5 Components of a Well-Constructed Up-Front Contract

Five components of a well-constructed up-front contract are:
• The specific objective of the interaction
• The amount of time required
• The prospect’s role, both to prepare for the interaction and to take part in it
• The salesperson’s role, both to prepare for the interaction and to take part in it
• The intended outcome. What decision(s) will be made or conclusion(s) reached at the end of the interaction?

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Tips for Keeping Yourself Focused at Work

Distractions and the wandering mind happens to all of us - While working away on something that needs to get done, you suddenly realize that for quite some time you’ve been lost in a reverie about something else entirely. You don’t know when your mind went off track, nor how long you’ve been off and distracted.

While the exact rate varies, most of our minds wander, on average 50% of the time.

In a recent study, the largest mind gaps were seen during work hours. Here we explore a few suggestions to help your wandering mind on track and focused while you're on the lock.

Tip 1: 
Manage temptations. Many distractors are digital: Facebook's status updates, tweets, emails, and etc. There are several apps that can wall off those temptations to wander off. Check out the following 2 apps and stay on track:

1. Nanny for Google blocks off websites you might be tempted to visit 
2. StayFocusd limits the amount of time (also set by you) you can spend in your inbox, on Facebook, or wherever else

Tip 2:
Monitor your mind and take second thoughts. Noticing where your mind has gone – checking your twitter feed instead of working on that report – gives you the chance for a second thought: “my mind has wandered off again.” That very thought disengages your brain from where it has wandered and activates brain circuits that can help your attention get unstuck and return to the work at hand.

Tip 3:
Practice a daily mindfulness session. This mental exercise can be as simple as watching your breath, noticing when your mind has wandered off, letting go of the wandering thought and bringing it back to your breath again. These movements of the mind are like a mental workout, the equivalent of repetitions in lifting free weights: every rep strengthens the muscle a bit more. In mindfulness what gets stronger are the brain’s circuits for noticing when your mind has wandered, letting go, and returning to your chosen focus. And that’s just what we need to stay with during that one important task we’re working on.

Sandler Rule #1: You Have to Learn to Fail to Win

Start by asking yourself the following question, "Have you ever lost a sale & felt like a personal failure?" Failure is part of the human condition. Everybody fails at something. People who achieve a great deal fail at many things. It's important that we remember:  

• It's OK to fail.
• You as a person are not a failure.
• There is the REAL - you vs. the ROLE - you.

You can choose to regard failures as negative experiences - defeats, losses, setback. Or you can choose to regard failures as positive learn what not to do, what needs to be changed, and what needs to be fixed. Failure can accelerate your success. If and only if you take the time to extract clear lessons from your failures, and then apply those lessons to your next endeavor.

Recognizing failure as a potential positive experience gives you a new freedom- the freedom to try new thing, be more creative, and stretch outside your comfort zone. If you don't achieve the results you seek, ask yourself, "What did I learn from this?"

Of course, accepting this concept intellectually is one thing. Dealing with failure emotionally is another matter entirely. Before you can learn from your failures, you must learn to fail. And, in order to do that, you must understand failure and put it in its proper perspective.

When you fail to accomplish something, you're not a failure. You did not fail. Instead, it was your attempt, your action plan, strategy, or technique  that failed. There is a difference between the real you and the role you.

Real You:
The real you is defined by your self identity and your sense of self-worth.
Role You:
The role you is defined by your performance in a role - As a sister, spouse, parent, little league coach, or salesperson.

You must learn not to take role failures personally. An unsuccessful attempt to obtain an appointment or close a sale is just that- an unsuccessful attempt. It has nothing to do with your personal worth. Your personal worth is still intact! If there is a lesson to be learned from the failed attempt, identify it and apply it to subsequent attempts.

You will know when you have learned to fail in a way that supports winning - as opposed to failing in a way that you take personally- because you will start thinking about "failure" differently. When you begin to look forward to the lessons from "failures," because you know those lesson will lead you to future "wins," you will be on the right track.

Doug Cohen of Summit Performance brings Sandler Training to Plantation, Florida

Many business owners and leaders believe that “training doesn’t work.”  And since many of them regard training as a single event, designed as a short-term quick fix––they are right––that training doesn’t work.

