Be smart: Break the 3-second rule

April 08, 2014 at 12:00 AM
Share & Print

Last week, I received an email with a very good subject line, which prompted me to open it.

As I read the salutation, I groaned: "Hi, Patrick…"

Obviously, the cut-and-paste sales rep had forgotten to change the salutation before hitting "send."

I replied to her email with "Addressing a prospect with the wrong name is a quick way to get your email deleted. Regards, Kelley"

Still bad but better

A few minutes later, I received her response: "Kelly, thanks for pointing out the typo."

This time she had gotten the right name but the wrong spelling!

Imagine making these mistakes with the CEO of a Fortune 500 company.

The senior executives I work with would have deleted her email in less than 3 seconds.

A simple blunder like this causes you to lose credibility and respect before you have even uttered a word about your product or service.

After such a mistake, it is practically impossible to engage a prospect in a sales conversation.

Connecting with hard-to-reach prospects is tough at the best of times—so it's critical to avoid mistakes like this one.

NOT FOR REPRINT

© 2024 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.

Related Stories

Resource Center