SpeakerSue – Sue Hershkowitz-Coore, CSP

7 things you didn’t know email could do for you September 26th, 2011

A client/friend and I had a great conversation today about the need for his sales team to pick up the phone. “They just won’t do it,” he said. And maybe that’s okay.

It’s true that an email – even a great email – can’t convey the tone and depth of passion for the other person’s success. But well-crafted email sales messages can:
1. Start a trusting relationship.
2. Build profitable relationships.
3. Move a person to action.
4. Create an opening for a phone call.
5. Demonstrate your professionalism as a sales person.
6. Clue the prospect that you won’t waste his/her time.
7. Be much more efficient than a phone call.

So how do you get your emails to do all that for you?
1. Be authentic and truthful. If the only way you know them is that they did business with your company some time in the past decade, tell them. Of course, you don’t have to tell them that the sales person before you left you lousy notes or that you have no idea if they were happy with your company, etc. You can say: Awhile back, you ordered widgets from ABC and since then we’ve added X to them to ensure they are Y and Z. I’ll plan to phone you Friday to see if the addition of X might help ensure you achieve F and G.

2. Build profitable relationships by staying in touch. But don’t write to say you’re checking in, or touching base, because you aren’t. You’re writing to stay in touch because you care about their success. Simple and truthful. Tell them.

3. If you want to move a person to action, be clear in what you want and give them a reason to take it or do it. Saying: I’ll call you Thursday, isn’t enough. Saying: I’ll call you Thursday to discuss new options to help you achieve F and G is specific and motivating because it’s about them.

4. Let them know you’ve done your research. You’re not emailing (or phoning) to see if they use widgets or have a need because you’ve checked their website and know the answer to both.

Help them to see you respect their time and you’ll be likely to get them to do the same for you.

2 Easy Email Changes to Sell More September 21st, 2011

What are the first and second things you look at when you read an email? Absolutely. You check who sent it and then you read the subject line. If both of those items are relevant to you, then you’re likely to read whatever portion of the message you can see in Preview. If the email passes that test, you open it, but wait… you probably don’t yet read it. More likely, you’re scanning the message and scrolling as you read. Only if it appears to truly be relevant, do you go back to the top to read the message.

What can you do then to sell more? Here are 2 easy tips to apply:
1. Create a compelling subject line.
•Put the most important words to your recipient first (so even if she is reading on her mobile device, she’ll still see it).
•Make the subject line action oriented but not pushy. Use: Action request, Confirmation or Call request not Read me, Action required or Urgent.
•Align the subject line with the email content. (Make sure the subject line accurately reflects what the email is about.)
•Don’t go overboard with excitement. There is a fine line between truth and cheese. Don’t cross it.

2. Write a first sentence that matters to the recipient.
•Focus on what matters most to the customer and begin with it.
•Forget the “warm welcome” and start by providing content the reader will feel warm about. Instead of starting with drivel like: Thank you for considering the ABC company for …, start with: Wait until you see the updates at ABC!
•If you feel like you must begin with something like: Greetings from ABC! Type it. Then, as you proof your message before you send it, delete that sentence. You’ll be amazed how often your second sentence is strong and reader focused.

Want more? Check out my new Facebook page (and I’d love it if you’d like me!), sign up for the SpeakerSue ezine or check out the brand new Second Edition: Power Sales Writing.

Do your sales presentations suck? They might if… September 19th, 2011

With a nod to Jeff Foxworthy, your sales presentations might suck if:

•You think starting with good-morning-so glad-to-be-here-thanks-for-giving-us-this-opportunity is a smart way to open.
•You think the more words and numbers you can put on a powerpoint slide the more likely you are to wow ‘em with your knowledge.
•You have to ever say “I’m sorry” about anything – running longer than you promised, having waaaaay too many slides, not having enough collateral, videos that don’t play, slides that are wrong or that you had a hard, long or no night.
•You think the presentation is about you and your company.
•You think they are as interested in what you have to say as you are.
•You think you can just talk at them without engaging them.
•You think you can deliver a great sales presentation without great preparation.
•You think you can tap dance your way around answers you don’t know.
•You even try to tap dance around an answer you don’t know.
•Enthusiasm isn’t you so you don’t show any.
•You’re happy when they have no questions.
•You’re thrilled when they say they’re going to think about it and get back to you.
•Really, you wouldn’t use Powerpoint except that everyone else does.
•You “personalize” your presentation by changing your title slide.
•You ask everyone to please turn off their smart phones (because you think they’ll be smarter if they glue their eyes to you).
•You like showing participants what they don’t know.
•You enjoy talking over people.
•You still think a sales presentation is the most important part of closing the sale.

