Selling By Email – 5 Mistakes Most Salespeople Make

In this article, leading Sales Expert Andy Preston explains why most people struggle with ’selling by email’ – they don’t understand it, they don’t know when to use it (and when not to) and they don’t know how to use it for best results.

After reading this article you’ll be able to utilise email to add value to your sales efforts – instead of hampering them – and get your sales figures back where they belong!……..

Please note: this is a ’shortened’ version of a full article I wrote for a sales magazine recently. If you’d like a copy of the full article, please ask for one using this link

When I working with sales teams all over the world, Sales Managers and Directors often tell me that they believe all salespeople are inherently lazy. I’m not sure I agree with that hugely sweeping statement, but I do think salespeople often look for the quickest way to do something!

I think this is partly down to the fact that a lot of salespeople only start earning real money when their commission kicks in, so any task that isn’t directly related to bringing in new customers, orders or money, they tend to try and find the quickest way to do! Hence why the managers think they’re lazy.

As salespeople though, this ‘quickest route’ habit can often cause us problems! Particularly as technology has advanced and email is a popular communication method for many. However, this often results in salespeople resorting to email communication – at the expense of their own sales figures! Have a look at the examples of common email sales mistakes below, and see if any ring true for you……

Email Sales Mistake Number 1 – Using It To ‘Follow Up’

Let’s look at this from a ‘new business’ perspective. You’ve spoken with (or met with) a client previously, you’ve started to develop rapport, but they’ve probably got an existing supplier, or existing way of doing things. So you didn’t pick up their business from your initial call or appointment.

Your boss has probably been putting pressure on you about your sales figures or your sales pipeline. So you decide you need to ‘follow up’ with a few people, this particular prospect included. So what do you do next? Pick up the phone and call them, establish their current situation and needs and potentially see how you may be able to add value to what they’re trying to achieve over the next few months? Close for another appointment, attempt to dislodge the existing supplier (or existing process) and pick up their business? Or send an email?

If you’re in the ‘email’ category, stop it! Right now!

Email Sales Mistake Number 2 – Just ‘Adding’ People To A Mailing List

Another great idea from the marketing department. Sending an email newsletter or similar to keep people ‘informed’ of your products and services. The funny thing is, how many newsletters do you get that you don’t read, or you don’t read in full? I bet it’s quite a few. If you don’t know the sender well, you probably don’t read it at all. Sometimes even when you know the sender well you still don’t read it!

Don’t sit back and think that just because someone is on your generic email list that that’s helping you ’sell’ to that person. In most cases it isn’t. The responsibility to move that person through your sales pipeline is still yours!

Email Sales Mistake Number 3 – Sending Mainly ‘Flyers’ By Email

Please tell me you don’t do this? Even worse if the email is titled ‘offer of the month’ or similar! If the person hasn’t used you before, you’re relying on ‘luck’ for the person to buy from you. And the more competitive your marketplace and the higher the price of what you sell, the less likely people are to buy!

Plus as mentioned in my last point above, it’s hardly ‘personal’ communication to that prospect, is it? Is this really the professional sales job you were employed to do? If this is the best you can do in terms of ’sales persuasion’, you’re in trouble!

Email Sales Mistake Number 4 – Responding To New Sales Enquiries Via Email

Let’s think about this one. You or your company has expended time, money and effort in producing the incoming sales lead. Whether it’s come from a previous phone call by you or a colleague, networking, advertising or over the internet, you’ve managed to get a precious incoming sales lead.

The next question is, what are you going to do about it? Pick up the phone and find an excuse to start a dialogue to understand their needs in more detail, positition a ‘next step’ in the sales process and look for some committment from that person. Or just send a quick email giving some information and leaving them to ‘wander’ on their own, with no idea how motivated they are to purchase, their timescales, or what other options they’re considering?

Looks like you’ve missed your chance again, doesn’t it? In most cases if they come back to you, it’s because when they enquired with your competition, they did a worse job than you did (hard to believe I know, but it could be true). Is this really the best way of dealing with that precious incoming sales lead do you think?!!

