Two friends sent me sales letters today to “add to my collection” of awful examples. One wrote, “Here is a sad little sales letter for you” and the other said that he was “laughing so hard that I’m beside myself.” Both were right to be so appalled.
Why are these emails epic fails? Because they forget that the recipient needs to be engaged and that the recipient needs to have a reason to agree to be engaged. The writers are so passionate about making the sale that they disregard how the buyer buys. They forget that it’s about the prospect not the product.
The worst email of the day shows this lack of prospect thought perfectly. And it wasn’t sent by my friends. I received it via LinkedIn.
Hi,
A while back you agreed to connect on LinkedIn and I don’t want to be a pest but I just wanted to keep in touch and see if we can help each other. I am also wondering if your summer is going as quickly as mine seems to be!
I just couldn’t read one more word (which actually started with the fact that the writer couldn’t even personalize the message with my name which made me wonder how many others received the identical message…).
The sales person actually began with an authentic touchpoint (after annoying me with the lack of personalization) but the rest of the message quickly disintegrated into a pile of self-centered drivel.
Stop the madness! Don’t be a pest. Focus 100%, unequivocally, on your customer’s success. Try removing the word “I” from your emails (it isn’t that you can’t use the word; it’s that your message cannot center around your personal universe) and create a vision of your buyer’s success.
The more you love your customer, the more you’ll find that LinkedIn (and everything else) begins to work for you.
Power Sales Writing