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AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2007
Ideas Sell
I just came back from a business continuity meeting with our consulting team. I know your business relies heavily on some of your key business systems - there have been some major changes in threat levels this year, and I have a few ideas I'd like to share with you to ensure your business is not impacted. Let me know if you have some time next week - Tuesday is a good day for me.
I have an idea! Ideas stir up curiosity. People want to know what you're thinking; like a secret. Even if they don't know me, the thought of not knowing eats at them until they ask, "What is it"? For years I have worked with my clients sending out Idea Letters - and the results show. Idea letters are short emails that demand a response. They simply say, I have an idea about something; they cause the reader to wonder.
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What, you haven't read The House and The Cloud yet? - Look around you - everyone is reading this book and its making a difference!
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The problem with cold calling
Last year I dropped my card in a fish bowl at the Chinese restaurant - I won! Hogan, the Ameriprise Rep, sponsor of the free lunch, called me to schedule. I didn't even know who was sponsoring this until I was interrupted in my meal to hear the pitch. The very next day Hogan began his campaign. He must have called me a thousand times over the next few weeks to set up a meeting. I finally returned his call and of course I asked him for his value proposition. No surprise - it was a free lunch. But once lunch was over, we had no reason to meet.
Cold calling was Hogan's program - he calls until you feel like you need to call back just to get him to stop calling. Unfortunately I had no other reason to return the call. Hogan didn't have ideas, his value proposition was weak, and I couldn't understand the value of a two hour visit to his office. Hogan has since stopped calling, however I just won another one of these lunches at the German restaurant. Same company, different rep - we'll see how the sales process goes on this one.
Using the Idea Letter
Idea letters are different. First of all, its email, so its easy to reply back. Let's face it, calls have become an interruption - its pretty clear that C-Level people don't really like being "caught" first thing in the morning or late after the administrative assistance has left - all tactics you and I have heard and read in popular sales books. "Only about 1% of the cold calls sales people make get returned", says Greg Ceisla, a sales rep in the Chicago area. With many years of sales experience behind him, Greg agrees that the market has changed. The sales techniques of yesterday are not working.
But what if you recorded every potential prospect and sent them a short idea email? It has to be short, sound interesting, and not sound like mass mailed spam...in fact here are a few guidelines:
- Keep it short
- Use a simple focused message or idea
- Casual, confident language. Don't beg for a meeting
- Plain text email - no fancy graphics, no marketing
- Don't give them the idea, just let them know you have one
- Make sure you have an idea
Greg started using this approach after attending a security workshop earlier this year. He gets at least a 5% return each time he sends out an Idea Letter, but this time the person on the other side is qualified. They want to know what ideas Greg has. Greg's immediate response is to set up a meeting with the right people; people who can make a decision.
I started this letter off with an Idea Letter. I've sent this letter out before - it always gets a response. Greg is using this approach to stay in touch with decision makers. In another case, working with a business owner this week, I learned of a successful webinar marketing program done through RightStar Systems. Each week dozens of people attend - last week this company had almost 100. But how will they turn these attendees into contracts? Idea Emails - over time can reach a large number of these attendees. Arnold Sanow in his tips on selling recommends 9 hits in the next 18 months. I skew that, contacting them more often early on, then spreading it out to quarters. After all, I am not trying to annoy people, but rather hoping to stay in front of them with great ideas, hoping for a chance to share them.
I asked Greg what topics get the greatest return, "Business continuity and data asset protection. The people running the business want to know that their systems and applications are up and running at all times", was his response.
The hardest part is getting started. Take your contacts, find a way to group like people, separate out the clients so you aren't marketing to people who are already buying, and track your progress on a marketing calendar. Its a simple process, but it yields big results. For instance, if you send out 100 emails, you might get back 5. This may not sound great, but once your database begins to grow you will find this ratio isn't bad. As Greg shared with me, those that do respond are highly qualified and generally lead to some type of business. Those that ignore him aren't ready to buy anyway. Keep emailing these people and over time they will start to wonder. The meeting is imminent. |
