Sales Man Up
Survival of The Fastest : Part 1
I've found that if you're not responsive to e-mail, it trains people to leave you alone. - David Karp
Each man is questioned by life; and he can only answer to life by answering for his own life; to life he can only respond by being responsible. Viktor E. Frankl
How many emails do you process in the course of one day ? Radicati states that in 2018, approximately 124.5 Billion Business-related emails were sent and received every day . Additionally, DMR reports that the average office worker receives nearly 121 emails daily.
(https://www.campaignmonitor.com/blog/email-marketing/2018/03/shocking-truth-about-how-many-emails-sent/) I know sales reps and territory managers who process even more. No wonder that texting has become the new email ! Things can get buried so fast within our In Boxes, that they can fall into the cyber abyss, and be lost forever. Consequently, each of us is faced with the challenge of prioritizing our emails, so we can respond to the most important or urgent messages ;while eliminating the Spam and cyber fodder that blows up our in-box.
Why is this practice paramount to any modern business professional, but especially to sales people ? Because we live or die, succeed or fail by our ability to respond to our client’s needs ! What drove this point home for me, was a meeting I recently had with a reputable architectural firm, and the statements made by the Director of Interior Design . She told me during our library update, ( I paraphrase…) “ When we need something, we cannot afford to wait a week for a sales rep to respond. If you cannot offer immediate assistance, then your products have no place in our library.” When she made this statement, I felt a bead of sweat run down the back of my neck, even though my books were in her library; and I do my best to jump on any request that clients email me. Still, this is the harsh reality that our clients face daily, and their time is such a precious commodity that when they send us an email for a sample request, or budgetary pricing; our response needs to be spot on.
I realize this is sales 101 for many of the veterans reading this blog, but the horror stories still abound in the marketplace of reps taking 2-3 days to respond to customer inquiries. We do so at our own peril and the potential demise of our business. Technology, in my opinion, has not necessarily made our lives easier as much as it has increased the pace and made them faster. It used to take 10 days for pony express to cover their route and make their deliveries ( Britannica.com ) . USPS can still average 3 days on snail mail, but even the paradigm has shifted for them, as it seems there are more trucks delivering smiling boxes than mail. Email is immediate. ( as long as it does not fall into a Spencer file). With that immediacy comes an expectation of improved responsiveness, which is a fact we all have to live with. Truly, it is survival of the fastest ! Tune in for Part 2 as we cover practical ways of managing our information.
Do you have suggestions on email tips and tactics that have helped you ? Please share them in the Comment line on Linkedin. Thank you !
A five minute call replaces the time it takes to read and reply to the original email and read and reply to their reply... or replies. And I no longer spend 20+ minutes crafting the perfect email - no need to. - Simon Sinek
: Image from Pixabay.com
