Communication Technology | Agency Sales Magazine

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Savvy use of communication technology is the theme of this month’s Agency Sales magazine, and our goal for this issue is to help you turn your communication technology skills into a competitive advantage that will distinguish you from your competitors. As an example, let’s consider a customer with these three e-mails in his or her inbox:

E-mail #1

Subject line: Your RFQ 88754 Our Quote 118976 2,000 Machined Steel Rods $8,000 Net, Three Week Lead Time.

Body text: Reiterates the subject information in the body text with standard terms and conditions.

E-mail #2

Subject line: Quote

Body text: Details of the quotation.

E-mail #3

Subject line: Quote

Body text: See our quote in the attached file.

An extremely time-pressed buyer with 300 unread e-mails could possibly see the subject line of the first e-mail, decide that $8,000 is a fair price, and send that vendor the order without searching to see which of his or her other 299 unread e-mails also might have been a response to RFQ 88754, but did not include that information in the subject line.

A buyer with a little more time might open all those e-mails and scan the body text of each to look for a more attractive offer, but still might be reluctant to open attachments, either because opening attachments is time-consuming or because attachments sometimes carry viruses.

If any of these quotations are destined to go unread, it will be the one that came as an attachment, and it is that salesperson’s fault for not considering the buyer’s need for efficient communication before sending that quote.

But the rep who is a savvy communicator kept the customer’s convenience uppermost in his or her mind and communicated the information in the way that is most likely to get the order.

We hope you will enjoy this issue, and that it will help you discover new skills to make your communications more compelling, and help you earn new sales and new customers.