Email Sales Mistake Number 5 – Sending Proposals Or Quotes By Email

Now it’s time for my personal favourite! Sending proposals or quotes by email. You’ve had the meeting with a potential client (or at least an in-depth telephone conversation)……you agree to send details of what was discussed……then you put it in an email. Really?!! Now you’re in trouble.

Why on earth didn’t you position your offering when you were face to face with the client? When you could read their body language and reactions to your offering (and your price) best….when you could judge whether you had got the proposal right or not?……when you had the best chance of getting them to say ‘yes’?

Even if you needed time to put the details together, why on earth didn’t you organise a second meeting to discuss it in more detail? Crazy! You’re giving other salespeople a better chance to win that business over you – why on earth would you want to do that?!!

 

So Why Do People Send Quotes Or Proposals Via Email?

Normally people send quotes or proposals by email for a few reasons. The first reason is fear of rejection. It ‘hurts’ less to send it by email as at worst, they just send an email back saying ‘no thanks’ – much easier to deal with than them saying it to your face, isn’t it? Or if they don’t reply to you (or send an email back saying they’re thinking about it) they haven’t really rejected you at all, have they? Can you see how that kind of thinking is holding you back from making more sales?!!

The second reason is laziness. You probably would say it’s because you’re busy, but it’s laziness. This is one of the most important parts of the sales process, and you’ve decided to email it because it’s ‘easier’! From an objective perspective, how stupid is that?!!

The third reason is because is ‘normally’ do it that way! Does that mean it’s the best way? Or even any good at all?!! Let’s think about this – it could be the most important part of the sales process, and you’re just sending it off into the ‘ether’ and hoping they’ll give you a positive response. Again – the more competitive the marketplace, the higher the price of your product/service and the longer the time elapsed from your initial conversation/meeting the less likely you are to get the business!

Please note: this is a ’shortened’ version of a full article I wrote for a sales magazine recently. If you’d like a copy of the full article, please ask for one using this link

You can also ask any questions about this article or sales in general, by contacting Andy here

Follow the tips above and watch your sales soar! I look forward to hearing how you get on……..

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Andy Preston is a leading Sales Expert, Trainer and Motivational Speaker. He runs the Ecademy ‘Sales And Cold Calling Tips Club’ as well as writing for magazines, newspapers and trade journals all around the world on anything related to sales and selling.

You can get Andy’s free cold calling and sales tips HERE

You can also see more about Andy’s training for small businesses at www.salesbreakfast.net

This article is copyright Andy Preston 2009. To copy or syndicate this or any part of this article contact Andy Preston for guidelines. Media enquiries – details here

I was talking with a group of salespeople and small business owners the other day, and they were telling me about the ’sales challenges’ they’re experiencing at the moment.

Some commented that they were struggling to generate new sales leads, as their usual levels of incoming leads had slowed down somewhat.

Others commented that it was getting tougher to get meetings, or to get new potential clients to take them seriously.

Another group commented that getting committment from clients and closing them down was their biggest problem.

So I’m interested to know – what do you think the biggest sales problem is for most salespeople (or business owners that have to sell) right now?

Enter your comments by using the ‘leave a reply’ box at the bottom of the page….

Best Regards

Andy

 

I always find it interesting at this time of year how people’s attitudes can affect the actions they take towards having a successful year, or an unsuccessful one! Particularly given the current market conditions, a good start to the year is possibly more important than ever!

 

It’s also a very interesting part of the year, as many people choose to set ‘new year resolutions’. These resolutions are usually set around personal things like losing weight, stopping smoking, or exercising more often for example, but most people don’t tend to set them for their sales careers or for their business.

On a humourous note, the resolutions that they do set are probably the ones they set last year (and broke in early January), and the year before, and the year before that…and so on!

With that in mind, below I’ve given you a list of areas to focus on, that if you read and take action based on them, will help to make 2009 your best sales year ever – regardless of the market conditions!

So let’s have a look at these in turn……

Andy’s Sales Tip No 1 – Get Focused

It’s always very important to get focused on what you do and make sure you do it as well as possible, but in the current market conditions it’s more important than ever! Perhaps over the past few months (or even longer in some cases) you’ve allowed yourself to be distracted by other things. Well now’s a really good time to re-focus your energy and your efforts.