Sandler training does work, because our training is built on the concept of incremental growth and change over time—supported by repetition, reinforcement, coaching and accountability.  We know that achieving lasting behavioral change and mastering new skills does not occur at a one-day seminar, or overnight.

We also know that people are not likely to consistently implement a particular strategy or tactic, regardless of how effective it is, unless it’s part of an overall behavioral plan. And, they are not likely to implement a plan unless it is supported by the appropriate attitude and outlook. Therefore, Sandler training addresses all three areas necessary for success—attitude, behavior and technique.

About Doug Cohen
Doug Cohen is President of Summit Performance Training, an authorized Sandler Training center serving the south Florida area. Doug combines real-life problem-solving experience, with coaching and communication, to provide solutions to the day-to day challenges faced by sales people, sales managers, and customer service professionals.

Doug works closely with individuals and companies on a myriad of sales-related issues, including:

• Sales Training
• Management & Leadership Training
• Executive Coaching
• Keynote Speakers
• Assessments/Benchmarks
• Systems/Process Implementation
• Customer Service Training
• Goal Setting
• Prospecting and Lead Acquisition

Specifically, Doug’s expertise can be leveraged to help sales professionals in any industry learn and implement a proven selling system that focuses not just on sales techniques, but on attitudes and reinforcement.  Sandler Training is an ongoing development program grounded in proven theories, hard skills, powerful techniques, and workable strategies that sales professionals can use on every call, with every prospect…for the rest of their lives.

Doug volunteers for Junior Achievement, a national organization whose vision is to inspire young people to succeed in a global economy.  Doug has taught courses to middle and high school students in the areas of economics, personal finance, and entrepreneurship. He holds an M.B.A. from Nova Southeastern University and a B.S. in Broadcast Communications from the University of Florida.

If you would like to know the TRUTH about what might be secretly wrecking your business or to request more information click here: http://www.summitperformance.sandler.com/requestinfo

Productivity, Performance & Proficiency Lies and Your Solution

When it comes to productivity, you may think you have it mastered. You check tasks off your to-do list, multitask like the best of them, and stay insanely busy from morning until night. But it turns out, your so-called “productivity” may actually be a jumble of popular myths that make you think you’re getting more done than you actually are. Think you’re using your time wisely? Check out these four lies you might be telling yourself about being productive—and how you can free yourself from that false reality.

The Lie: My Day’s Full of Activity, So I Must Be Super Productive

These days, there’s no shortage of digital time-fillers that can make you feel productive. You can easily spend all day emailing, playing on LinkedIn, searching, instant messaging, texting, and whatever else it takes to stay in the online loop. But while your fingers are busy typing and your eyes busy reading, all you’re really doing is getting hits of information—over and over again—instead of working toward a goal.

Or, you might pack your schedule to the brim—coffee meetings in the morning and networking events after work—which forces you to spend all night responding to all the emails in your overflowing inbox. But are you really getting anything significant done?

The Logical Solution: The Done List
To make sure you’re actually accomplishing substantial tasks each day, keep a “done list”—that is, a list of tasks you’ve completed instead of things you have left to do. When you stop to recognize each day’s accomplishments, you’ll be able to reflect more constructively: Did you spend your time wisely? Did you make any significant progress today? Which allows you to reevaluate how you’re spending your time.

The Lie: The inspirational multitasking guru
Multitasking can trick you into feeling like you’re a productivity superhero. After all, if you have the skills to simultaneously compile a budget, listen to a podcast, and catch up on your email, you must be running circles around your single-tasking co-workers, right?
Actually, studies show that multitasking can make you perform worse in whatever you’re doing.

The Logical Solution: Dial in the Focus
Try focusing on one task at a time. Why should you work against what you believe are your natural multitasking talents? Yes, it might feel less productive to work on one thing at a time, but extreme focus will bring out your best.
To help you get out of your task-juggling habits, work in ones:

• Keep one simple to-do list.
• Complete at least one significant task toward the beginning of your day.
• If you’re really up for a challenge, try working in only one browser tab!

When you single-task, you’ll boost your brainpower and since you’re not spending partial attention on multiple tasks, you’ll get the task at hand done faster.

The Lie: Go with the flow? Planning & Schedules
Don't hold everything in your head. You may think that having a flexible and open schedule can be conducive to creativity (and it can be, to a certain extent), but that doesn’t mean all forms of scheduling should go out the window. A little structure can help you clarify your goals and think more clearly—so you won’t waste time trying to figure out if you overlooked anything from your mental to-do list.

