Salespersons -- cold emails

[Pato del Muerto 52484]

Could you imagine if one person really spent so much time chasing a dead lead?

[Larry T. Spider 1746]

11 hours ago, Bozo_Casanova said:

I think you'd be surprised. There are a ton of companies that rely almost exclusively on networking and prospecting by their sales teams as their primary source of new business. Every sales guy I know in tech and finance below the Fortune 500 level who doesn't work with channel partners sources a plurality of their own deals if not a majority.

Absolutely true. I source 100% of my own deals and knew that would be the case when I took the job. The part that makes it workable is that I can qualify/disqualify a prospect (school district) in about 30 seconds. Makes conversations at conferences and even through email really easy.

[Hornius Emeritus 12448]

I laugh at y'all's problems. Try having more than 1.3 million followers on social media, with multiple emails for various functions plus DMs on every social media platform. And then there's the SPAMMERS on all of those means of egress.  Some days I get more than 500 emails/DMs.  Many are legit but the vast majority are not.

My idea for a killer APP is an AI widget that collects all of these into one central location, color codes them based on the likelihood of their legitimacy, and tells the majority that are likely bots, sorry, my AI widget, who I will call Samuel, indicates that there's a high likelihood that their email is SPAM and that any emails/DMs they send in the future will be blocked.

[DalTxHornFan 3097]

3 hours ago, Hornius Emeritus said:

I laugh at y'all's problems. Try having more than 1.3 million followers on social media, with multiple emails for various functions plus DMs on every social media platform. And then there's the SPAMMERS on all of those means of egress.  Some days I get more than 500 emails/DMs.  Many are legit but the vast majority are not.

My idea for a killer APP is an AI widget that collects all of these into one central location, color codes them based on the likelihood of their legitimacy, and tells the majority that are likely bots, sorry, my AI widget, who I will call Samuel, indicates that there's a high likelihood that their email is SPAM and that any emails/DMs they send in the future will be blocked.

Pay attention, folks. This is a world class humblebrag!

[Fudge Nuggets 19184]

I don’t know, man.  Having a presence on social media sounds shitastic.

[Hornius Emeritus 12448]

1 hour ago, Fudge Nuggets said:

I don’t know, man.  Having a presence on social media sounds shitastic.

It comes in handy sometimes, like when you're accosted by LEOs in West Texas.

[TreatyOak 16311]

23 hours ago, Spaulding Smails said:

My favorites are the ones that stack up on the same thread.  Either going down the path of hostility or the path of self-loathing.  Then, they finally culminate with a, "Well, I guess all of my efforts aren't paying off.  And you're not the kind of person that's interested in reducing costs and boosting profits.  So, this is my last email to you.  So long..."  

Then a week later, "One last chance.  This is my last email.  I mean it this time."

A few other favorite lines that are often used:

"Looks like you went to The University of Texas.  Go Longhorns!"

"I'm quite impressed with what you've been able to accomplish at company X"

"I've been watching you from afar for quite some time now.  Pretty amazing what you've done at company X"

I like it when it gets ratcheted up to the boss. "My subordinate reached out to you last week."

OMG, the CEO just reached out to me!!!! I had better respond ASAP!!!!!!!

[next2naus 436]

On 5/27/2024 at 10:08 PM, Larry T. Spider said:

qualify/disqualify a prospect 

underlooked and critical aspect of sales...disqualifying

[Reagan1k 3024]

19 hours ago, next2naus said:

underlooked and critical aspect of sales...disqualifying

Quoted for truth and emphasis.

Sometimes the best business is that which you DON'T get.  

And that's just the cherry on top of not wasting time on an improperly qualified opportunity.

[next2naus 436]

On 5/31/2024 at 8:08 AM, Reagan1k said:

Quoted for truth and emphasis.

Sometimes the best business is that which you DON'T get.  

And that's just the cherry on top of not wasting time on an improperly qualified opportunity.

part of the UFC....letting them know that you may not be right for them, ICP be damned 

[Larry T. Spider 1746]

When I tell them we aren’t the best fit, they trust me more and want to work with us…..but still aren’t a good fit.

Hard as hell to turn down the business but I know which obstacles will still be there in 6 months when we are at the finish line.

[Incredulity 11643]

24 minutes ago, Larry T. Spider said:

When I tell them we aren’t the best fit, they trust me more and want to work with us

People want what they can’t have.  

[gurt 748]

Can all of you go ahead and disqualify me now and forever more? If I want or need software I’ll come find you, God damn it.

[Blotto 23484]

3 hours ago, gurt said:

Can all of you go ahead and disqualify me now and forever more? If I want or need software I’ll come find you, God damn it.

Understood. I made a note to ping you this Thursday at 10AM. Look forward to working together

Cheers!

