The under Sell
“Hi. I’m the new guy.”
— Rex Tillerson
Former United States Secretary of State
“Hope this finds you well!”
“We need a signature on that Partnership Agreement ASAP!”
“Our fervent wish: that you’re enjoying the season!”
(Falsely personal phrases excerpted from current e-mail sales language…)
It’s hard enough to keep track of all the business correspondence. Now the scammers and the “sales pitchers” are relying on the false mismatch of familiarity and jocularity to trick you into reading an entire sales pitch before concluding that it’s not from an unrecognized friend, but instead, originated from a list service.
Let me put this simply:
Do you really think that I’m going to respond favorably to a pitch from a firm that had to trick me into reading it?
The technique works up to a point. I get the first line and wonder if a friend or colleague sent it. I decide to read on to discover the sender from the context. Then, reaching the end, I know I’ve been had.
The outcome isn’t a warm feeling, a sense of respect, or a laugh at having been had by my own inbox. It’s disgust, and… anger.
So if you’re thinking of putting your firm in that business, don’t.
But consider that many companies have a “Sales Desk” that’s still working from a 1960’s mentality where we call the poor guy who’s next on our list and plead with him to listen to a “New Sales Idea” — just like the last 25 guys. If he agrees, he’s going to waste two to three minutes listening to your story before he’s honorably able to hang up and get back to work.
Some of the cold call companies have a new method where the pitch begins with a variation on, “Hey! It’s Bob Hamilton! We haven’t spoken lately, and I wanted to blah, blah, blah.” It’s a recording. There’s no human presence there, but you may find yourself caught for a moment trying not to be impolite to Bob, who obviously knows you… and turns out to not be human. Then you realize you’ve been conned — and comes the Hang Up!
Trust me: nobody responds favorably to being lied to, tricked or conned.
Applications
1. For You
The most effective way to begin is to acknowledge that you’re not acquainted. Then suggest that there’s a good business reason to give a possible relationship a modest hearing — maybe a few minutes. Offer to go away quietly if there’s not a potential fit. It’s simple, straightforward and honest. Oh, and it works.
2. For the Family
It seems, much of our public time is spent scrolling to a promotion of some sort: self-promotion, political promotion, or corporate promotion. The media onslaught is formidable, hijacking our attention from something we find mildly interesting to something which we can’t abide (with the “interruption clock” counting down the seconds).
In an age where everyone is a media star and publishes their entire life on the internet with one denunciation after another, what if the kids learned to Under Sell by beginning a communication with a soft question instead of a violent declaration? “Hey, don’t mean to bother you guys, but I think this is kind of interesting.” “Have you ever wondered…” What if we tried something just a little different? So why not try a different strategy: Under Promote. Under Represent! Under Sell!
3. At Work
“Hello! We haven’t met. I’m hoping we might work together. It might take as much as two and a half minutes for us to consider that. After which, we can decide to meet, or I can leave you in peace. Your call…???”
“Hi. This is a “Cold Call” which I’m hoping will turn warm. May I bother you for 2 minutes?”
“Hi. I know you’ve been waiting for the call that will change your entire life. And this maybe isn’t it. But I hope to influence you just a little. Can we talk for a second to see what ought to happen?”
The Under Sell. Quiet. Honest. Understated… and surprisingly effective.
With the Boss, with the meeting, with the presentation. In a world where everything is over-promoted, frenzied, and dishonest, you may be surprised at what humble honesty can win!
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