Okay, so they aren’t funny but they are true. What can you add? Your presentation might suck if…..

4 must know tips to get your emails read September 15th, 2011

So the word on the street is that no one reads email anymore. I heard a speaker just Tuesday make that silly claim again.

Here is what he should have said: No one reads irrelevant, inauthentic emails anymore. Or, he could have said that no one reads long, rambling emails. He would have been totally right-on had he said that no one reads emails that say nothing new, are copied to too many people, are all about the writer, are negative, incomplete or boring. Had he said that no one reads emails that show little respect for the recipient he would have been perfectly spot on.

Apply these 4 must know tips to ensure your emails are read:

1. Skip the parts they will. Long emails get deleted or archived (we archive them as C.O.O.A [Cover Our Own Assets] because we don’t have time to read them and are concerned we might actually be missing something important!).

Leave out every bit of information that matters only to you. Use hyperlinks so they can learn more, if they want to. Including everything in an email – because it just might be of interest to them – is a sign of desperation. Honor their time and you may earn the right to tell them more.

2. Don’t be a tease. Take control of the next step. Ending an email or a proposal without including a clear, specific next step is like sniffing great wine and not getting to sip it.

3. Be smart. “Elevating” an email by copying your prospect’s boss may seem like a great idea, particularly if the boss appeared interested and the situation isn’t moving anywhere. Making your prospect – the person you’re dealing with – look bad or negligent isn’t going to help win her over. Help others feel smart doing business with you.

4. Sell what you have, not what you don’t. In email, it’s critically important to say what you can do – what is possible – before saying what isn’t. Successful sales people always look for the opportunity to solution sell, and email is no exception.

Apply these 4 tips and your emails will not only be read, they’ll be acted upon.

What else is important to consider when writing a compelling message? Tell us what you always include, or omit, to ensure your buyers are happy to seen your mail in their inbox.

3 email bloopers that cost sales September 13th, 2011

A reviewer commented that one of the most important chapters in the Second Edition of Power Sales Writing is the one about digital manners (aka email etiquette). He said that most sales people forget how easy it is to (mis) judge someone who doesn’t pay attention to the details. So here are the 3 things that annoy customers the most:

1. A high-priority flag. Unless the buyer asked you to flag your email to her as a high-priority message, don’t do it. It’s not only ego-centric (look at this important message, it’s from important me) but it’s rude, too. Why would your sales message be the most high-priority thing in her box? Marking your message urgent is annoying and dumb business.

2. A demanding subject line. Subject lines should be authentic and relevant. Like a headline on a newspaper article or blog post, they should be intriguing and truthful. If, for instance, your message tells your reader that you’ll call next Friday, one appropriate option for your subject line could be: Action request: Call Friday. It would not be appropriate, though, to say: URGENT! or even Urgent. Two other really annoying choices are:
Action Required
READ ME

And while we’re on subject lines, avoid the word: Reminder. You can almost be guaranteed that your reader won’t open your message when you use that word in the subject line. Why? It indicates you think the recipient forgot something important. Use “Follow-up” as a better choice.

3. Read receipts. The only reason to add a Read Receipt is if you think your customer will pretend he didn’t get your message. Yes, I know you have important contracts to send and you want to be sure the recipient got it. If you feel you must include the Read Receipt, tell your reader that you added it – and why you did. (If you can’t think of a reason better than because I don’t really trust you, you’re probably better off not adding the RR.) Or, pick up the phone and ask. The early bird may get the worm, but the sneaky one will go hungry.