The Logical Solution: Rhythms & Timetables
Create a reliable rhythm for yourself. Instead of scheduling your day down to the very last detail and task, try working with broader goals in mind.

With this strategy, I still recommend to-do lists—but not necessarily filled with specific tasks. Instead, list categories of what you’re working on.

This will allow you to work productively toward your goals without locking yourself into turn-by-turn directions. Then, set aside a dedicated block of time for you to work on each category, so you can minimize distractions and focus on actually producing.

The Big Lie: The Tomorrow Excuse
The power of procrastination is a powerful monster. Without much thought, the top task on your to-do list can get pushed to tomorrow, and then to the next day, and then to the next. And in your mind, you truly believe you’ll get to it eventually—but “eventually” keeps getting pushed further and further away.

The Logical Solution: Find an Accountability Ally
The root of procrastination is often a lack of accountability—if no one knows what’s on your to-do list, no one knows that you’re not actually making any progress on it. To stay on track, partner up with a co-worker or group of peers—people who are committed to helping each other do what they say they’re going to do—and plan to check in with each other at least once a week.

If you can’t find an accountability partner, technology can help you become your own coach. Check out apps like iDoneThis, Lift, and Email Game, which keep you updated on your progress toward specific goals and which can help keep you on track and motivated to stay productive.

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10 Steps for Using Social Media in Business And In Sales

Here are 10 steps to being social:

1. Getting Started: Locate your professional headshot and/or business logo. Create a summary about yourself, work, skills and expertise. Take that information and go sign up and complete your profiles on the following networks:
A. LinkedIn
B. Facebook
C. Google +
D. Twitter
E. Blog
Note: These sites are cataloged by Google, Bing and Yahoo and will not only make it easier for people and brands to find you, it will also BOOST your organic SEO rank and help your websites rank.

2. What Comes Next: Follow the favorites in your industry, join popular groups, and connect with key influencers and referral partners.

3. Friends, Invitations & Connections: Send personalized invitations to connect to your network and suggested friends.

4. Testimonials Written & Received: Request recommendations and favorites politely and return the favor (that's good LinkedIn etiquette). If your LinkedIn profile is completed, you will have skills listed for easy endorsements and your connections can endorse you easily with a click-of-a-mouse.

5. 1 Time Per Day Rule: Update your status 1 time daily. Facebook is a bit tricky and shouldn't be posted on multiple times on a daily basis until you have many fans that are actively engaging with your posts (like, share, comment). If you're not sure about the best way to use Facebook for business, review information on how Facebook rates your activity called "EdgeRank"

6. Interacting: Share and comment on other people’s posts at least once per day.

7. New Connections: Send invitations to connect to new people at least one per day. Just make it a personal invitation, like you are shaking hands or being introduced at a Chamber event.

8. How to Get Noticed: Comment or answer questions in groups 3 times per week.

9. Getting Brands & Businesses to Engage: Cross-promote your other profiles, email newsletter, and website or blog once per week.

10. And What About the Competition? Spy on your competition, research potential clients, and help referral partners.

Saying "Yes" to Success with the "Yes" attitude

The "yes" attitude. That means that your default response to requests is “yes.” Consider the movie, Yes, Man, played by Jim Carrey. In this movie he says, "yes!" to everything. This doesn’t mean lying, and it’s not a risky practice because most requests at the beginning of a relationship are simple and easy.
Responding to conversations with a "yes" buys you time, enables you to see more options, and builds rapport. Creating good networking practices is always thinking about how you can help the people when you meet them.

Which leads to the "no" response and the reactions that 1 word creates. A “no” response stops everything. There’s no place to go, nothing to build on, and no further options. You never know what may come of a relationship, and you will never know if you don’t let it begin. At least, try thinking with a “not yet” response instead of “no.”

30 Ways To Use LinkedIn and Get Business

LinkedIn truly is a social media tool that when harnessed correctly will help individuals, brands and businesses succeed. The site isn't a personal favorite of mine - It is however, a tool I strongly suggest using to everyone because I have seen it work time and time again. Once you understand the key principals you can make the network work for you with a minimal time investment.

