Reply to All ...... DON"T

From The New Yorker Twitter

Have you ever "Replied to All" and found out your comment went to someone you didn't realize was part of the email?  And then you had to apologize to that person?  Everyone has.
Sending emails to multiple recipients is very very common. Some of my emails will have 40 or 50 people in the "To: field".
And if I "Reply to All", then all 40 or 50 people get my comments.
And then all hell breaks loose.  Email after email, response after response, now barrages your Inbox. "Yeah, great idea", says one.  "Right on" says another.  None of these responses contributes to anyone's knowledge.  The responses are nonsense.
But there is a solution: BCC.
Hidden in your "Compose Email" window, usually over on the right side of the screen, are two links:  CC and BCC.  You have to click BCC with your mouse to get it front and center in your email composition page.
BCC means "blind copy".  This means that the person receiving your email will not see the other people who received your email and if the recipient Replies to All their email will only go back to you and not to everyone else you sent it to. The only names and email addresses the recipient sees are yours and his.
If you want recipients to know you sent this to a Group, then state it in the email body: "This email has been sent to all field salespeople".  Don't put all the names in the To: or CC: fields.
And if all your sales staff are in a group called "Field Sales" and you send it to this group in the To: field, everyone is copied in a Reply to All.  If you put the Group in the BCC field, problem solved.  (So many sales managers list every salesperson in the To: field when sending out emails.  Put the list into the BCC field and just state in your email that this is being sent to all field sales staff.  Simple, right?  If you want to make sure your group list is correct, send the list out every once in a while to have it checked by the recipients.  How many group lists contain employees who have left or been fired?  Keep your groups clean to prevent competitive information from getting out.)
Use BCC when sending emails to many people and everyone will love you for it.   Use BCC when you don't want the recipient to know who else you copied on the email.
Use BCC.
If you want cooperation and comments, don't use email.  There are better methods that I will discuss next week.

So You Think No One's Watching.....

Inc. Magazine published an article entitled "8 Small Things People Use to Judge Your Personality" by Travis Bradberry.
The article hits the nail right on the head.  We think no one's watching us--but they are.  And they're using our actions to judge whether they're going to do business with us--whether they're going to buy the product we're selling.  Remember, you have competition and often the competitor is selling something very similar to your product.  So how does the customer tell which one to buy?  The customer uses clues; often clues that we're unaware that he's using; often clues that even the customer is unaware of.  I know these 8 items are important because I've used them to judge people myself.  (Note, the words in quotes are directly from Inc Magazine. The comments after the quotes are my own.)

The first one is a real insight into a person's overall personality:
1.   "How Do You Treat Waiters and Receptionists?"  You're out to lunch with a customer and the waiter brings the wrong meal to you or to your customer.  Are you sensitive to the mistake ("everyone makes them") or do you fly off the handle? The receptionist doesn't get your name and you have to repeat it three times.  Do you get angry?  Your customer is watching--and judging and making his mind up about whether you're going to get his business.  Everyone watches how you treat other people and judges you based on how you react.  I could expand this to "how do you treat your colleagues, your employees, and others".  More than anything, how you treat others in public is a window into your soul. 

 2.  "How Often Do You Check Your Phone?"  I have mentioned this often in the blog.  You think you're being sneaky--looking at your phone on your lap; you think no one's paying attention--they are and it could lose you the order. Check out my blog post: "Checking your smartphone"

3.  "Repetitive, Nervous Habits."  The best way to approach a sales call is to sit still, listen, take notes and ask questions. Fidgeting with your hair, clicking your pen, glancing at your phone--all bad.  Be aware of your nervous habits and get rid of them.

4.  "How Long Do You Take To Ask Questions?"  This little issue can drive a customer crazy.  And this goes to an issue I've mentioned several times in this blog: have an agenda and prepare your questions.  Taking a long time to ask a question = poor preparation and poor product knowledge.  That's the message you're giving to the customer when you hem and haw: I don't know my product and I don't understand your business. Check out my blog post: "Owning the Agenda"

5.  "Your Handshake".  In a previous blog post I discussed the importance of body language.  Standing straight and tall and offering a strong handshake will start the sales call off right. Check out my blog post: "New Year's Resolution"

6.  "Tardiness."  Being early for an appointment shows respect; being late shows lack of respect.  We have all had the experience of sitting in a doctor's office and waiting, waiting, waiting.  The message that I get when that happens is that the doctor has no respect for me or my time.  Well, that is the message you are sending when you're late for a sales call.  If you're going to be late for traffic or such, call.  Or better, plan ahead so you're early; take account of possible traffic issues. Check out my blog post on Respect.

7.  "Handwriting."  Cursive writing is not even being taught any more so I don't feel that this applies to a sales person.

8.  "Eye Contact."  This relates to item 5 above--body language. Standing straight and tall, offering a firm handshake, making eye contact, turning off your phone--all indicate a person who wants the order.  The customer reads eye contact with "truth". It's very difficult to look someone in the eye and not tell the truth.  Check out my blog post on body language.

Examine yourself--honestly--and change the things that need to be changed to make yourself a successful sales person, a successful employee, a successful person.

What Do Winners Do?

Joe Maddon, Manager, Chicago Cubs

In a recent interview with Joe Maddon, Manager of the 2016 World Series Champion Chicago Cubs, and Theo Epstein, President of the Cubs, they pointed to a couple of things that they did differently and that contributed to their success.  Most notable, and the thing that really jumped out at me, was that they scouted out their opponents before every game.
Normally, baseball scouts are out looking for new talent.  Not Cubs' scouts.  Cubs' scouts were analyzing the next opponent's hitters: what do they swing at?  where is their sweet spot--where do we not pitch?  Their strategy was to secure a team of strong hitters and scout the opponents' hitting weaknesses so that their pitchers started with an advantage.
Bill Belichick, head coach for the Super Bowl champion New England Patriots, had a similar strategy.  He had a room full of assistants looking at every single play of an opponent's previous games, analyzing minute changes in everything, from the angle of the quarterback's head, to the slight movement of the right guard--all to find out the opponent's weaknesses.
I have said over and over again in my blog that product knowledge is a critical component of sales success.  And that is true.  But just as critical is knowledge of your opponent--understand your competitors and their weaknesses and strategies.
What motivates a customer to make a decision in favor of your product can be very subtle.  Bill Belichick and Joe Maddon understand that fact.  Everyone who wants to be successful in sales must also understand that fact.
Take the time to know who you are competing against; take the time to understand your competitors' product--because taking that time could mean the difference between success and failure, between winning and losing.