11/03/08 Click. You're Dead.

Telephone And Email Selling Have Their Pitfalls 

 

The other day a seller called while I was rushing to get 20 things done before catching an airplane. "Ah, hello Mr. Rhoads, my name is Nate..." I interrupted, "Nate, what are you selling? I'm a bit rushed today." He was taken off guard. "Well, Mr. Rhoads, I'm with XYZ Investments and I have a hot stock." Click. Dead. I try to be kind to everyone on the telephone, but I draw the line at stockbrokers. Sorry.

In a selling environment, if you catch a prospect in that deadline mode, you're dead.  
When I'm making a sales call, after my introduction I immediately ask, "Is this a good time to speak?" If it's not, I set an appointment for a more convenient time. The question often causes prospects to realize they should slow down and take a moment. Sometimes they'll say in a rushed voice, "Yeah, I've got a minute. What's up?" If you can tell they aren’t paying full attention, try to graciously reschedule the call for a different time.

   Those first few moments are crucial to any sales call. When they open with "Mr. Rhoads," I know it's a sales call. If they say "My name is…," I know it’s a sales call — and I'm off the phone in seconds. If your pitch is too phony, you'll also lose me fast. If you've done your homework, you should have an idea what will get your prospects’ attention in the first few seconds. What is their biggest challenge or problem? What do you have that they need at this moment? If you can tease that into the first few seconds, you’ve got a lifeline. "I've found an interesting way to cut your printing costs by 50 percent” may get my attention.  
Email can be effective for mass marketing, but it's death when selling advertising. If I don't know the sender, I look at the first line before hitting delete. "Mr. Rhoads, I'd like to introduce myself" is a death sentence. As with phone selling, something like "Eric, I've found a way to increase your sales 20 percent in 30 days" would be more effective. Open with your strongest subject and opening line. Otherwise, I hit delete.

   Once you have an established relationship, email can be helpful - but it MUST NOT be used during a negotiation. I caught myself doing this the other day, and it killed a deal. When asked "What is your best rate?" I responded by email rather than picking up the phone. On the phone, you can deal with issues and objections on the spot. "I got your email and wanted to respond because the answer is a bit complex." With email, it’s too easy to say no, or simply to not respond. 
Salespeople love email because they can tell their manager they "made a contact" or “made a pitch," when in fact all they did was send an email. And email has reliability problems. This week I emailed a new client with an introduction and an opportunity, but I heard nothing. After three days I decided to call and ask if she had seen my email. Her response had never reached me. Or, all too often, I intend to respond but the message ends up with hundreds of others in my inbox and it gets overlooked. 

If your sales are down, look at your sales process. Email selling is death. Click. You're dead.  
 

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