If you're like many people I speak with that has a LinkedIn account that mostly sits idle (signing in to accept connection requests or review endorsements) you should know that there is much more that you can do and should be doing. LinkedIn is the social tool that will promote you as an individual, grow your business and brand, maximize your relevancy and reel in new leads, clients and testimonials. In short, used LinkedIn for ROI. Here are 30 ways to effectively harness the social network successfully:

1. Start with your profile. It needs to be filled out completely and honestly. (Great SEO opportunity here!)
2. Use widgets to integrate other tools, such as importing your blog entries or Twitter stream into your profile. (Great SEO & branding opportunity here!)
3. Do market research and gain knowledge with Polls.
4. Share survey and poll results with your contacts. This goes into your contacts activity feed and builds your credibility.
5. Answer questions in Questions and Answers: show expertise without a hint of self-promotion.
6. Ask questions in Questions and Answers to get a feel for what customers and prospects want or think.
7. Publish your LinkedIn URL on all your marketing collateral, including business cards, email signature, email newsletters, web sites and brochures, so prospects learn more about you.
8. Grow your network by joining industry and alumni groups related to your business.
9. Update your status examples of recent work.
10. Link your status updates with your other social media accounts.
11. Combine your social media approach: when someone asks a question in Twitter, respond in detail on LinkedIn and link to it from Twitter.
12. Use the search feature to find people by company, industry and city.
13. Start and manage a group or fan page for your product, brand or business.
14. Research your prospects before meeting or contacting them.
15. Share useful articles and resources that will be of interest to customers and prospects.
16. Don’t turn off your contacts: avoid hard-sell tactics.
17. Write honest and valuable recommendations for your contacts.
18. Request LinkedIn recommendation from happy customers willing to provide testimonials.
19. Post your presentations on your profile using a presentation application.
20. Check connections’ locations before traveling so you can meet with those in the city where you’re heading.
21. Ask your first-level contacts for introductions to their first-level contacts.
22. Interact with LinkedIn on a regular basis to reach those who may not see you on other social media sites.
23. Set up to receive LinkedIn messages in your inbox so you can respond right away.
24. Link to articles and content posted elsewhere, with a summary of why it’s valuable to add to your credibility.
25. List your newsletter subscription information and archives.
26. Find experts in your field and invite them as a guest blogger on your blog or speaker at your event.
27. Post discounts and package deals.
28. Import vCards and contacts from other applications to find more connections.
29. Export your contacts into other applications.
30. Find vendors and contractors through connections.

Self Discipline Equals Success

There's one special quality that you can develop that will guarantee you greater success, accomplishment and happiness in life. Of a thousand principles for success developed over the ages, this one quality or practice will do more to assure that you accomplish wonderful things with your life than anything else.  This quality is so important that, if you don’t develop it to a high degree, it is impossible for you to ever achieve what you are truly capable of achieving.

Personal Management and Self Discipline
The quality that I am talking about is the quality of self discipline.  It is a habit, a practice, a philosophy and a way of living.  All successful men and women are highly disciplined in the important work that they do.  All unsuccessful men and women are undisciplined and unable to control their behaviors and their appetites.  And when you develop the same levels of high, personal discipline possessed by the most successful people in our society, you will very soon begin to achieve the same results that they do.

All great success in life is preceded by long, sustained periods of focused effort on a single goal, the most important goal, with the determination to stay with it until it is complete.

The Qualities of Successful People
Unsuccessful men and women are those who waste their time by wasting the minutes and hours of each day on low value activities.

The key to this attitude toward time and personal management is always self discipline.

There are several disciplines that you need to develop if you want to achieve your full potential.  The first of these is the discipline of goals.  This means that you sit down with a pad of paper, a pen and ample time.  You think through and then make a written list of all the things you want to accomplish in the next one, two, three, four and five years.  You organize the list into the various areas of your life; your career, your money, your family, your health and the other parts that are important to you.  You set priorities among your goals and re-write your lists so that your most important goals are at the top.  You then take a separate sheet of paper and you make a list of all the things that you can think of doing, right now, to move you toward the attainment of your most important goals.

Fully 97% of adult Americans are trying to live their lives without clear, specific, written goals.  This is the same as setting off across an unknown country without a roadmap.  You may get somewhere eventually, but it will take you much longer, and it is far more likely that you will get lost, and waste an enormous amount of time, than if you planned your trip carefully, with a roadmap, and full information about the future terrain, before you started out.

