COMMENTS
Thanks for sharing this information. E-mails can kill any sale. How can any sales person qualify a prospect through e-mails is beyond me. Before even trying to sell a demo, there are several questions that need to be asked about the problem or opportunity. Doing research on a prospect is great for developing the right questions, but not qualifying.
By his own admission, Nick bit off his nose to spite his face and so missed out on the opportunity of a competitive quote that might have provided even more value to his employer. We should never let emotion cloud our business judgment. But as I've always said, it's more important that the customer like the sales person than the salesperson like the customer. This story shows that you can't build rapport by email.
First off, helluva post. This is solid content.
I'd love to hear what you think about this solution:
Step #1
Use creative email that shows you did your research to set up a qualification call.
Step #2
On the call, if there is qualification, go straight into the demo. Something like..
"it sounds like there is possibility for a fit here, if you're at a computer and have 5-10, I can show you a few quick features..what do you say?"
Thanks for the feedback.
@Allan - email is a double edged sword and we have to use it wisely.
@Emilio - another viewpoint is that if the service pre-sales is that bad goodness only knows what it will be post sales
@kyle - If you can get a response via email and get to the call that is a great strategy!
In my experience this is usually an example of a push from a ju
Hi Trish,
I despair so frequently when I see examples of email follow-up gone horribly wrong.
I assume Nick had shown a real interest in the product, but what really drives me mad is when a similar email is sent as a follow-up to a whitepaper or webinar.
In too many cases the sales people go straight to pushing a demo, even though the prospect has not shown interest in the product itself. This type of shortcut seldom works and can quickly waste a good lead.
I get so worked up about it I've actually written a post about it as well recently:
How to waste a perfectly good Lead with a crappy Sales Follow-Up Would love to hear what you make of that example.
This consultant cost himself and his company a shot at some signifcant revenue. He may have had some success in the past with these tactics thinking that he is saving his time and effort for "qualified" prospects.
His company should put in place a sales process that has built in self audits that are put in place to check where the prospect is in the buying process. In other words a "go, no-go" system. Nick could was most likely a "go" if a solid sales process was followed.
Trish, sorry I'm late. As I read this story, I found myself wondering if this rep is as ineffective on a call and in person as he is in email. Clearly, we can't speak to whether he's ever been trained/coached, but as the world changes, we'll need to communicate effectively regardless of the communication vehicle being used.
Two things - it's either the sales rep lacks training on sales etiquette or he's just plain lazy. This is such a waste of company money. Investing on the wrong sales people. http://bit.ly/ayeen8
I really really really hate when reps start emails with "I would love to" or in this case, "I am more than happy to". Kills me.
Obviously this rep doesn't get the idea that his job is to help people solve problems.
Thank you for sharing this. As a salesperson, one of your role is to look help solve problems. This guy was only there for the sell. Once he saw that the company is small, he runs off. It shouldn't be like that.