A couple of weeks ago I shared with you some of the best ways for a salesperson to get the door slammed shut with just one simple contact. As promised, I’m returning today to advise on the opposite side of that coin: how to actually get my attention, should you believe that I’m ready to part with some of my hard-earned budget.
To recap, I manage the Business Intelligence and IT Support teams for Vetoquinol USA. And since I’m very proud of my role at Vetoquinol USA, it’s listed on my LinkedIn profile. I receive a crap ton* of unsolicited emails and LinkedIn pings from sales folks looking for new business. (The volume has gone up by about 100 times during COVID.) I ignore most of them, but a good number of those people go on my permanent block list, for reasons outlined in the previous post.
A select few actually get my attention and…a conversation.* And yes, there’s magical, albeit simple, formula for doing so. Want in on the secret? In one short and to the point email or message:
Identify a challenge that you think my organization could plausibly have.
Ask me if we do.
That’s it. No semi-clever obfuscation, no feeble attempt at a social or emotional connection that didn’t exist before you read my LinkedIn profile.** Just send a straightforward question, and even if the answer is no, I don’t need to consider a new document management service, I’ll probably keep you in mind for when we are looking.
One of the best examples I’ve seen recently is Ms. Jackie Laflamme from AlertMedia. AlertMedia provides solutions for employee safety monitoring. When Jackie reached out to me, I wasn’t actively shopping for safety solutions. Her introductory message, however, succinctly laid out a potential need and asked if Vetoquinol might be interested.
That’s it. Nothing sneaky, nothing tricky. Quite simply, “You might have this problem, and if you do, we might have your solution.” The straightforward, honest approach opened the door, paved the way for my interest, and ultimately led to interest from our leadership team. The technique so simple, you have to wonder why so many people seem to find it hard…
* Some of my colleagues would point out that getting a conversation with me isn’t remotely a challenge, but they’re not usually trying to sell me something. And when they are, it’s Girl Scout Cookies, so there already ahead of the game.
** Ever notice that you never get messages like, “Hey Jeff, I see we’ve both lived in Michigan! I’m a general practitioner, can I interest you in a cholesterol screening?”