Successful People Complete High Value Tasks First
The second discipline you need to develop for success is the discipline of planning.  Ten minutes in execution for every minute that you invest in planning will get a 1000% return on your time investment by taking the time to think through, in advance, what you are going to do in the hours and days ahead.

Keys to Success in Sales: An Agenda

Your meeting date and time has been established.  You’re confident your product or service is superior to your competitors.  Your goal for the meeting is to convince the prospect.  You’ve planned to be there for 45 minutes.

The prospect checks their calendar and realizes a few minutes before that they’ve scheduled a meeting with some salesperson and they’re not sure of the relevance today.  They’re wondering why they agreed to the meeting and plan to make it short.  They’ll ask a few questions, get a brochure or sample and usher the salesperson out the door saying “they’ll get back to them.”  Fifteen minutes maximum and they’ll be able to get back to what’s important in their day.

It’s apparent from the two scenarios that the salesperson and the prospect each have a different agenda.  Can you imagine what the outcome of the meeting will be?  Have you ever found yourself wondering why there are two different agendas for the same meeting?  Did you both agree to the same thing?

Let’s diagnose where things may have gone wrong.

1. The appointment was scheduled without a clear intention of what each side was hoping to accomplish.
2. The amount of time allocated to meet was not established or may have been, however has now changed on the prospect’s side.
3. The real purpose of the meeting was unclear.
4. An agreed upon outcome was not discussed prior to the meeting.

In other words – it’s like showing up at the dentist for a cleaning and he’s ready to perform a root canal.

The Sandler Selling System refers to the concept of establishing an agenda for every interaction with a prospect as an Up-Front Contract.  It means prior to the meeting knowing what both parties are planning to accomplish in the time they are together.  A mutually agreed outcome is established.

Following are the components of an agenda:

1. Establish a mutually agreed purpose for the call or meeting.
2. Find out what’s important for the prospect.  What are they hoping to achieve in the time you’re together.
3. Share with the prospect what you as a salesperson would like to accomplish on the phone or in the meeting.
4. Agree to a specific time you’ll spend together and reconfirm when you arrive at the meeting.
5. Determine at the beginning of the meeting or telephone conversation what you both mutually agree will happen at the conclusion of your time together.

Establish on the phone what will happen at the meeting and once at the meeting, reiterate what you both agreed to.  This gives the prospect the opportunity to share any changes that may have to be made such as now only having 30 minutes vs the originally planned 45 minutes.  You can adjust your meeting accordingly or reschedule if desired.

Just like being in the dentist’s chair – you don’t want any surprises when you are face-to-face with a prospect.  Being disarmingly honest with the prospect and letting them know up-front what is going to happen in the time you’re together will save time, eliminate the prospect from giving you a vague response as to what happens next and it will move the selling process forward or conclude there isn’t a fit for your product or services.  And set another up-front contract at the meeting as to what happens next.

What will you do prior to your next call or meeting?

(A special thanks to Doug Cohen and Sandler)

Banking Success: Transactions and Interactions

When was the last time you stepped foot in your bank?
(A special article by Don Jones, Global Accounts Division, Global Training Consultant)

From drive-through bank windows to more recent banking amenities like online banking and mobile apps, banks have practically been encouraging customers to stay away for years. Along with the conveniences for the customers, banks benefitted from less overhead and an increased focus on compliance. So after years of being told there’s no need to come inside, it was as if everyone saw the light and stopped entering their bricks-and-mortar bank. Problem solved, right? Not so fast.

Over time, the banks realized a few drawbacks (withdrawals, perhaps?). For starters, selling was near impossible, let alone “upselling.” With just a quick click of a “No thanks” option online, customers are quickly able to bypass new products and services. Whereas face-to-face interaction would allow a bank representative to ask questions and employ techniques to garner interest. Another downside was that bank associates became less customer-service oriented – focused more on transactions, with very little interaction.

So, now what? Banks are working to turn things around and welcome customers back inside by creating an inviting atmosphere staffed with friendlier associates from diverse professional backgrounds (i.e. retail, sales, etc.). Many of the bigger banks are turning to third-party consultants, like Sandler, to train their teams to sell and to know what makes people feel comfortable to purchase – which is especially important when it comes to personal finance.

