I received a voice mail from a sales representative:
“The purpose of my call today is to introduce myself and take a moment to briefly describe for you two core-based technologies; laser Internet on-line office and an Internet broadcasting technology. I don’t know whether or not if any of these applications may be of interest to you, I would appreciate a brief moment of your time to review that.”
They weren’t of interest. I didn’t call back. Well, actually, to be more exact, I didn’t know if they’d be of interest. I am a techno-moron. While I use technology for my business, I only use technology when I understand the value of what that technology enables me to do. I have frequent conversations with my IT consultant and I tell him what I’d like to be able to accomplish and he makes recommendations, in very plain English.
Getting back to the message above, I have no idea what “core-based technologies” and “laser internet on-line office,” mean. While I have a sense of what “an internet broadcasting technology” might be, I don’t know or understand its value to me. And that is the heart of the matter: What is the value? There was nothing in his message that enabled me to understand the value he had to offer. There was, therefore, no reason for me to call him back.
This same representative called me a few days later. Because I generally talk to sales people who call me, we did talk for approximately five minutes. I still didn’t understand what his product was, what it did or what its value to me might possibly be. I told him so. He still couldn’t make himself clear. Instead, he said he’d send an e-mail, which would miraculously explain everything. I never received it.
Instead, a few days later there was another voice mail. It was the exact same message that he’d left the first time. No acknowledgement that we’d talked (clearly he’d forgotten or simply didn’t check me off in his data base) and no mention of the promised e-mail. I didn’t return his call.
Today I received yet another voice mail from this representative. This one went: “Just wanted to follow-up on our conversation and the information I sent to you.” Again, this message contained nothing about the value he had to offer. He gave me no compelling reason to respond and I did not.
So what are the lessons here?
Lesson 1. Keep good records. This way you will know whether or not you have spoken with a prospect, what you talked about and what is your next step.
Lesson 2. If you promise to send something to a prospect, send it.
Lesson 3. Always lead with value. “What is the value to me?” That’s the question that every prospect is asking when they hear your message and/or when you get them on the telephone. It’s really your job to tell them. They will not guess, read your mind or figure it out on their own.
Lesson 4. Be crystal clear. You are the expert in what you do. You are the expert on your product, your service and/or your offering, your prospect is not. It is a huge mistake to assume that your prospect knows or understands the value of what you have to offer. You must make your message so clear that even a child would understand the value. A confused prospect does not buy.
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