“Whats going on? Lots going on in my world so I thought I’d give you a quick update.”
This is the exact email I just trashed with a chuckle. Maybe you received one this week just like it. Did it make you laugh?
Probably not. In fact, you may have groaned with displeasure at yet another attempt to steal your precious time (and dollars) by soliciting your business with products or services undesired. Tis the season to be pestered by thousands of marketing messages, all vying for your attention.
So why did I laugh? By identifying the sender’s personality style, I knew instantly his values and how they differed from mine. He would never make a sale coming at me this way, even if I wanted and needed his offer.
Questions are an excellent means of getting attention and breaking through distractions. Yet this opening headline was so vague and vanilla that I could easily press the delete button with no regrets.
I also noticed the grammatical error. He failed to place an apostrophe for what’s. Little things like that can annoy certain individuals who appreciate following the rules and being accurate.
What really offended me, however, was his indifference. He had no interest in my answer because he was so eager to tell me his. In fact, the entire email was all about him and the BIG offer he was making. Self-centeredness is a strong characteristic of this type of personality and is a definite turn-off to mine.
I could have responded with irritation. Instead, since it’s my business to prescribe how to develop relationships that convert leads into clients, I laughed.
These kinds of emails drop into my inbox on a daily basis. Such behavior demonstrates the notion that sales is a numbers game. If you have a large list and send enough messages, you’ll get some takers.
I don’t subscribe to this theory. I believe that when you target your message to your ideal clients in a genuine, authentic way, without the hype, they respond positively.
If you are seeking an approach that builds relationships first and foremost, let’s get to know each other.