What digital manners do you wish everyone applied? What should people stop doing to be less annoying?

If you write it, will they read it? September 7th, 2011

Just reading 35 Interesting Statistics About Email and can’t help but be curious how they got their research. Whatever. That isn’t really my point here. The “fact” that they say that “74 percent of adults online prefer using email for communication” is.

If we say that we prefer using email, does that mean we prefer responding by email, receiving email or both? And if we like – or at least 74% of us online – like using email, what do we like about it? I get emails I like and emails that I definitely don’t like. But really that isn’t the point either.

Here it is: Just because people say they prefer using email doesn’t mean they or we read everything we get. Emails have to be carefully and thoughtfully crafted to encourage a reader to give up his or her precious time to read our message. The more respect we can extend to the reader; the more clear, concise and relevant we can make it, the more likely it is that people who like reading email will like reading ours.

What do you think? Do you prefer email? Why? What do you like?

The Persuasive Email: 3 Quick Tips September 5th, 2011

If you could change one thing about the way other people write emails, what would it be?

When I ask that question during my sales writing workshops, I hear everything from:
be concise
answer all my questions
don’t make me guess which email you’re responding to
change the subject line so I can find the message later
put your phone number where I can easily tap it
don’t send me stuff I don’t need to read

Advice: Do what you want others doing and don’t do what you don’t.

More than that though, a pattern emerges. The key to being persuasive in email is to respect the other person. The more you value his or her time, the more focused you are on his or needs and expectations, the more persuasive you’ll be.

3 quick tips

Tip #1: Cut words. (My first draft of this post said, “Cut out words.” Really.) When checking your email, see which words can be cut. The more concise the message, the more likely your reader is to read – and respond.

Tip #2: Eliminate the parts they don’t read. Providing all sorts of information about your product or idea might be what you want to do but will they care about everything you dump out? The moment they start skimming your message (for the stuff that interests them) is the nanosecond you start losing their trust and the sale. Use hyperlinks to get them to the part of your website that will most help them.

Tip #3: When prospecting, aim for 4 sentences.
Use sentence #1 to explain how they might be more successful because of your idea.
Sentence #2 explains further.
Sentence #3 asks for/explains the next step.
Sentence #4 reminds them of how they’ll benefit.

Here is an example:
Hi Name (yes, please use a greeting such as “Hi”)
Your dog is family to you and if you’re like most dog owners, you’d do just about anything to keep him or her happy. With ABC (ABC would be hyperlinked), if your dog could smile and say thank you, it would!
I’ll call you Tuesday afternoon to talk about how you can feel confident your dog is smiling (at least on the inside).
Wait until you hear how simple it is to feel totally confident about your dog’s happiness.

Okay so that was for a bogus ABC product and because of that it may seem inauthentic. (It is…it’s for a bogus product!) But if you’re like most sales professionals, you’ll quickly get the point about how you can write a more persuasive email. (Consider what isn’t there, too.)

What subject line would you use for that email to get your message opened? If you don’t want to wait for a later post, check out my new expanded and updated Power Sales Writing: Second Edition book. Subject lines and about 120 more tips are included!

Prospecting Isn’t Brain Surgery – but it does require brains! July 20th, 2011

Caller id didn’t and so I answered the phone, “Hi, this is Sue.” She says, Hi, This is Name Name with American Insurance and we had insured you and I was wondering if I could requote for you.”

With that authentic opening (other than not using my name since I gave it to her), I thought she deserved the right to re-quote. But out of my mouth came, “Thanks but my husband and I are happy with State Farm.”

And she folds like a house of cards. “Oh,” she says despondently. “Okay, thank you.”

I felt like saying, “Wait. Don’t give up like that. You have my interest. Handle my objection.” But I didn’t. I hung up and decided to post this so that you won’t give up.

What could she have said that would have engaged me, continued the conversation and led to a requote? What would you say?

Answers tomorrow.

Cultured Communications: How to be a success in any culture July 19th, 2011

What do people understand?

