Generate Conversation

A few weeks ago, I received an email from a lady that I do not know. Her name is Jane. I do though know her firm and have dealt with them for a few years now. She wrote to me (and several others) to inform me of her new type of services. What they are hardly matters, and she signed off;

“Please do not hesitate to contact me, my details are below.  My services are available immediately.”

My level of interest was not dismissive, but neither was it excited. Nevertheless, I emailed back. I asked for clarity on the pricing of her services.

Then nothing. Nada. Not a sausage. No reply whatsoever.

It’s conduct like this that gives us sellers such a bad rep. This episode upset me on so many levels I can hardly contain myself.

It is a classic buying tactic to try and throw salespeople off their guard by asking nonchalantly about price. The true mettle of the salesperson then comes through with how they handle this. Of course, you win when you tread the fine line between not giving away a specific price, but offering enough to start a conversation about individual requirements.

If Jane had have responded with a single price, then that may have been the end of our exchange anyway. A range being offered, then we might have progressed. Should she have tried to shift the goalposts ever-so-slightly, and engage me with what I may have been after, then I might indeed have opened up.

In any case, her initial email was wide of the mark. It’s a lesson in how not to approach via email. She went straight for the ‘close’. To me, this kind of process can only effectively start if the seller tries to create a conversation. Forget the pitch. Completely.

She solves a problem, so by all means mention it. Better still, if I’d like to learn more about what they do and how they do it, then tee up such response. Any exhortation to just ‘call’ will always surely precede silence.

And that’s not even going into the worse sin of all. Leaving a prospect email unanswered will never further your ambitions.