Strategy Insight

One of the final elements of the cold calling preparation process is to make sure that you have meaningful and stimulating supporting materials for those times when the prospect does not have the time to speak with you and asks you to send “something.”

This too is a great opportunity.

Since we all learn differently, it is certainly reasonable to expect that some people prefer the written word. A focused, compelling and clear presentation is the chance for you to make an impression without being interrupted.

And having the shell of it prepared in advance, allows you to respond quickly while the call is still very much present in the mind of your prospect.

My supporting e-mail has a handful of core elements:

• An acknowledgment of thanks for the opportunity to write to the person
• The Value Proposition or to put it another way, “why you should read this e-mail”
• An overview of our company (what we do and how we deliver)
• Any validation that we deliver what we say we do. Sometimes, this means listing some recognizable customers or awards from prestigious organizations.
• An overview of what the prospect can expect to find in the attachments. This usually translates into key features that might resonate with the prospect.
• The next steps (when follow up is planned)

I always include my phone number.

And I always try to address my prospect by name in the body of the e-mail and mention their company too. As Guy Kawasaki says, “Though it may seem obvious, you would be surprised how much of a difference addressing a customer by name can make. Good customer service (ed. note: and sales) makes the other person feel as if she is the only customer or client that matters.”

When it comes to PowerPoint presentations, I try to create an interesting story centered on all of the items present in a script, only with more graphics, color and detail. I use very little text and try to connect the thoughts for them.

Remember, that every thing that you are sending impacts two brands – your company’s and yours. Details matter, particularly at this stage, if you wish to become not only irreplaceable, but also irresistible.

This entry was posted on August 4, 2010 at 2:23 am and is filed under Hiring, Leadership, Sales, Strategic Plans, Strategy, Visioning. You can subscribe via RSS 2.0 feed to this post's comments.

Tags: brand, Business benefits, Business Strategy, calling campaigns, Calls, Cold calling, e-mails, Guy Kawasaki, Leadership, Leaving Messages, lovemarks, Management, PowerPoint, product capabilities, prospect, Returned Calls, Sales, sales scripts, Salespeople, Strategy, Target, Target audiences, Target markets, The Art of Customer Service, Value Proposition, Voice Mail