Prospecting Tip – The “Warm-Up” Letter
I just received a call from a gentleman named Pierre who is a financial advisor working for a major bank in Canada. Pierre called to tell me he had just listened to my online audio program on prospecting, and that he really enjoyed it and had a question.
He wanted to know if when preparing to make your sales calls, after identifying who you will be calling, if it would be helpful to send an introductory letter to each person telling them you will be following up with a phone call? The answer to this is not as cut and dried as you might think.
First off, for those of you who think sending the letter makes the call “warmer,” it only makes the call “warmer” for the caller. The people receiving the letters either don’t read them or forget about them anyhow. On the other hand, and this is what I told Pierre, if sending a letter will make it easier for YOU to overcome the FEAR of calling, then, by all means, send the letter. Sales call reluctance is one of the biggest problems salespeople face, and anything you can do to motivate yourself to generate more sales activity is a good thing.
If you are going to send out a letter before the call make sure, at the end of the letter, you write, “I will be calling you on such a date and at such a time to set up an appointment so we can discuss this further.”
By doing this you are also making sure you keep the focus on what you want to achieve (getting the appointment) during the call. Also, you just might find there will be a small number of people who will actually be expecting your call.
For more help with prospecting and sales rejection, please see my other article on overcoming sales objections.
Hi Warren,
I think that whatever makes it easier for someone to pick up the phone or knock on a door is good but its a tool, a prop, its not the sale and, as you and your readers know, it doesnt replace the salesperson.
The challenge sometimes is how much info to put in. Too little, its junk. too much, why do I need to speak to a salesperson?
Marketing and advertising lierature is another thing. I worked as a sales trainer for a very very large Cable TV company in England and their marketing department came up with a four page all singing all dancing colourful leaflet that was sent out to 300,000 people around london BEFORE the salesperson knocked. They thought it was agreat idea and good value.
I looked at it, read it, then looked at them."You do know that you can write 'Up Yours XXXhole' in the middle of all of these and NO ONE will complain? They will not read it". They were shocked, but they knew I was right.
I used to get salespeople to knock on the door, introduce themselves and then say, 'Did you get the letter we sent you?"
If the person said No they said, 'Sorry about that, let me explain.' If they said yes, they said, 'Great, let me explain'. In three years we didnt send one letter!!!
This will work on the phone too.
Best regards to you, yours and your readers.
Let's go and sell something!
David Moore
Hey David,
Thanks for the comment. I knew an Insurance agent who did the same thing. He would call and ask, "Did you get the letter I sent you?" If they said "Yes," he would say, "Then you know that it says…" and he would proceed to tell them what it said. (Don't assume just because they got it that they read it).
However, when he asked if they got it and they said "No," he would say, "Well, you know how the Post Office is, let me tell you what it said." Either way, he got to tell them what it said. Oh, and by the way, he never once mailed a letter!