Saturday, November 1, 2014

How Not to Sell


1.  Don't send me an email with a picture of a cat in handcuffs with a headline that says "It will be Cat-a-Strophic if we don't meet. Gimmicks are always an iffy approach since you don't know whether the recipient will get your humor.

2.  Don't call my cell phone and leave a message to call you back on an urgent matter. I don't know you; it's unlikely it's urgent to me.

3.  Don't send me a threatening email that says we're losing out to our competitors, and then list the competitors and claim that they are your customers. Why would I work with a firm that's already supplying our competitors if you pitch it this way?

4.  Don't diss me because I haven't answered your unsolicited email. Just because you've sent me 10 emails about your service doesn't make it my responsibility to respond. And as a bonus, don't state "you're obviously not the right person in your organization to discuss this".

5.  Don't bait and switch me on Linkedin .... ie connect under the pretense of one thing and then immediately turn around and start selling.

6.  Don't send me a Questionnaire / Survey Monkey link asking me to explain why I'm not interested in your services. And then call me to see why I haven't responded to your Questionnaire.

7.  Don't send lengthy, overly technical emails outlining 10 benefits to working together without checking to see what business I'm in.

I like it when sales people recognize how busy we all are, which is why I appreciate a simple, thoughtful approach to Business Development

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