The more customers come inside and trust the person they’re interacting with, the more opportunities there will be to sell. Because, as you all know, people want to buy, they just don’t like to feel sold.

6 Ways to Improve Any Career

Here are 6 ways you might work with others to drive innovation, in the process creating stunning new opportunities for yourself:

1. Eliminate your industry’s persistent customer pain points.
Each industry has practices that drive customers crazy.
Think: can we turn our process or perspective around, to look through the customer’s eyes as though they were the company and we were the customers?
2. Dramatically reduce complexity.
3. Make stupid objects smart; add a sensor
The race is on to make everything smart, and the dumber your products were to begin with, the greater the opportunity to make them smart.
4. Teach your company to talk.
Apple's Siri personal assistant allows you to have a conversation with your phone. It's far from perfect, but the idea of having corporate databases talk directly to customers is here to stay.
5. Be utterly transparent.
Think: no spin. Social media and pervasive technology will make it increasingly difficult for companies to hide from dissatisfied customers, negative reviews, and faulty products.
6. Make loyalty dramatically easier than disloyalty.
By definition, when companies act smart they are personalizing the way they interact with and serve customers. Once you start delivering personalization, you create immense opportunities to make loyalty more convenient than disloyalty:

• You can store customer preferences, and act on them.
• You can save the customer time, money, or effort - especially by eliminating repetitive tasks.
• You can provide auto-replenishment of needed supplies.
• You can monitor products remotely, and service them before they break instead of afterwards.

Think about every major purchase decision customers face in your industry. How can you make it easier for customers to remain with your firm? Now, think even bigger. Can it be five or ten times easier?

The Salesmans Guide: A How-to Approach

Retrain your brain to accept the following tip: You can’t earn when you’re in “knowing” mode. Salespeople can significantly increase their earnings when they stop saying and believing “I know why.”

In reality their “knowledge” is a guess created from vague statements from prospects (“we really like your presentation”) and clients (“your service is top notch”) that salespeople leave unexplored because they don’t want to be “pushy” or they “know why the client called.”

Keep in mind, the first rule of the prospect’s system is to withhold information (or lie, if you prefer). Prospects and clients are trained to keep the truth from salespeople because they’re mentally and emotionally protecting themselves.


2 primary reasons salespeople choose to “know” instead of exploring statements dropped by clients and prospects are:
1. They aren’t mentally and emotionally tough
2. They aren’t comfortable being vulnerable

Becoming mentally and emotionally tough doesn’t mean not having emotions or withholding emotions, but it does mean salespeople:

• Aren’t attached to the outcome – if their prospect says “no” or their client chooses not to expand their order, they don’t feel gutted.
• Don’t get emotionally involved in their meetings – as David Sandler said, “only the prospect may become emotionally involved in the sales interview.” Getting emotionally involved means a salesperson is focused on getting their needs met instead of helping their prospect resolve their pain.
• Separate their role from their identity – failing as a salesperson is just role failure. It doesn’t mean that salesperson is a failure as a person. Unfortunately, most of society equates role success or failure with an individual’s self-worth.

Being vulnerable doesn’t mean begging for business. Salespeople who are vulnerable:

• Don’t make assumptions – they take statements like, “it looks really good for you (to get our business)” and they find out what their prospect really means.
• Establish credibility – by helping their client design a solution to their problem instead of imposing a solution on them.
• Learn more and earn more – being vulnerable triggers a psychological reaction in a prospect to “rescue” the salesperson and share more information, which may lead to a larger problem for the salesperson to solve. 

By thinking they know instead of making time to be vulnerable and actually learning the truth behind their client’s vague statements, salespeople leave a lot of money on the table and reduce the length of client relationships. Get mentally and emotionally tough, get out of “knowing” mode and put more money in your pocket.

Perfecting Your Sales Emailing Strategy - A How-To Guide

Best Career Advice: Learn how to sell. Yes, you! You're selling. No matter what career you're planning, there's no smarter move than learning how to sell because each of us are selling every second of every day.

I recently sat down with a friend who's a website programmer and explained the selling concept. It was difficult for her to grasp how she's selling herself even while listening to Spotify/Pandora and coding websites. But in truth and in theory, she's selling while building websites - We're all selling ourselves, services, beliefs and etc. daily.