A few years ago an association director took me to dinner at an exclusive Chicago restaurant. Born in Mexico City, with an Hispanic first name, a Jewish last name and full American citizenship, he looked like he stepped out of a Bruce Springsteen song.

When he handed the valet attendant his car key, the valet and another said something to each other in Spanish. My client was mid-sentence when he stopped talking to me. “Excuse me, I need to have a word with these gentlemen,” he said. He addressed them in their language (and his too) and later explained to me that they had said something disparaging about us, and he wanted them “to be more thoughtful and not judge people by the way they looked because in fact we’re all the same.” So there I was in China, relearning the same lessons.

Working in China has been quite eye-opening because I’ve learned the beauty of the Chinese language. Not that I can speak it (beyond ne hao [hello] and xie xie ([x pronounced like sh- for thank you] or understand it, but because the Chinese have been kind enough to translate what I say to what they hear to what that means to them.

Here is an example: When I say “enchanting hospitality” in terms of what a hotel might offer, they say that means things like: We cherish you; you will enjoy personal space and great privacy and security; your event dreams will come true; you will create a personal wonderland for your guests. The beauty and richness of the language amazes me. I have begun to understand that they think in symbols, and as an American, I think in words. Their symbols tell descriptive stories and I’m honored they explain their pictures; my words do not convey the essence in as visually pleasing manner. Theirs is storytelling at its best.

The Chinese I am privileged to work with have taught me much. Though they may prefer not to speak English because some are embarrassed at their accents, they know English. (I’m in their country and dependent on them to speak my language! What’s wrong with that picture?) They ask forgiveness for their “poor” ability to speak to me, and have assistants to translate for them to help me feel more comfortable.

Things, however, are not so different from that night in Chicago. Alone, they dig deep to answer questions and though they may need to repeat several times, it dawns on this American, that they have understood all along.

What do people understand? It is best to remember “to be more thoughtful and not judge people by the way they look because in fact we’re all the same.”

Just saying…

Increase internal sales easily! July 12th, 2011

You’ve come up with a great idea that you know will help your organization increase productivity and profits. The challenge is that it’s going to cost money and that is exactly what your executive team doesn’t want; they’ve been on a cost savings bender for a while. And though it seems like a slam dunk to you that if everyone on the team gets iPads, it will motivate them, save printing costs and make their jobs easier, you know the idea isn’t likely to be embraced.

What can you do to win them over?

First, whether your title includes the word “sales” or not, realize you are in it. Every one of us sells all the time. You can think of it as persuasion and influence, but what you’re doing is selling your idea to another.

Next, get positive. As soon as you put the idea into your head that something isn’t going to work, you’re almost always right. I’m not saying you’ll always win if you think you will, but you have a waaaay better chance.

Third, craft your story. What is the journey you want your decision makers to take with you? Help them to see where you are and where you could be. Evoke emotion with details. Don’t just give facts and figures.

Fourth, ignore what you want and focus only on what matters to them. And think about what matters to the committee you’re talking to. Before presenting to a CFO and his team, I was warned, “He isn’t interested in process, just return.” What a gift! I wanted them to understand the process but if it isn’t going to help the other person, forget it! In this case, the aspirational ROI was the story to tell (with support!).

Next, make the presentation more of a conversation than a monologue. Not only will this take the pressure off of you, you’ll learn more about their needs and if your idea is on track, or how it could be. Be specific when you ask for questions. After a key point, stop and say, “I’m wondering if you see that working,” “I’m curious if this sounds on track so far,” “Are there any parts of this idea that you feel you can support?” Rather than just say, “questions?”, start a conversation with them.

Finally, always ask for the next step. Before ending (or as the CFO is leaving the meeting earlier than you expected!), get commitment. You might ask, “What would you like the next step to be?” or say “I’m eager to help this company reach our potential and simply need your direction.”

Sales people are brave and when you’re selling internally, you need to be courageous too!

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Power Sales Writing, Revised and Expanded Edition: Using Communication to Turn Prospects into Clients

"Your customers can ignore your correspondence or you can read this book. It’s that simple!" — Larry Winget, television personality and #1 bestselling author of Shut Up, Stop Whining & Get a Life

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