Now that I’ve focused on phoning people, there is the ever tangled web of selling through the internet to tackle.

Every Medium Matters

Not only was this the excellent slogan of my company (so don’t you go stealing it!) It’s an essential lesson with your sales efforts. Some areas lend themselves more to cold calling, some more to cold emailing but generally speaking you are going to need a combination of everything. This is why, even in the digital age you can’t afford to hide behind your emails. In fact email tennis can be a really easy way to annoy a prospect who has better things to do then reply to you all day.

Less is Less

The first thing to take into account with any form of digital communication is that it takes less effort. In most cases it is quicker to send an email then it is to phone someone just as it is easier to phone then go and visit. Less effort makes digital communication less valuable and so I would suggest to you that although for some industries a lack of communication is normal, in most cases unless a client is willing to take a phone call/meet you they are not necessarily serious.

Finders Keepers

The main way you should be using the internet is research, obviously Linkedin is a godsend for finding the right person to deal with although it’s always worth phoning to double check. I will pretty much always read any ‘about me’ pages on a prospect’s website and try and get as much information that can give me an overview on what that company are like and what they value. Don’t take information on face value, but hopefully these tools should give you a good understanding.

2 Sentences

In most pitches/emails I always say that if you get the first two sentences right you’ll get the job. It seems like a dumb thing to say, and yet I have seen huge companies not get these sentences right. When you are communicating with a prospect in any manner YOU CONCENTRATE ON THEM. It seems obvious doesn’t it and yet people are all too happy to have a few pleasantries and then launch into a copied and pasted sales pitch and talk about how amazing they are. Get those two sentences right, don’t be afraid to make assumptions and you’ll be fine.

Same Rules Apply

By and large the same rules apply to cold contacting anyone. Don’t be pushy, share your material for a later date and don’t be afraid to follow up. Oh and although I know emojis are “the fastest growing language” but by and large don’t use them in a business setting with a complete stranger.