It’s “it’s” not “its.”
Did you notice the feeling you had when you saw that mistake in the title of this post?
“Wow, why would I listen to this guy if he can’t even get a fundamental point of grammar correct?”
The impact of this in sales can be devastating because everyone you are selling to has a single thought running through their subconscious mind during the process: “Will saying ‘Yes’ be a mistake?”
As people move from a status quo to a new position, they are always aware there is risk. If you want to remodel your kitchen, for example, you don’t hire someone who you meet in the hardware store. You do research. Talk to friends and neighbors. Get references. You want to get a sense of comfort that this will be a good decision by understanding what others have experienced. You are mitigating the risk of a bad decision.
When your friend says, “It was a great job, but the delays were unbearable” or “We’re still working a punch list and he’s not returning my calls” red flags go up in your mind. You are not sure you can trust what the contractor is telling you about “all of the happy customers I have.” You say to yourself, “Hiring this vendor might be a mistake. Let me keep looking.”
Similarly, that first email you send to a potential client is your opportunity to start to build that foundation of trust. You want a meeting, or a phone call, and you are trying to influence them to believe speaking with you is worth their time. Your email tries to convey, “Yes, you can trust me. I am competent. I pay attention to detail. I am responsive. I am focused on making you successful.”
And then the opportunity is destroyed by a poorly worded initial communication. A silly typo. “Their is so much benefit you will gain from our technology.”
“You can’t judge a book by its cover” is a nice way to say we should look deeper into people before making conclusions about them. It doesn’t work that way in sales.
Clients not only judge books by their covers, they judge salespeople by their cover emails. Make sure your first impression is a strong one. A mistake in your email is not just a typo. It’s potentially the end of the sale.
(Please share your own negotiation experiences below so, together, we can improve our negotiation mastery.)
Click the “Subscribe” button above to receive a monthly tip to help you become Running The Room.
