at first,” she says. Once she’s sent a proposal, though, she’ll place a quick phone call to let the prospect know it’s coming and to establish a little rapport. But, she says, “If they seem like they’re busy, I’ll be really brief. I certainly don’t want to cause any is- sues – especially at this initial stage.” From there, she follows the client’s lead. She may have made a few sales entirely via email, but clients who have a lot of questions prefer the phone. Dennis Breem takes a different ap-


proach: He gauges the size of the deal and the importance of the client before deciding between phone and email. Breem is director of sales and alli- ances for an Internet security compa- ny. His job is a sprawling one: Besides handling all inside sales, he forges partnerships with channel resellers such as hardware manufacturers and software consultants. His customer base of techies loves to communicate by email, so Breem’s inbox is con- stantly full. Entire transactions, such as sales of the company’s most basic product – a $299 piece of antiviral software – can happen without ever speaking to the customer. For larger deals, however, Breem favors the personal touch a phone call can bring. “Email is great for short, quick responses,” he says. “But you get so much more out of picking up the phone.” Take, for example, a deal he’s been working on lately. A systems adminis- trator for a large university contacted Breem a few months ago about anti- virus software for a computer system used by 12,000 students and faculty members. The initial inquiry arrived by email, but Breem quickly phoned the prospect to nail down some crucial information. The school already had antivirus software in place but, as Breem found out, the prospect wasn’t happy with licensing terms. Breem drilled down for details. It turned out that Breem could beat the current deal the prospect had in place. “You can’t judge a person’s motiva-


tions over email,” says Breem. “You want to hear their tone when they’re


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reacting to pricing or discussing com- petitive products.” One recent pros- pect, for example, mentioned that his boss had been emailing him nonstop to make sure a price quote was com- pleted before the boss returned from vacation. “I could hear the stress in her voice, so I knew this was urgent,” says Breem.


Which is not to say Breem shuns email altogether. Once a prospect has begun testing his firm’s soft- ware, Breem will periodically shoot out a note to see how things are


SELLING TIP Get to the Point!


Successful people share one common characteristic above all others: They know how to prioritize. Nowhere is this trait more important than in daily communication – especially in sales.


When a salesperson calls on a prospect, the first few moments of conversation tell the prospect whether this contact will be a valuable investment of time or a waste of resources. If the salesperson can’t com- municate the value of his or her offer in a few minutes, the prospect will find some way to move on to more valuable tasks. To make your communication vital and useful: • Prepare your presentation ahead of time. • Rehearse it until it fits you like a glove. • Omit all extraneous words and phrases, all fillers and fluff. • Leave pauses for the prospect’s comments or questions. • Respond to them briefly and move on. • Be brief, be thorough, and be effective. • Best of all, be a success.


– SELLING POWER EDITORS


SELLING POWER NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2021 | 35 © 2021 SELLING POWER. CALL 1-800-752-7355 FOR REPRINT PERMISSION.


going. And email is invaluable for transmitting and following up on the paperwork. If a live voice is needed, though, Breem picks up the phone. “I’m constantly swapping off, accord- ing to what I need to accomplish,” he says.


Every sales rep has to decide when and why the phone or email (or a combination of both) is right for a particular sale. Sometimes it’s a mat- ter of what the customer or prospect prefers. Sometimes it’s what the sell- ing situation demands. 


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