I received this cold email on Saturday from a "National Accounts Executive"
Colleen,
I'm not sure where you are in the buying process, but if I haven't given you a demo of our sales automation software yet, I would like to do that.
A personalized demonstration of our software takes between 20-30 minutes and can be done over the web. I'm happy to work around your availability over the next week or so. Please just reply to this email and I'll touch base to schedule something.
How many mistakes can you spot?
1."I'm not sure where you are in the buying process" I'm not in the buying process at all because I never requested this email. But, suppose for a minute I had requested information from their website. Wouldn't a better approach be to reflect what they do know about me rather than admitting they know nothing? Always use what you do know about the buyer in your communication to show that you are listening, reading, and caring about their needs. The approach used in the email I received showed me clearly that this was a mass marketing campaign pretending to be personal.
2. "If I haven't given you a demo of our sales automation software yet, I would like to do that." Should this AE know if he has given me a demo? Maybe his memory might be failing or overloaded BUT he should have a CRM that tracks this. His approach to me says either he is poorly organized or I was not very memorable. Client repellant behavior.
3. " A personalized demonstration of our software takes between 20-30 minutes and can be done over the web." Is that the value proposition for me? I don't see why I would be interested or how this can help me at all. you build relationships with buyers by offering them something of value first. Don't start with your own needs.
I responded to this AE today with the following:
I'm not in the buying process at all. Why did you think I was? You email approach is very odd. Wouldn't you know if you had given me a demo yet?
Will keep you posted on the results. In the meantime, please don't use this approach on your prospects. Ever.
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