So many prospects and clients to kill, so little time. But don’t worry; salespeople all over the world are doing their damnedest to kill as many prospects and clients as possible every day. Their weapon of choice? Communication or, more specifically, communication fraud. I suspect you are like me, getting dozens of emails, phone calls, snail mail letters, and even face-to-face meetings with sellers who seem to have only one goal, to waste as much of my time as possible.
They email and call wanting to know if I’m doing OK, or if I need anything, or if they can show me a new product or service without having the slightest idea if I need it or could actually use it. Some call just to let me know they’re still around and want my business. Many of these intrepid sellers have bombarded me with so much time-wasting junk communication that they’ve taught me to ignore them.
When I see an email or letter from them or if I get a voicemail message from them, I know that I need pay no attention to them. Their time-wasting communications have killed me off as a prospect and, worse, I’ve even had some sellers kill me off as a client because of their insistence on trying to waste my time.
Sellers work hard to find and connect with quality prospects and then to win them as clients. Why in the world would they want to then commit prospect and client genocide? Obviously, their intent isn’t to become mass murderers, but that’s the result of many sellers’ communication strategies. Their killer communication strategy is to teach their prospects and clients to ignore and avoid them because they have nothing of value to say.
So many sellers think their day to day communications with prospects and clients aren’t that important. Their object is simply to keep their name in front of that prospect or client and to do that; they feel a need to contact them even when they have nothing of import to communicate. More correctly, they are just too lazy to find something of value to deliver to the prospect or client. In other words, their killer communication strategy is to tell their prospects and clients in no uncertain terms that they just aren’t important enough for the seller to invest the time and energy necessary to add value for them. Now that’s a killer communication strategy.
There is a simple communication rule: Every communication you have with a prospect or client is teaching them to either pay attention to you because you bring value to them or to ignore you because all you do is waste their time. In other words, every communication you have with a prospect or client is teaching them that it’s worth taking your phone calls and reading your emails because they know you’re not going to waste their time — or you’re teaching them that you aren’t worth their time.
Which one are you?
* Maria L. Novak Dugan is president of Marketing Solutions & Business Development, a firm in West Chester, PA, offering creative marketing services and goal implementation for small businesses. For more information, contact Maria at 610-405-0633 or Maria@Maria-L-Novak.com or visit www.Maria-L-Novak.com
** The opinions expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of the ownership or management of Chadds Ford Live. We welcome opposing viewpoints. Readers may comment in the comments section, or they may submit a Letter to the Editor to editor@chaddsfordlive.com
Maria L. Novak Dugan is president of Marketing Solutions & Business Development, a firm serving Pennsylvania, Delaware, and Maryland, offering creative marketing services and goal implementation for small businesses. She has more than 30 years’ experience in the Marketing & Sales Industry ... 13 of those as the sole sales representative for a Pennsylvania payroll company growing their client base by over 500%. Maria Novak Dugan is also the former Managing Director of the Delaware Chapter of eWomenNetwork. Creating, developing, and conducting this division of a national organization strengthened her knowledge of networking, event planning, fundraising, and small-business development.
For more information, contact Maria at 610-405-0633 or Maria@Maria-L-Novak.com or visit www.Maria-L-Novak.com
