To send information…or not send information…THAT IS THE QUESTION.
You want to get in to see a prospect, but they’re asking you to send them information. Why?
1. Because they need to see something.
Some prospects are visual and have difficulty grasping a concept delivered over the phone. Everybody’s spoken to someone like this. And there is no way they’re going to take the appointment no matter what you tell them.
or
2. Because they want to run it by their boss or someone who works for or with them. One owner told me, “I need to run this DOWN the flagpole!”
or
3. Because they want to make sure you’re who you say you are.
That you’re credible and that your product or service “fits” with their company. Most of us don’t have nationally recognized brand names. So a contact doesn’t know if you’re a billion dollar company or working out of your basement.
or
4. Because you’re getting them at a time when they can’t talk to you.
or
5. Because they want to get you off the phone. They’re not really interested, but they don’t have the guts to say, “No thanks, good-bye!”
So what should you do?
Put your best foot forward and send them your information. But remember: If you give them something, you’ll want to get something in return—a commitment from them: Say, “Great! I’ll be glad to send something to you…and if you like what you see, I’d suspect you’d like to get together so we can go into it in more detail, am I correct?”
What York Consulting’s experience has shown.
Many of our clients tell us that their appointments are better when information is sent after the initial phone call, and appointments are booked on the follow-up call.
Sending information before setting appointments is often a matter of a caller’s personal style, not our policy.
Still, in either case, 10% – 35% of the calls resulting in information being sent turn into appointments.
What York Consulting usually sends:
• A brief introduction of your company; or
• A brief product overview; or
• One or two case studies or other supportive documentation.
Important: People will read documents of 1–4 pages, but they won’t look at 20+-page documents or “white papers” —it’s just too much detail at this early stage in the relationship with this prospect.
What is the best format?
There is no best format.
What you should include in an email to your prospect:
We’ve found that an email with attachments works better than sending an email that asks prospects to click through to links.
