When you prospect with integrity, you will get customers who have integrity. Think about what the previous sentence means.
Integrity is an asset that is undervalued and underappreciated in today’s business world, yet it means more than ever.
Today there are too many people using stupid tactics to prospect that lack integrity. I certainly realize integrity is up to each individual person to define, but when you understand what not to do, you can identify what integrity means in prospecting:
Here are 10 things you should NOT do:
1. Using “Re” in a subject line of an email to make it seem as if the email is part of an ongoing discussion with the person receiving it.
2. Texting someone with a message that is clearly not understandable in an attempt to get the person to respond.
3. Using LinkedIn, Facebook or any other social media platform as a means to send out lame feature-driven messages that reek of a sales pitch.
4. Emailing someone and then immediately calling them to see if they got the email. There’s nothing like making the prospect think they’re not jumping fast enough for you.
5. Sending the same email over and over. Accept the fact they saw it the first time and the reason they chose not to respond is because they didn’t see a need to.
6. Making the prospecting call or email about you and how great your company is. Does the other person care? NO!
7. Leaving a voicemail with just your name. You need to state a reason for the message. Nothing turns people off faster than a message that uses a devious technique.
8. Making claims in your prospecting email you can’t back up.
9. Sending a message implying you know the person when you actually have never met them.
10. Leaving a message that claims the person has won something special, making it seem as if they’re the only one receiving the call (when in fact it is the same message you leave for everyone).
There they are: 10 prospecting tricks nobody should ever use. Prospect with integrity and you’ll get customers who have integrity.
Want more prospecting strategies that embrace integrity? Check out my new book High-Profit Prospecting.
Copyright 2016, Mark Hunter “The Sales Hunter.” Sales Motivation Blog. Mark Hunter is the author of High-Profit Selling: Win the Sale Without Compromising on Price and High-Profit Prospecting: Powerful Strategies to Find the Best Leads and Drive Breakthrough Sales Results.
6 Responses
Hi Mark, maybe 1 thing marketing e-mails should NOT do, is pretend they will have actionable content, but then provide a list of stuff you should NOT do and leave you with no actual insights but the fact that you should unsubscribe from the list.
Great points Mark! I have been reading your blog weekly for years, today’s topic should be required reading for every person entering a sales/marketing role. I get solicitations daily that breaks at least one of your points above. Maybe the reason why I get a higher than average response rate is because I “Prospect with Integrity”!
Great post as usual Mark, keep up the Fabulous Work. Many thanks Barry.
It’s too bad that in a message that discusses “integrity,” the word “stupid” was used…..
I hope people don’t actually do these things. I would never buy from a salesperson with these tactics.
I hope people don’t actually do these things. I would never buy from a salesperson with these tactics.