A LinkedIn Selling Fail

This guy – let’s call him “Mark” –  attempted to sell to me via an email on Linked In and his email serves as a useful example to dissect his approach – and examine the lessons you can learn from it – in order to improve your own sales approaches and increase your sales.

Here’s Mark’s email…

Hi

How are you today?

I wanted to share some interesting stats with you about email marketing!

That’s right statistics prove that Video email marketing can improve your results by as much as 280%.. now that’s powerful stuff.

So why aren’t you using it yet ?

1. Never heard of it …

2. Worried at being in front of the camera

3. Costs too much

So lets answer those objections … you now know that video email exists, there are loads of different ways to market using video with out putting yourself in front of the camera … and the cost doesn’t come into it when you see the results it can provide you and your business, but even so for a meager $20 a month you get the full range Video Email, Video Autoresponder and Video Conferencing! Imagine how much time and money is saved just from the video conferencing!

Get started here http://blahblahblahvideosolutions.com (weblink changed to protect the guilty party)

I look forward to helping you with your video email marketing.

Regards

Mark

 

Now, let’s just put aside for one moment the fact that he’s tried to start his sales relationship by selling over email (or in this case, LinkedIn Inbox message – so in effect the same thing) – a major error in my opinion.

Let’s look at where Mark went wrong, and what sales lessons we can learn from his poor sales approach.

Sales Failure Lesson No 1 – Is ‘How Are You Today?’ The Best Call/Email Opening You Can Manage?

Think about how you feel if someone starts their call like that to you… Irritated? Annoyed? Frustrated? Perhaps even put the phone down straightaway? That’s the emotional state you put people in when you use ‘How Are You Today?’ to a prospect you don’t know that well.

That’s not a great emotional state to put people in if you want to sell, persuade or influence them afterwards, is it?

Sales Failure Lesson No 2 – Stop Lying To People

In Mark’s email to me, he said ‘I wanted to share some interesting stats with you about email marketing!’ But he didn’t did he? Apart from the fact he only went on to share one stat (see my next point), his purpose or reason for the email was NOT to share stats with me, but to get me to sign up for his service! He’s lying. I know he’s lying. That’s not helping me to buy from him (or even buy INTO him in the first place!).

So think about what the reason or purpose of you sales approach is… is it to arrange a meeting? To get them to sign up for a webinar? To arrange a demonstration? To discuss their needs in relation to…. Whatever it is, make sure your reason or purpose is clear at the start of your sales approach.

Sales Failure Lesson No 3 – If You Say It, Prove It!

If you’re going to mention a statistic in your sales approach, then you better be prepared to back it up.

In Mark’s approach to me, he said ‘Statistics prove that Video email marketing can improve your results by as much as 280%…’

In Mark’s case it’s even more important that he backs this stat up, as he uses the word ‘prove’ in his statement.

Most people are cynical. That’s even more the case in UK and most of Western Europe. So quoting this stat and not backing it up actually gets them thinking ‘Does it now? Really? Where’s the proof? I’m not sure I believe that…’.

Now you’ve got a BIG problem. Your prospect is now in the emotional state of ‘I don’t believe you’. So now you’ve got a credibility issue, and you have to be really careful with the next statement you make – because if you give them the chance to disagree with you there too, you’re potentially just lost the person, the relationship, the opportunity, and any chance you had of making the sale.

Sales Failure Lesson No 4 – Don’t Belittle Your Prospects’ Problems

If you’ve done your research, you’ll know the problems your prospects have – plus how you can overcome those problems/objections to give yourself more chance of moving them ahead in the selling/buying process.

In Mark’s case, he’s listed the following ‘objections’ in his email…

So why aren’t you using it yet ?

1. Never heard of it …

2. Worried at being in front of the camera

3. Costs too much

Now if those are the biggest objections your prospects have to proceeding with a product or service you offer (in Mark’s case, video) do you really think you’re going to overcome all three of their biggest problems with a short paragraph afterwards?

If you belittle a prospects problems or objections they feel like they’re not being listened to. They can feel as though you’re not interested in them, and then can feel like you’re trying to sell to them without having taken any of their concerns on-board.

Follow the tips above and watch your sales soar! I look forward to hearing how you get on.


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Andy Preston

Andy Preston is the UK’s leading authority in sales training and business sales techniques. Not only has Andy worked with some top brands in the UK helping them to negotiate better deals and even close on a higher price, his impressive client portfolio encompasses brands such as HSBC, Nissan, Siemens, McAfee and FedEx – to name just a few!
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http://www.andypreston.com

Andy Preston is the UK’s leading authority in sales training and business sales techniques. Not only has Andy worked with some top brands in the UK helping them to negotiate better deals and even close on a higher price, his impressive client portfolio encompasses brands such as HSBC, Nissan, Siemens, McAfee and FedEx – to name just a few!

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