July 6, 2011
by Sean Luce
As a sales rep in today's world, there are more options than ever before available to help you be your best. Where would we be without our smart phones, email or Facebook and Twitter accounts? Our current hardware and applications offer a wealth of information and ways to connect with clients. Yet all of those innovative ways will never replace the consistent and persistent approach you should take communicating with clients and prospects.
The following journal is from a rep in Vancouver, British Columbia. With a strong desire to land a client and some real creativity using today's technology, Christina Armstrong had a huge success story.
Dear Sean:
I'm sure you are familiar with Five Hour Energy drink. Joe is responsible for advertising Five Hour Energy Drink throughout Canada. He is based in Toronto. Since he lives on the other side of Canada, I called and emailed him but with no response. My challenge was to start the communication channels moving.
I looked Joe up on Facebook. I asked him to please accept my friend request as he may be pleasantly surprised. I changed my profile picture to a bottle of Five Hour Energy. To my delight, he accepted and responded. He said that I was a nut! I felt victorious as he already had an accurate description of who I was!
This was the fall of 2009. I had opened the channels of communication. I continued to correspond with Joe. We even had a couple of conference calls, but I was getting turned down when I asked for the order. It is now February 2010, and Vancouver is hosting the Olympics. I am sitting at my desk thinking about getting Joe?s attention today. I decided to compose another email:
Subject: It's a dreary day in Vancouver
Good morning Joe,
Today is a rainy day in Vancouver and the temptation to go out and enjoy the weather has now passed. Did I ever share with you a fable called "The Roger's Ogre"? Craig is my sales manager. He creeps down the hallway with a slight limp and roars his displeasure regarding sales numbers. Yesterday, I had a disturbing encounter with this creature regarding you. I could only tell him that "he's still thinking about it". Gawd?the venom that spewed from his mouth. He asked me what I had done to try and move you off the "thinking seat?. I replied, "I asked him, and he never responded". Again, I had to turn my head and close my eyes.
Please Joe?help me to not encounter this horrible "Roger's Ogre". PLEASE...help me! His response: Tell the boss I am golfing for a few days, will touch base on Monday. Have a wonderful balance of the games.
Joe eventually turned down my proposal. I would wake up thinking how am I going to get this man to say "Yes" instead of "No"? Spring had now arrived, and I had planned a trip to Paris. I was just about to leave when the idea hit me. I decided to buy two bottles of Five Hour Energy drink.
I ran back to the office and put my plan into action. I sent Joe another email that was entitled: "The first day of work for the twins". In it were pictures of the Twins (the two bottles of Five Hour Energy) in various states around our radio station. The first photo showed the twins getting their security passes. The second photo was of them doing the morning show. I told him that I was leaving for my trip, and I would like to have the proposal put to bed. His response was, "Enjoy the trip, and we will touch base when you return".
"Damn Joe!!!"
The Twins came with me to Paris. I took a beautiful picture of the boys in front of the Eiffel Tower and sent Joe an email postcard telling him how much fun the boys were having in Paris. One of the first things I did when I returned was to call Joe. He said he had $30,000 for a five month campaign. I had been pitching Joe far more than the $30,000. I was disappointed! I told him we should wait until we could add more money to the budget. I wanted to give him a good campaign and for both stations that would not cut it.
My birthday arrived, and I decided to send Joe a Happy Birthday to Me email. I asked him for a birthday present. I wanted him to confirm the proposal that I had sent the prior week which was for 65 grand over five months. He finally sent me the email that I had been waiting 9 months to read. Please move forward!! VICTORY!! This was the best birthday present ever!! Nothing is more satisfying than working this hard for a final conclusion that comes to fruition.
He sent my sales manager an email saying how much he enjoyed this entire process. I told the Ogre that I had mastered the art of successfully stalking a client without annoying him. Five Hour Energy drink has committed over $100,000 in the last ten months. Obviously, this approach cannot be used with everyone. The moral of this tale is Be fearless. What do you have to lose??? The sale??
Christina Armstrong
Jack FM/Fun FM
Vancouver, B.C.
Sean Note: Persistence pays off. I like it that Christina didn?t undersell the prospect. She actually turned down the initial money that was offered back to hold out for a schedule that she thought would work for the client. How often does this happen? Good selling Christina!
Sean Luce is the Head National Instructor for the Luce Performance Group in Houston, Texas and can be reached at sean@luceperformancegroup.com.
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