Learning from Bad Prospecting

I’m not trying to make fun of anyone, nor am I trying to be mean spirited. Please know that.

It’s just that we can learn so much about prospecting from bad examples of real prospecting attempts. That leads us to an email I received recently:

Hi Jeff:

I don’t enjoy doing this as much as you don’t enjoy receiving this. But I am banking on the possibility that you have salespeople in your organization that are tasked with doing the same thing…..reaching out, unsolicited, to prospects because your company truly believes that they can HELP others with your products and services.

In summary, we are an omni-channel communications company that is an industry leader in print/digital critical marketing communications. We specialize in providing personalized communications, kitting and fulfillment. We reduce costs while boosting ROI and effectiveness.

If any of my message has resonated with you, I would like to see if we can find 20 minutes on the calendar this week or next to learn more about one another’s organization. If you are not the proper contact for this, I would appreciate it if you could pass this note along to the proper party. Thank you so much for your time and consideration and I look forward to chatting soon. Have a great day!

Sincerely,

Name
Title
Company

Okay, let’s break it down. What’s wrong with this prospecting email?

1. The first paragraph is a gimmick. I believe the first paragraph of a prospecting email needs to figuratively smack someone in the face, hitting them right between the eyes. The best way of doing that is not with some half-funny joke about the misery of getting prospecting emails, rather you do it by focusing on something that’s of value to the recipient.
2. The second paragraph is a book report of what the sales rep’s company does. It’s made even worse because it’s full of “corporate” sounding words. Whenever a prospect reads sales clichés like “boosting ROI,” “omni-channel communications company” and “industry leader,” they know it’s a sales message completely devoid of value.
3. In the third paragraph, the sales rep wants to meet with me if any of his message “has resonated with” me. Well, it did NOT resonate with me. Of course, it didn’t resonate with me. Why would it? There was absolutely nothing in the message that was about me. Nothing in the message focused on my pain, problems, goals or dreams. Nothing in the message was customized to my unique circumstances.

Remember, when you write prospecting messages, use insights that resonate with the prospect. The first priority is to come up with a compelling piece of value that is of interest to the recipient. If you can make that piece of value focus on a pain, struggle or threat, it’s even better.

Next, we talk about what you can do for the prospect to make things better, but you don’t do it by listing features and benefits of your product, service or company.

Prospecting is never about the seller; it’s always about the prospect. People who remember that are the ones who make a lot of sales and top the leader boards.