold the deal, but does NOT have the relationship, can waltz in and get referrals. It should be the PM. So any training you do for that group, should have ‘how to generate referrals’ as part of the curriculum.
Fewer Sales People-More PMs
Many companies are hiring fewer new account sales people, and relying on their subject matter experts (the PMs) to do more of the value communication. I think it makes sense in certain industries. Just make sure you train those people on the principles of selling and good communication. They ARE trainable. Just don’t try to turn them into sales people.
Question # 2. How Do I Communicate My Message So It’s More Compelling?
[This is part two of a six part series on the questions you should be asking yourself--not customers--but yourself. The main article appeared in early August: The Questions You Should Be Asking Yourself.]
Have been thinking about the idea of “how do we better communicate our value?” lately. Was interviewed by David Frey’s group for a sales mastery program–and spoke with my friend John Hirth at Selling Dynamics.
It seems the question always turns to “message.”
What Should My Message Be?
It should be a) focused on the prospect (not on your company and your products), b) focused on the pain they might feel (from your experience) and c) join the conversation already going on inside the prospect’s head/company.
But the reality is that unless you know what their issues/situation is, then you have no idea what your message should be.
So before you rush to creating your message, slow down a little and decide how you bring value to your clients. That will help you communicate a compelling message.
A compelling message is only compelling if it speaks to the heart of the prospect’s problem.
You Say You’re Different, But Are You?
Last week I was with one of my clients who was thumbing through some resumes when he came across a marketing person’s application.
On the resume in the summary it said, “I think differently than most people, and I can bring new ideas—out of the box thinking—to your business.” As I reached over and grabbed it and put it up in the air, I said, “This is part of the problem. A person sends this in on a resume just like the other hundred that you got, but says they’re different. The fact is they aren’t different.
To you, the CEO or hiring authority, all of them look alike.
Which brings me to my conclusion: We all like to think we’re different, but we really are all clones of one another. I know that will piss you off, but think about it. If you’re a marketing person or a salesperson looking for a position right now when the market is crowded with other people looking, you do have to stand out. But you can’t stand out by a longer or more clever resume.
You really stand out by changing the whole dynamic of the hiring process.
I was talking to my friend, Mike Sigers (author of simplenomics), and he went off on a rant about what he would do if he were looking for a job today.
“I would record some of my experiences on an audio-podcast. Then I would hire a high school person to come and videotape me, and I would do three three-minute video-casts that had to do with something I had expertise in. Then I would make a PDF of my resume (include any portfolio samples of work that I’ve done) and put it on a DVD, go down to my local Kinko’s, have them take my picture, make a label out of it, and that would be my handout.”
“I would never hand out a resume, an application or a letter of introduction. All I would do is say, ‘Here’s a sample of the kind of thinking I do and the work that I’ve performed. Why don’t you take a look at it? If you want to talk to me further, I’d be happy to take your call and meet for coffee.’”
Mike has something there.
What about salespeople?
Are your really different? Do you really look different when you show up in front of the prospect? Is your sales process so different that a prospect can pick you out of a group and say, “I want to do business with that company because of how they execute the sales cycle”? Probably not.
So we’re almost halfway through 2009. It’s been a tough year, but still there’s a lot of business out there. So I challenge you over the next 30 days to think…really think…about your business and how different you really are. You can’t say you’re different, you have to demonstrate it.
The Value of Podcasting For Lead Generation
I had a chance to speak at a Rainmakers chapter event last night. I was a stand-in for another speaker.
My topic was how to use podcasting to generate leads for your business.
As you know, our podcast, The Advanced Selling Podcast, is used by sales teams worldwide for training and tips on business development. And we’re getting more and more conversations that are leading to longer term engagements.
This is a 20-minute audio file of that speech. If you’re struggling–looking for new ways to begin conversations with your target audience, you’ll get some ideas from this talk.
