How to Be a Sales Sore Thumb

By Kim Duke

Everyone has heard the old expression "If you do that – you'll stand out like a sore thumb!" The Sales Diva is here to tell you that your goal in sales is to BE THE SALES SORE THUMB! Especially when you are leaving voice mail and e-mail messages for your customers or prospects.

Imagine a phone. Imagine a computer. Imagine them full of so many e-mail and voice-mail messages they could explode. This is what your customer is living every day. In this Age of Technology and Convenience listening to voice mail and scanning through e-mail is two degrees away from being in Hell. In my former corporate life I received between 25-50 e-mail messages a day. Add this to the phone messages and you had one grumpy girl! Very few of the messages stood out – but they definitely received my attention if they did!

Tease with a tantalizing sales message…
There are three kinds of people who leave messages. I love one kind and can't stand the others. The first kind of person leaves you a long-winded story of their entire life and never gets to the point. The second are extremely vague (think multi-level marketing people) and they don't get to the point either. The third kind I adore. They are succinct, detailed and they make me curious.

In e-mail – make sure the subject line gets attention. Your customers should be interested in opening it up! Don't just send "Reply" back to a customer if it as an ongoing e-mail message. Write "Bob –I have an idea for you..." or "Thank you and a suggestion..." or "A question re: Your Shoe Sale..." Be creative and get to the point in the body of your e-mail.
End telephone tag forever by standing out…

Leave a message that is either detailed with what you need or one that makes them curious; i.e., "Jill, I have a question only you can answer. I will be in the office until 10:15. "Don't tell people you are around all morning, don't just say "Jack –it's Jane –call me." If you do so you are entering the merry-go-round of telephone tag and it's a dizzy ride! It will also waste precious time and energy.

Remember: BEING a sales sore thumb is great – having a sore thumb from dialing and typing is a BORE.

Kim Duke, The Sales Diva, provides savvy, sassy sales training for women small biz owners and entrepreneurs. Kim works with clients internationally, showing them The Sales Diva secrets to success! Sign up for her saucy and smart FREE e-zine and receive her FREE Bonus Report "The 5 Biggest Sales Mistakes Women Make" at http://www.salesdivas.com/.