Willy Loman would not believe it!

Not too long ago, relatively speaking, the door-to-door salesman was the norm. It was a profession that was viewed with some measure of honour, the hard-working father (sorry, but in those days, it was still the men who brought home the bacon) who would head out every morning and pound the pavement from city to city trying to make ends meet.

Slowly but surely, the use of the telephone crept into the industry, and “centralized sales” was born. People would buy what they needed or would be solicited by someone who may not even be in their city, never mind the same province.

As this grew, the pyramid-scheme was born. And from there, telemarketing.

Today, we are smack dab in the middle of yet another shift. Thankfully, telemarketing is on its’ way out. While many companies still use this as a major marketing tool, customers and prospects have wised-up to these dinner-disturbing phone calls, and the people who train these telemarketers have not moved to battle the shift. This method actually could be quite prosperous, if it were used properly. But that is for another day.

Now, we have a world that moves in a blink, and transactions that are expected to happen just as quickly. This means, much to the chagrin of most salespeople out there, that the phone is no longer the method of choice for a growing number of buyers out there.

Enter email, and e-commerce. The days of Willy Loman hauling his wares are officially behind us.

For the past 3 years, I have dealt with a customer-base that is largely in the U.S. This has created two challenges. The first is obvious – distance. With customers 6 – 7 hours away, it is not feasible to just “pop-in” or to even schedule a face-to-face to work a sale. But that is actually the smaller of the two problems.

The bigger problem is that people are just too busy (too disorganized is more like it, but again, that is for another installment) to schedule a visit, never mind pick up the phone. And so we have entered a time where a growing number of transactions are negotiated and completed via email.

I’m an old-school type salesperson – at the least, I would prefer to do business over the phone if it can not be done in person. This is still the best way to build a relationship when face-to-face is out of the question, and it is the relationship that really matters. Still, you can work past the lack of intimacy that email brings, and still create the partnerships you need to ensure your success. Here are some of the things you can do.

- Email is meant to be fast, so make it so. Nothing is more frustrating to a customer than sending an email with questions, concerns or worse, an order, and getting no response. Start by at least acknowledging receipt and outlining how you are working to respond, and confirm/follow-up within one business day.

- If you are “meeting” a customer for the first time, remember, you are not on the phone. Starting an email with “Hi, my name is Paul Simard and I will be your salesperson…” is redundant since you should have your signature at the end of the email, and you are wasting valuable time for the customer. A quick “Good afternoon Mr. Johnson” and maybe a “I hope you are well” should be followed quickly with the goal of your email.

- Do not write novels. I used to be terrible at this one. I wanted to put the entire explanation, every detail, down in the email. In truth, the email should be used to open the door to a phone call. Provide information but keep enough under your desk to be able to add value to a phone call later.

- Be wary of the number of adjectives you use. People tend to want to describe things as if it were a Hemingway masterpiece. Customers will tune you out after the fourth “fantastic” and will never even see the sixth “amazing”. State facts, spark interest.

- Unless specifically asked, do not provide any pricing information in your emails. Doing that over the phone or in person is always best, so that you can read your prospect. You also may find something out while speaking, that you did not know prior, which could greatly affect the pricing you provide.

- Here is a biggie: if the email you are receiving is about a complaint or problem, your first action should be to acknowledge receipt with a phone call. Responding via an email filled with “I’m sorry” will only frustrate them more. They have fired a warning shot over the hull of the ship; use it to get prepared and face the music. This is the best way to save the situation, use it as an opportunity to serve, and keep the customer. If you get voice mail, leave a brief message acknowledging receipt of the email, and insist they call you as soon as they can.

- Before sending off an emotion-riddled email, save it, walk away, and re-read it a couple hours later. Passion can be a great motivator, but it can also be a great destroyer when that passion pushes send before cooler minds step in.

- Have 5 – 10 pro forma emails that can be customized to meet your customer’s request. Writing the same thing over and over again is a waste time, and will only slow you down.

- When closing out your email, while “Have a nice day” or “Thank you for your order” sound very sweet, you really want to end on a high note, capture their attention, and make them want to work with you, not your email. “As always, happy to be at your service” or “Whatever your needs, you know you need but ask” are strong statements that force a bond with the customer and tell them how important they are to you.

Managers everywhere today are desperately trying to find ways to get their employees to rely less on email and get back to the phone. Problem is, customers are not playing along. Unless you give them a strong reason for picking up the phone (something they want to hear, not something you want to tell them), more and more buyers will simply ask for an email. And if you are not willing to play ball, or if you are not capable to do so effectively, your new biggest fan will be your competition. Because guess what – they are teaching their staff how to adapt, and they are happy to take your order from you !

Today’s “Cold Call” is a tough one: practice writing. Come up with scenarios at your work and begin to work on the various responses you think work best. Send them to your own email address and check them the next day. How would you respond to that email? Does the message come across clearly? What needs to be changed? How professional is my signature? Sit with someone you know who is a good writer, and ask them to go over your ideas. Or send them the emails and ask for feedback. Writing can be taught and you can get better at it, you just have to work at it, study it, and learn from your mistakes.

Ready, set, WRITE!

Have a great sales week!

(Questions? Comments? Ideas? Send me an email salesxchange@gmail.com ; look forward to hearing from you!)