In my series, “The First 100 Days …”, I provide tips and tools that I have learned throughout a sales career spanning 3 decades. Bad communication habits and mistakes made by a new sales professional in your territory can greatly hinder success. This is critically true when it comes to a sales professional’s responsiveness to clients and how correspondence is handled. Here are some good tips and rules of thumb to help you get around the pitfalls and drive your sales success.
Let’s start with the most basic of good ideas.
“Have an uncompromising personal policy to be punctual with all your callbacks and written communications.”
We all know how to quickly return calls, texts and emails from our customers. But calling or emailing to say “I don’t have the answer” or “The answer is no” or “The part is pending and I don’t know when it will be available” causes even the most seasoned Sales Professional to hesitate. You may think that the problem is not your fault, but you are the one who will take the pressure when you call. Or you think it’s best not to call until you have good news. The best option is simple. Make the call immediately. Let the customer know that you are aware of the situation and will inform them periodically on your progress. Interestingly, this is an opportunity to positively differentiate yourself in their eyes. By working empathetically and diligently to find a solution, at the same time, you will grow your personal relationships with the customer. The problem they have with your business may be beyond their control and may not affect a quick or positive outcome. If handled correctly, you will be seen as someone who went out of your way to help. And regardless of your frustrations with your company, they will remember your efforts and decide to continue doing business with you.
“Use your windshield time for customer service and to grow your business”
My wife spent time as the general manager of a fine dining company. Your restaurant employees are new here to the famous adage: “If you have time to lean, you have time to clean.” In other words, if you are on the clock, keep busy. The same applies to road warriors. Driving to your first appointment or from one appointment to another can be a good time to contact the client. I enjoy music, sports broadcasting, and socializing on the phone with my friends as much as the next sales professional. But, effective business use of travel time will set you apart. Here are some ideas to help you make the most of your time behind the wheel.
Upgrade your car’s “hands-free” technology (microphone and speakers) to give you the highest quality of clean sound. Your customers will be as irritated as you would be when taking a call with poor or inaudible sound quality.
Practice the discipline of updating your business contact lists daily on your company’s CRM, laptop, and mobile phone. You will appreciate it for years to come, and your travel time will be much more productive when using voice command calls and voice text messages.
Take a moment to plan ahead for each day’s journey in and around your Sales Zones (Sales Zone = a segment of a sales territory that can be surveyed or worked on in 2-4 days). Often they take you to a territorial area to further develop targeted sales, qualify leads, or address customer needs. The best use of your time on the windshield is to extend the duration of your stay and develop your relationships in the Sales Zone. Before you get in the car, make a list of everyone in and out of your sales funnel that you’ll want to make appointments to visit. Making plans by searching contact lists and reading text messages and emails while driving is much less effective. More importantly, I am sure it violates the “Distracted Driving Laws” of many states.
Apply these 3 tips to work while driving and you will add several affective hours to your sales week. You really will be “working smarter, not harder.”
“Your voicemail inbound message should ease anxiety”
The smart practice of turning off your mobile phone during an appointment will send your clients to your voicemail. The most common last words of an incoming voicemail message are, “… and I’ll get back to you right away.” The caller has heard this promise thousands of times before. They know that many business representatives do nothing “… right away.” An easy way to help alleviate customer “callback anxiety” is to have your opening message reassure them that you are at work and actively working today. And remember that your introductory message should always be brief. You no longer need to tell callers to leave a short or detailed message, wait for the tone, leave a callback number, etc. This is just one example of a short callback anxiety relief introductory message that you can use for your business voicemail.
“Friday December 23rd; this is John from ABC Corp. Sorry I missed your call. Leave a message and I’ll call you back today.”
It only takes 45 seconds to re-record your company’s voicemail inbound message. Get in the habit of updating your introduction at the end of the workday. Colleagues and clients in Eastern Time Zones who call before sunrise will also be impressed.