[Doc Holliday 199]

The future of marketing and generating leads with technology is going to be a blend of everything going on in this thread. 

I've been architecting a program for marketing, sales, etc. that can scale internationally and it's all cut and paste whether it is person sent, cheap labor sending hundreds of those a day, or a technology application doing the work.  They're about to get better and much more dynamic as the stacks of knowledge keep stacking for it to learn from and adapt too. 

We generally expect 10 or less out of 100 contacts we send canned messages too.  Each denial gets tracked and we learn from it, tone, message content, approach, etc. and from there we enhance our code just a bit further.    I've got a data engine funnel being turned on soon and it will help this program leapfrog quite fast. 

[HellesBier 188]

On 5/27/2024 at 9:13 AM, Bozo_Casanova said:

I think you'd be surprised. There are a ton of companies that rely almost exclusively on networking and prospecting by their sales teams as their primary source of new business. Every sales guy I know in tech and finance below the Fortune 500 level who doesn't work with channel partners sources a plurality of their own deals if not a majority.

This. I am in charge of all sales in Texas for a series A. It isn't spam. I am looking up your companies, understanding the portfolio, making sure it's a fit, and I know that we can work together. People would rather be proud blocking emails than understand that there are products that can help. A lot of these guys are smug, until their shit out of luck because something went sideways then they buy real fucking quick.

[Larry T. Spider 1746]

18 minutes ago, HellesBier said:

This. I am in charge of all sales in Texas for a series A. It isn't spam. I am looking up your companies, understanding the portfolio, making sure it's a fit, and I know that we can work together. People would rather be proud blocking emails than understand that there are products that can help. A lot of these guys are smug, until their shit out of luck because something went sideways then they buy real fucking quick.

I sell a very niche service to school districts related to special education. 80% of the districts don’t need it, 10% would like it but their situation isn’t dire enough to shell out 7 figures, and for the remaining 10% we save their ass.

I contact a specific role at each district via email to let them know we are available if they are experiencing the main problem that we solve. I sometimes cold call if I know for sure they have the problem that we solve. 

Overall it works well, but my absolute favorite is when somebody tells me to “take them off my list” then meets me at a conference and is shocked to learn that this service exists and can’t wait to set up a meeting with their superintendent. 

My second favorite is when the person in that specific role tells me no without much consideration but the superintendent later directs them to go with us and delegates the project to them. Slightly awkward and a love it!

 

[jimmyjazz 45877]

2 hours ago, HellesBier said:

This. I am in charge of all sales in Texas for a series A. It isn't spam. I am looking up your companies, understanding the portfolio, making sure it's a fit, and I know that we can work together. People would rather be proud blocking emails than understand that there are products that can help. A lot of these guys are smug, until their shit out of luck because something went sideways then they buy real fucking quick.

We literally don't have the manpower to even consider a dozen options for every item we need.  One could surmise that we are under-staffed, but so far we've self-funded and have launched with phenomenal feedback doing it ourselves and mfg mostly overseas.  I guess we'll see if we regret less than maximum margins.  I'm pretty sure fucking around with 10 machine shops instead of, oh, 2 would not be in our best interest.

[HellesBier 188]

10 hours ago, Larry T. Spider said:

I sell a very niche service to school districts related to special education. 80% of the districts don’t need it, 10% would like it but their situation isn’t dire enough to shell out 7 figures, and for the remaining 10% we save their ass.

I contact a specific role at each district via email to let them know we are available if they are experiencing the main problem that we solve. I sometimes cold call if I know for sure they have the problem that we solve. 

Overall it works well, but my absolute favorite is when somebody tells me to “take them off my list” then meets me at a conference and is shocked to learn that this service exists and can’t wait to set up a meeting with their superintendent. 

My second favorite is when the person in that specific role tells me no without much consideration but the superintendent later directs them to go with us and delegates the project to them. Slightly awkward and a love it!

 

Yes, this is the best. "Unsubscribe" "Not interested" "Do not contact" "Hangs up the phone". Then you meet someone from their company at a conference or networking event and they talk about all the issues they have that you have been trying to solve for them.

These people talk shit about sales, but why do you think our companies exist? Just to annoy you? Or maybe were really successful because we solve problems. You're just too arrogant to be forward thinking.

[HellesBier 188]

9 hours ago, jimmyjazz said:

We literally don't have the manpower to even consider a dozen options for every item we need.  One could surmise that we are under-staffed, but so far we've self-funded and have launched with phenomenal feedback doing it ourselves and mfg mostly overseas.  I guess we'll see if we regret less than maximum margins.  I'm pretty sure fucking around with 10 machine shops instead of, oh, 2 would not be in our best interest.

Sir, if you would read my email, you would see that we operate off a rev share model and would help drive more income for you. So you could hire more staff and solve your problems at the same time. Again, that would require you to read the email though.