7 Pitfalls
of Using Email to Sell
by: Richard Gorham
* Are you sending
e-mails to prospects instead of calling them?
* Is e-mail your
selling medium of choice because it lets you avoid the rejection
that you dread when you make real cold calls?
* Do you wait and
wait for return e-mails from prospects that will give you the
green light to move the sales process forward?
Sad but true, these
days most people who sell for a living spend 80% of their time
trying to communicate with prospects via e-mail instead of actually
picking up the phone and speaking with them. Are you one of
those people? If so, you aren't alone...but do you understand
why you've turned to e-mail instead of personal contact? I think
there are 2 core reasons that underlie this unfortunate trend:
* Fear of rejection.
The sheer negative force of anticipating rejection makes people
turn to e-mail to generate new prospect relationships because
it hurts less to not get a reply than to hear that verbal "no."
* Getting blocked
by gatekeepers andvoicemail. When salespeople don't know how
to break through the barriers of gatekeepers and voicemail,
they start thinking, "Forget it -- it's not worth the aggravation,
and it takes too much energy. I'll just e-mail instead."
However, when you
try to use e-mail to offer your product or service to someone
who doesn't know you, you can't possibly establish the natural
dialogue between two people that allows the trust level to reach
the level necessary for a healthy, long-term relationship.
We all know how
much everyone hates e-mail spam, but even so, many salespeople
are still sending introductory e-mails to decisionmakers. They
feel that, because they're from a credible organization, they
won't be associated with the negative image of a spam solicitor.
However, these
introductory e-mails typically contain the traditional three-part
sales pitch -- the introduction, a mini-presentation about the
products and services being offered, and a call to action --
and this traditional selling approach instantly tells the recipient
of the e-mail that your only goal is to sell your product or
service so you can attain your goals, andnot theirs.
If you're still
using email to sell, watch out for these 7 pitfalls:
1. Avoidsales pitches.
If you feel you must use e-mail to start a new relationship,
make your message about issues and problems that you believe
your prospects are having, but d on't say anything to indicate
that you're assuming that both of you are a match.
2. Stop thinking
that e-mail is the best way to get to decisionmakers. Traditional
selling has become so ineffective that salespeople have run
out of options for creating conversation, both over the phone
and in person. However, it's best to view e-mail as a backup
option only, not as a way to create new relationships. Try to
use it primarily for sending information and documents after
you've developed a relationship with a prospect.
3. Remove your
company name from the subject line. Whenever you put your company
and solution first, you create the impression that you can't
wait to give a presentation about your product and services.
Your subject line shouldbe a humble reference to issues that
you may be able to help prospects solve.
4. Stop conditioning
your prospects to hide behinde-mail. When you e-mail prospects,
it's easy for them to avoid you by not responding. Also, they
get used to never picking up the phone and having a conversation
with you -- and they may want to avoid you because they're afraid
that, if they show interest in what you have to offer, you'll
try to close them. This creates sales pressure -- the root of
all selling woes. This avoidance becomes a vicious circle. If
you learn to create pressure-free conversations, you'll find
that you'll start getting phone calls from prospects who aren't
afraidto call you.
5. Avoid using
e-mail as a crutch for handling sticky sales situations. Are
prospects not calling you back? Many salespeople who call me
for coaching ask how they can get themselves out of sticky situations
with prospects -- but the e mails they've sent have already
triggered those prospects to retreat. It's tricky to come up
with the correct softening language in an e-mail that will re-open
a
conversation with a prospect who has decided to close off communication
--direct, person-to-person phone calls or meetings are much
easier andmore human.
6. Avoid using
"I" and"we." When you start an introductory
e-mail with "I" or "we," you immediately
give the impression that you care only about selling your solution,
rather than being open to a conversation that may or may not
lead to a mutually beneficial match between what you have to
offer andthe issues your prospect may be trying to solve. If
you can change your sales language to a natural conversation,
your prospect will be less likely to stereotype your message
as a spam solicitation.
Finally...
7. If you can,
stop using e-mail selling altogether. There is a way to renew
your confidence and eliminate your reluctance to picking up
the phone and have pleasant conversations with potential prospects.
Learn a completely new way of working with gatekeepers that
will get you past voicemail and to your decisionmakers without
the rejection and frustration that are inevitable with traditional
selling approaches.
For all these reasons,
you should think of e-mail as your last resort. If you can learn
to pick up the phone without fear, start a trusting conversation
with a gatekeeper, learn how to go beyond voice mail and find
your decisionmakers, you'll join the thousands of people who
have made the breakthrough to the most natural and efficient
way of generating sales opportunities.
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About The Author:
With a Masters Degree in Instructional
Design and over a decade of
experience creating breakthrough sales strategies for global
companies
such as UPS and QUALCOMM, Ari Galper discovered the missing
link that
people who sell have been seeking for years.
Visit http://www.unlockthegame.com
to get his free sales training lessons. |
