May 2008 

Email mistakes can and do happen in almost all businesses, regardless of size or industry. It made me wonder, what is an appropriate, and more importantly, not appropriate sales email.

Here are some common sales scenarios that I have been thinking about;

• Your best client just returned from a meeting and you need to get their attention. Sending email may not get the job done.  How will your email stick out from the others in an overflowing inbox?  

• Trying to sell your product or service with the very first email. Instead of using this to create a relationship with a prospect who may be interested in your offerings, you try to shove it their throat with hefty attachments or photographs that will get the email filtered or deleted automatically.

• Do you have confidential information about a customer, proposal, or bid that needs to be sent via email?  They will get the information quickly, but may be possible for others to view if sent in error to others.  
  

• A member of your sales team is dropping the ball, and you send an email to colleagues commenting on it. (Can you say gossip?).  It can be forwarded accidently, and may come back to haunt you.

• Trusting that your email will reach the decision maker regarding your products or services. Meaning, 70% or more of email intended for a recipient is passed through a filter of some sort. What this means is that 7 out of 10 emails sent will not reach the intended person.

Below is a list of situations when email may not be recommended as an suitable method of communicating with customers or prospects.  Please use this as a starting point, and think about other situations that arise in the field. Don’t forget, email is not as confidential as you think!
 
In business dealings, consider not sending email in the following circumstances;

• When you feel angry or upset.

• You need quick approval about an pressing sales opportunity. 

• When describing a complicated technical procedure.

• For gossiping about customers and co-workers.

• For sending inappropriate jokes and chain letters.

• To resolve a customer conflict or misunderstanding.

• For anything you care that others might read.

• When you have to deliver bad news.

• When making a heartfelt apology.

• When typing it takes you longer than making a phone call.

For most routine sales transactions, email is fine, but there is nothing like a face-to face conversation or phone call to build a relationship, service your customers, and seal the deal.
 

Tips to Strengthen Your Network without Taking Advantage

By Elaine M. Basham

I recently worked with a client who told me she was “terrible at networking”. When I questioned her about why, she said that she “didn’t like to ask people for things”. I was surprised that she thought of her network as people that she kept in her back pocket, and only pulled them out when she needed a favor. So, I decided to find out what my own network thought. I learned that many of them only actively leverage their professional network when they’re looking for a job, or helping a friend find a job. In general, the people in my network think that career networking is like ‘Dialing for Dollars.” They want to get all they can from their network, yet don’t really give a lot of thought to what they can do to enrich and promote those relationships.

Certainly your network can help get your resume to the right person inside a company or give you a referral. They can provide some great insights into specific industries or fields you might be considering as career options. They can also give you the inside scoop on job markets and career opportunities in other parts of the country - or the world. You should have contacts in your professional network whose opinions you trust and respect - they can give you valuable feedback on your resume and cover letters, or give you honest feedback on how you might come across in an interview.

But let me make this perfectly clear: Networking is NOT ALL ABOUT YOU! Your network is an extremely valuable resource and you never know when you might need it. Don’t squander the good will you’ve worked so hard to create. Don’t bring your network into play only when you need or want a new job. Do cultivate and nurture positive, productive relationships with your contacts. Strengthening your network when you DON’T need help is just as important as when you do.

So how do you keep the relationships fresh and productive without wasting everyone’s time?

1) Touch Base: Send a short email just to say ‘hi’ and see how they’re doing. Send a card to congratulate them on a promotion, big contract, new baby, or a successful project. Forward an article they might find interesting. It’s important for the people in your network to think of you as a positive and affirming contact, not the person who only calls when they need a favor. Personally, I’m always very glad to hear from someone in my network who isn’t in need of my assistance and just wants to keep in touch.

2) Offer to Help: If a contact has a friend or colleague looking for a job, offer to help. If you can give their friend or nephew a good referral, do it. If you can help them with some industry expertise, volunteer it. Reciprocate for the help you’ve received whenever possible. It will come back to you over and over again. You get what you give in life – and in networking.

3) Be Interested: In her book, The Brazen Careerist, nationally syndicated career columnist, Penelope Trunk says that people who are good at networking are interested in other people. They ask questions about people’s jobs, career paths, accomplishments, interests and lives. The key here is to be genuinely involved, so really listen and try to relate to their stories with a few anecdotes of your own. You’ll create rapport, good connections and strong, long-lasting friendships.

4) Say Thank You: You never know when you might need your professional network, so when contacts do look over your resume, provide advice, give you a referral, or take you out to lunch, say thanks. A snail-mailed card or an emailed thank-you will go a long way in building your credibility and likeability with professional contacts.

More than 80% of job seekers say that their professional network has been a key factor at one time or another, in helping them find a new job or make a career transition. Networking works and it provides benefits far beyond the politics of finding a job. If you’re willing to give, I guarantee you’ll get more benefit from your contacts than you ever imagined.

 

Elaine M. Basham

The Resume Group

elaine@theresumegroup.com
816-444-3484
www.theresumegroup.com

 

 A Sales Story with few Words

Over the years, I have been asked numerous times about my choice in careers as a sales professional in the health care industry.

 

  

 

 

 

Inevitably, I gave the standard answers: good money, career opportunities, job security, and so on. 

 

 

 

 

  

Over time however, I realized it was much more than that. It was a certain feeling that started deep in my gut, and my heart. I couldn’t identify it, but it was always there.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Over the years, I felt that I could have sold anything, to anybody, in any industry.  

 

 

 

 

 

Could I have made more money selling something else? I think so.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Could I have had job security in another industry? I think so. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Could I have picked a sales job without being on call 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year? I know so.    

 

 

 

 

 

So why did I do it? Why do many like me continue to do this job?

 

 

 

 

 

I believe that some of the things that make our job special can’t be measured in ordinary terms.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Job satisfaction means different things to many people.

 

 

 

 

 

 

To me it means only one thing: helping and supporting people that provide the gifts and skills so others may have the life they deserve.

 

 

That's why I sell in the medical field, why do you?

 

 

 

 Sell with Purpose and Passion,

 

 

 

Steve Porcaro

Sales Inspiration Coach

 

Steve@14AllCoaching.com

 

About The Cutting Edge

The Cutting Edge Newsletter is published by 1·4·All Coaching, LLC to provide strategies, inspiration and tools for medical device sales professionals and organizations looking for Surgical Sales Solutions®. 1·4·All Coaching, LLC is a leading international executive sales coaching, consulting and training company dedicated to working with medical device sales professionals and organizations to find the most effective ways to grow and manage their sales, maximize revenues, and guarantee long term success using their strengths and talents.