“Less is more when leaving voice messages for clients and colleagues”
The best rule of thumb is to simply request a callback on your voicemail message. It is a very good idea not to try to achieve more. But, often in business, it is quick to inform the person you are calling about the reason for your call. If your verbal message is going to be long or has multiple topics or points, make it your habit to let the voicemail recipient know at the beginning of your message. Say you have, “… 2 quick topics” or, that your message, “… may take 30 or 40 seconds.” This will give your recipient the option to save your message for later. It will also prevent the person you are calling from mistakenly deleting your message prematurely; not realizing that he had a second theme. The most important thing is to be the “Champion of Brevity”.
Here are some “Best Practices” for emails from sales professionals in the field.
“Spend time every day on emails”
Obviously, reply to or at the very least personally acknowledge receipt of emails and text messages as soon as possible. If it’s a busy day, be sure to schedule 2-3 times during the day to return communication in writing.
“Keep your emails short”
Practice “word economy” when writing business emails. Years ago, while boarding a plane, I noticed a sign overhead. It said: “Bathrooms aft.” It would be difficult to come up with a clearer message more quickly. When I think of short emails, I remember the “aft toilets” example. Lovers can read every word of a partner’s email, but everyone else, especially in business, wants the sender to get to the point, fast! I appreciate the old adage, “If I had more time, I would write a shorter letter.”
“Keep your emails sweet”
A sweet greeting or greeting is a good way to offset the clever brevity of a business email. Something as simple as beginning with “Good morning John” or “Sally – Good afternoon” can let the email reader know that everything is fine and friendly. And yes, first names are always acceptable. If you are in a real gray area when it comes to using the recipient’s name or if you need to be a bit more formal, try the following: “Dear Mr. Jones (Dave).”
“Business Emails: There’s No Place to Practice Your Stand Up Routine”
Over time, many learn that written humor is a risky skill and endeavor in business emails. What you find funny or a cute reference in your written communications can easily be misinterpreted. In business, comedy writing is best left to comedy writers. Unless you’re really good at writing a joke, just say “no” to your urge to write something funny.
“Don’t complain and don’t explain”
It is never a good idea to handle a heated topic or misunderstanding in an email. You may think that your straightforward, logical paragraph will win a conversion, but very often, it does the opposite.
“If you go off the grid, let them know”
If you won’t be able to read emails for a day or more, be sure to use the “Out of Office” notification feature. Many of your colleagues in the field only use this feature if they are on vacation for a week or more. Make sure your autoship notification alerts them when you are coming back and provides alternate people to call in case there is an urgent matter.
“A handwritten note sent by mail sets you apart”
Emails are the accepted business standard for most written communications. However, the handwritten notes and cards in the customer’s mailbox are number 1 of all forms of written communication in business. Statistically, they are read, remembered, and responded to more frequently. I am not suggesting that sales professionals should start handwriting their business communications. I suggest that handwritten thank you notes can be a powerful tool. I send notes to clients, prospects and colleagues when I want to convey a sentiment or evoke a response when an email would fall short. Few would disagree that proper handwritten sales notes can be a powerful business relationship-building tool.
These were my excuses for not sending a handwritten note.
My handwriting was normal at best
I’ve become dependent on the “spell checker”
I am a slow proofreader of my own work.
Stamps, cards and envelopes require advance planning
It was significantly faster and easier to send the text message or email.
I don’t have time right now to write a note and mail it
Technology has solved all of the above. However, I’m sure only a few in sales are aware of or take advantage of recent advancements and web services. I took the time to fill out a handwriting font form and provided several of the ways I write my signature. I submitted the form to the web based service. Now I can access my handwriting font to send business postcards and wrapped cards from my laptop or mobile phone. The service fills out the envelopes and addresses, uses real stamps, and sends my personal notes with my handwriting the next morning. The cards and envelopes are very professional in appearance. I use my company logo image on the front with a heading that says “from the desktop of …”. Now I can send a handwritten message as easily as sending an email.
The tips I provided here have been learned over decades. They have saved me time, earned me sales, and helped me avoid problems and pitfalls. Pick the ones you like and make them your good habits going forward and especially for “The First 100 Days in Your New Sales Territory.”