Handling unstructured email conversations

What do an American U law grad CEO, a Georgetown MBA holder, and a former Deloitte consultant all have in common? They're three powerhouse women who rely on my advice around the nitty gritty nuances of emails once you're rolling in a sales cycle + how to use semantics to get results. Email strategy isn't isolated to email one - what happens when you've had 18 back and forths, when you're told to follow up and hear crickets, when you said one thing/they heard another, when you can't get traction on the things you need? Here's one example: A pricing conversation arose and the buyer said, "I was surprised to see that the pricing was this way - is this the only structure you offer?" Three key things here: 💡 E.Q. FTW - "Surprised" sends a message: "I'm not thrilled about this." So when we explain pricing, we need to ensure there's logic behind it. If we simply say, "That's the price, you're correct.", we're doing ourselves zero favors. 💡 "On pricing, it's structured that way because (insert logical reason that they can understand), and we don't offer flexibility because (add additional logic)." Don't know the reasons? Yeesh. Holler at your leadership - having a better understanding of this is key to being a great seller. Most reps say, "No". Elite reps say, "No, and let me help you understand why." Elite'er (it's a word ;)) reps asked that during their ramp period to have their bases covered. 💡 As we always say, think of the hidden or forthcoming objection/next question. Many reps will forget to answer the "only structure" question entirely, but as you do, consider what else might come up as the next question. "We do offer a price that covers the entire organization, and can tackle pricing on that, if you'd like." <--pause here to think what their next question will be. For this scenario, it's, "Can it live in our LMS?". "...you'd like. Also, to note, all the content can live in your LMS and adopt the SSO you likely already use - happy to chat with your admin team, too, on how to get that set up." When you don't answer this, you force them to ask you and add another back and forth, which frustrates them, erodes trust, and delays your deal. ************************************ A. This will do infinite wonders to build trust with your buyers. B. Thinking carefully through each piece of your email is the kind of unseen, tactical thing that sets the best sellers apart. C. We're thinking of doing this as our theme for November's webinar - would it be helpful? #samsales #semanticsmatter

Rep: The buyer said to follow up with them in Feb. I have sent them an email every week since then. Still no reply." There's a ton to unpack to understand what went wrong. We may not have been talking to the right buyer, failed to prove value early on, did not multi-threaded properly, and/or never understood the “why” behind what they wanted (just knew “what" they wanted). If none of those things are true, looking back at follow-ups often reveals emails like: ▶️ Just circling back on our proposal. ▶️ Is now a good time to chat? ▶️ Do you have any additional questions I can answer? Instead, the aim should be to always "follow up" (nurture) with value. Some ways to do this: ✔️ Send an article you read that might be of interest to them. ✔️ Let them know something new you learned since the last time you chatted. ✔️ Share an idea you've been working on with other similar clients that could help them. ✔️ Let them know what you learned from a podcast they were recently on. Here is a basic structure you can follow: Sentence 1: I came across {nurture item}. Sentence 2: Here is why this is relevant to you. Sentence 3: Here is my POV on it! Sentence 4: Here is the link if you want to learn more. Your aim here is to connect with intention. Teach them something or share something of value, rather than just prove that you know how to set reminders on a calendar and send follow-up notes 😉  

"Let me know if you have any questions." "Happy to discuss further." "Looking forward to your thoughts." Every time you end a follow-up with these wimpy closes, you're asking busy executives to do work they won't do. They're not going to think of questions. They're not going to schedule a follow-up call. They're not going to send you their thoughts. They're going to delete your email and move on with their actual job. The fix is making the next step so easy that a drunk executive could do it. Instead of "let me know if you have questions," embed your calendar link directly in the email. One click to book time. Instead of "happy to discuss further," Create a simple yes/no decision box: "Ready to see the ROI calculation? Yes | No" Instead of hoping they'll respond with their availability, give them three specific time slots to choose from. The most powerful follow-up technique? Use their exact words from your call. When Jessica said she's "bleeding money on software licenses," don't paraphrase it. Quote it exactly. Reference her Thursday board meeting. Add one insight she didn't know. There's nothing more impossible to ignore than hearing your own words reflected back with new value attached. Your generic templates sound like every other vendor they're ghosting. But your personalized follow-ups that reference specific moments from your conversation get responses. Stop making prospects do the work of figuring out next steps. Start making it obvious how they move forward. Every follow-up is life or death for your deal. Most AEs are committing suicide with their own emails. Don’t be like most AEs.