If you’re a business owner or salesperson, look at your core sales proposition and your core activities. Are these as strong as they could be? Can you clearly articulate what benefits your product or service brings to the customer? Do you do that regularly enough on your marketing literature, your website, your emails and verbally to clients and prospects?

Andy’s Sales Tip No 2 – Stay Positive

Staying positive is another crucial part of making 2009 your best sales year ever. As in any other year, you’re going to experience some setbacks. If you’ve heard me speak you’ll know how much I drive home the point that it isn’t what happens to you that natters, it’s your attitude to what happen to you that matters!

If you’re been watching television, listening to the radio or reading newspapers for the last few months you’ll have heard negative message after negative message about the economy, lack of sales and that people aren’t buying. Is that going to help or hinder your attitude towards getting new business?

Which do you think customers and prospects value more, someone who sounds like they’re terminally depressed, or someone who remains upbeat and positive about their company, products and services, and themselves? Which do you think they’re going to buy from?

Andy’s Sales Tip No 3 – Do More Prospecting

More than ever before, prospecting is vital to your chances of making 2009 your best sales year ever. The challenge is that when market conditions are easier (as they have been for the past few years) prospecting is one of the first things that a business owner or a salesperson stops doing!

In a market where people are negotiating harder with you and you’re losing business through no fault of your own (customers being taken over, going out of business etc) then doesn’t it stand to reason that you need to do more prospecting?

So whether you prospect by networking, referrals from existing clients, cold calling, whatever method you use, just make sure you do more of it! Let’s be honest, there are people out there that have a need for what you offer, but don’t know you exist! Make sure you do more prospecting, it’s one of the keys to making this year a success for you.

Andy’s Sales Tip No 4 – Look For More Cross-Selling / Up-Selling Opportunities

Once again, in an easier market, simple up-selling and cross-selling opportunities are often overlooked. You’ve probably got plenty of existing clients that don’t use every product or service you offer, haven’t you? I wonder if you’ve ever heard the immortal words from a client ‘oh I didn’t know you did that’ when you asked them why they’ve just bought from a competitor?

One of the first things you can do is make clients aware of your full product range or all of the services that you offer. This maximises your cross-selling opportunities. In a market where the economic conditions aren’t as good as they were previously, one of the quickest ways to get more business is to get more orders from your existing client base! Think about it – they already like you, have done business with you and have everything set up to order from your company – why not get them to order more items from you?

Another important area to look at is up-selling opportunities. Every single time a customer places an order with you, you’ve got an opportunity to ‘up-sell’ them to a higher priced item. A lot of people don’t feel confident in doing this and ‘assume’ if the customer wanted the higher-priced item, they would have asked for it! Don’t make the same mistake. Why not offer the client 2 options on their next order? It’s an easy way to get more business!

Andy’s Sales Tip No 5 – Keep Your Sales Skills Updated

This is always an interesting one! In any of my seminars of speeches, whenever I ask the question ‘how many of you have read a sales book, listened to a CD or done something to hone your sales skills in the last 6 months?’ hardly anyone puts their hands up! I find this astounding.

Some people say ‘Oh I don’t have time’, some people say ‘oh I don’t need I, I know what I’m doing’ and even more frighteningly some business owners say ‘oh I’m not a salesperson!! How crazy is that?

If you’re in a competitive market right now (if you have competition, that’s you!) then your sales skills (or lack of them) could be the difference between you winning a customer, and losing a customer. How are your cold calling skills? Your questioning skills? Your objection handling skills? Your closing skills? Could they do with some work? You have to work on these and keep yourself ’sharp’ so you don’t miss out on sales opportunities you could have won!

Follow the tips above and watch your sales soar! I look forward to hearing of your sales success!

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Want to learn more? This month I’m doing a webinar on ‘How To Make 2009 Your Best Sales Year Ever’. Contact me through the webpage and quote ‘Andy’s Blog’ and the first 10 people get a free place with my compliments (normally £77).

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