Need I say more?

Well I will say a little more. I have gotten so many excessively long emails over the years. Here are some pointers when composing email:

1. Summarize the entire email in the first sentence or two, right up top.
2. Use lists or bullet points; people skim emails.
3. Be clear about what you need or want them to do.
4. If you really have to convey a lot of information, break it up. Use headings.
5. Remember – it’s a Blackberry world. Your email should be easy to read on a portable device.
6. Assume that people don’t open attachments. Cut & paste the important section directly into the email. Then highlight the key phrase. And put it at the top of the email.

I received my undergraduate degree in computer science and spent the first 5 years or so of my career as a coder and a technologist. But I fell in love with the idea that technologies don’t succeed on their own merits; they need powerful applications and simple use cases on top of them to truly catch on. And because of that I went to business school to learn about marketing, product delivery, and business. My goal was to start my own company after graduation.

Graduation came quickly and wouldn’t you know, the year 2002 was an awful year to start a tech company. So I found some people I’d worked with previously (relationships are once again important!) and was offered a job as a Sales Engineer.

In fact I was quite apprehensive about moving into “Sales.” I remember quite clearly finding it almost impossible to think about that term without “Slimy Used Car” in front of it (no offense to all the honest, hardworking automotive salespeople out there). The point is, I had a hard time seeing myself in the role of a salesperson.

It was at this point that I was fortunate enough to engage in a transformative discussion with an alumnus I knew. He said “Brian, don’t you realize that you are already in sales? You are selling every day. On your team projects… in your various activities… you are selling your ideas and yourself and that is why people want to work with you.”

As the years have gone by I’ve often thought about this point of view. As a marketing director I had to sell my ideas to the market, sell my tools to the sales teams, and sell my budgets and plans to my managers. As a product manager I had to sell compromises to diverse functional groups, and I sold my vision of the future to the entire production team. As a father I’m always selling my kids on why now is a better time to go to bed than later, or why dinner should come before dessert.

How do you define Sales? Please share your comments below:

When you reach out to someone, remember: it’s not about you. In fact, if you are in sales, most people don’t want to hear anything about you. They want to talk about themselves. So oblige them. Ask how they are doing. Bring up things they said last time you spoke. Get them to share more about themselves, their work, and their lives.

After a conversation like that, they will hang up the phone and think “Wow, what a great conversation. I could talk to that person again.” Meanwhile, you will hang up the phone and think, “I know so much more about them now.” It’s a win-win situation.

Are you letting important business relationships go stale? Chances are, you are… and chances are also that you can’t help it.

It’s a huge challenge – keeping all those contacts warm. Think about it. You come to know thousands of people over the years. My address book is just under 1000 people long. But I know people with 4000 names in their contact list… even 5000. And I’m sure that list grows larger. Think about an inside sales rep or a territory manager and all the people on their radars!

But the real kicker is that any one of these people can be in the market for something you happen to be perfectly suited for at any time… and you MIGHT NEVER KNOW IT. Perhaps they are looking to buy a product (your product), or engage a service (your service). Or even looking to make a hire for your dream position. In fact with all the people in your address book, it’s a practical certainty that you are already missing out on some incredible opportunities.

Personally, I do what I can to keep the people I know are really important close in some way. I think about them often and make sure I talk to them once or twice a year about something. But I can only do that effectively if the list is short – and even then usually not so well.

But then I realize that my horizon is so limited. I know who is important now… but I couldn’t even guess who will be important to me in 12 months. Think about it – has anything similar to these scenarios ever happened to you?

• You run into an old colleague who is now very influential in their company or industry
• You need specialized help and can think of the ideal person… but it’s been so long since you’ve talked that calling them for a favor would be awkward
• You call upon a prospective buyer or business partner only to find that they recently completed a transaction with a competitor
• You learn about a significant event in someone’s life – but months have passed and it is too late to reach out

The thing is – some, if not all of these things have happened to me. Most of them multiple times in fact. Because I just don’t know who will be important to me years down the road. Nor does anyone.

How do you keep relationships from getting stale? Share your comments!

This is a blog about business relationships. That’s because my company, Ticklr, is a company focused on making your business relationships stronger.

Of course, Ticklr is actually a software company, and our web application is built to help you stay engaged with all the hundreds or thousands of people you’ve come to know over the years.

But relationships cannot be automated. You can’t leave them up to someone else. You must always be in control – thinking, adapting, growing, changing. So while Ticklr the Application is going to have a profound effect on how you work and how you network, Ticklr the Blog will provide ideas and advice that can help you truly stand out.

Want to know more about Ticklr? Contact us at any time!