Take the example of the web programmer again, once her websites or updates are ready for the customers review, she has to email the customer that update and information. In fact, most people are emailing constantly on a regular basis. But do you know how to write a sales email properly and effectively?

Take these great suggestions from us and apply them to each of your emails moving forward:

TIP: First time e-mails: to potential customers must be short and make it easy to move to the next step.
TIP: Sales e-mails: these are the type you send to prospects to gauge if they're interested in conversing. Without a relationship with the recipients, you don't have the right to put much demand on their attention.
Common Error: Sales e-mails are way too complicated.

What Doesn't Work and Why (example courtesy of: inc.com): 

Almost every sales e-mail reads as follows: (Note: I've numbered each section to make it easier to critique; the numbers wouldn't be in the actually e-mail, of course.)

1. Subject: Acme
2. Hi [prospect name]! Hope you are well.
3. Acme is the industry leader...[a paragraph about how wonderful Acme is.]
4. Acme has the following products and services... [a bulleted "spray and pray" list.]
5. Acme has served the following customers... [some big companies.]
6. I would like to set up a 20 minute phone call to discuss how we can help you.
7. If you need any further information, don't hesitate to call me at [number] or browse our website [website.]
8. Sincerely, [sender's name and contact info]

To understand why this type of letter doesn't get a response, let's look at it from the perspective of the potential customer:

1. The subject line means nothing to me, so I probably won't open it.
2. I don't know you, so the greeting rings false and the concern for my health is bogus.
3. Why should I care about your company?
4. What does any of this have to do with me?
5. I'm an SMB; if you work with large enterprises then you're probably going to treat me like small potatoes.
6. Are you kidding me? Like I have 20 minutes in my crazy schedule to hear some silly sales pitch.
7. Apparently, you think I'm so stupid that I can't find your phone number and website under your signature. Also, you apparently live in some cuckoo land where I'm desperate to have a conversation with somebody who has already wasted three minutes of my time with this confusing e-mail.
8. A final lie, since there's nothing sincere about anything in this e-mail.

Did you really expect a response from that? It's okay, we've all been there. Now let's cover a method that actually works and can be applied easily for success!

Your New Method:

1. Subject: [something relevant to the prospect]
2. Dear [Mr.|Ms. prospect's last name]:
3. I'm contacting you because I may be able to [potential benefit to the prospect.]
4. Companies like yours ([list]) hire us to do [something quantifiable that leads to that potential benefit.]
5. Reply to this e-mail and I'll e-mail you some details so that you can quickly evaluate whether it's worth your time to pursue this.
6. [sender's name and contact info]

Do you know why this structure works? It's because:

1. The subject line engages the recipient to open the e-mail. Examples of "something relevant" would be a mutual contact, a recent change in the prospect's business, a factoid about a prospect's competitor, etc.
2. While many industries and companies are informal, when you're contacting somebody for the first time, it's best to err on the side of formality. Nobody is ever insulted by formality.
3. Get to the point quickly. The "point" is "what's in it for me." So tell the prospect.
4. This is your sales message, but stated from the customer's perspective. The customers in the list should be of similar size and shape to the prospect. If you don't have this list, just use "Our customers hire us to."
5. It's unrealistic to expect an initial e-mail to convince a prospect to commit time to meeting to you. Instead, you make the "next step" something trivial that indicates the prospect's receptiveness.
6. The prospect is smart enough to figure out how to call you or access your website if required.

Example
Subject: Inventory Cost Overruns
Dear Mrs. York:
I'm contacting you because I might be able to help you reduce your inventory costs.
Our customers hire us to restructure their supply chain to ensure just-in-time component delivery. This typically reduces their inventory storage expense by 40 to 50 percent.
Reply to this e-mail and I'll e-mail you some details so you can quickly evaluate whether it would be worth your time to look into this.
Michael Johsen, Triton
1-xxx-xxx-xxxx
www.tritonemail.com

What Happens Then
If you get an interest, then research that prospect in detail - Utilize LinkedIn or other social sites to help prepare and educate yourself on the company, person and their products.. Craft a follow-up e-mail that describes what you're offering in a way that's likely to match what that individual prospect may need."Like" Us On Facebook