I was having lunch with fellow sales consultants and our conversation moved to talking about the many marketing tech tools that sales organizations have to augment prospecting outreaches to clients. One of our colleagues spent most of her career in the business world of Silicon Valley. I was eager to hear her recommendations for the most effective platforms.
Her answer made me laugh out loud:
“Most companies are just speeding up the crap their sales teams are sending out. They would be better off working on their messaging rather than trying to find a magic marketing tool.”
Words of wisdom. I’m sure you’ve received a few marketing messages through email, LinkedIn or voicemail that don’t resonate with you because of the “C” factor.
- You receive a generic email rather than a customized message based on your industry, size of your organization, and possible pain or gain. I received one last week offering my company assistance with our ERP system. Not sure how I landed on this salesperson’s list, but we are not a target client for ERP services.
- Maybe the message is a Facebook post in disguise. The prospecting outreach is focused on bragging about how fabulous their company is, with little or no focus on you, the buyer. “We were recently named the best company in the whole wide world, universe, galaxy … .”
There are great marketing automaton tools that will augment a sales teams prospecting efforts. However, before investing, ask yourself:
Are you just speeding up the amount of crap that your sales team is sending to prospective clients?
Good Selling!
