This is a prospect?

by 16 replies
18
This teaches me not to judge a prospect too quickly.
The following thread is from an email campaign I ran.
290 emails to one target niche. 2 requests for removal (very civil). And this...
I'll post it in the order it came in.

Here's the first reply to my campaign:






















A couple of notes:
1. My original email wasn't spam. The email was scrupulously in line with the CAN-SPAM act. In fact, the mailing got less than 1% requests for removal.
2. His curiosity, came from three things, I believe.
A. Good copy writing.
B. Relevance. I was as careful as I could be to match my message to his industry. And though I missed (my source gave me faulty info), the argument was coherent for the industry I targeted.
C. Proof. I didn't just make claims, I backed them up.

Ok, I was pushed back a bit. So I sent a fairly contrite reply I thought.









I was sincere about reconsidering my process. I don't like to piss people off. So I am considering how I can tighten things up. Here's his surprising reply to me.









then a critique of my email and my method.

So, I'm following up. Don't know if I'll get business or not. But he's told me in as many words that he's open to hearing my suggestions. And now we're engaging.

Take away - don't be too quick to judge. And it's worth the time to personalize. Even when you're personalizing to the wrong industry.
#offline marketing #prospect
  • Nice job. Your email back saying you were done and moving on (civilly of course) was kinda like a take-away in my mind, as he shot back a follow-up email (I assume most wouldn't at this point, or would have sent something short), stating the problem he has.

    Presentation on!

    Do you phone him at this point, or continue corresponding through email?

    Drive a wedge into his pain glands and see if there's anything there.
  • Phone the guy and discuss. Ask him what HE thinks is wrong with his presentation.
    • [1] reply
    • Seems to me Jason is 100% spot on. Call him NOW and open the dialogue. The worst that coudl happen is you waste some time on the phone.

      Good luck,

      Tom
      • [1] reply
  • lol.

    Jackass alert. He's trying to sound smart but fails completely. I would call him up just for the entertainment value to see if he's so quick with the hoity toity vocabulary on the phone. I bet he's not.

    What he's trying to do is set the stage so you're beneath him - so that you're coming to him for advice and council - not the other way around.
  • yeah lol I gotta agree with the above... someone as pretentious as that is going to be a headache. Not sure what to charge a client like that to even make it worth it.
    • [1] reply
    • Thanks Rearden. I looked for his competitors and shot him an email asking him to confirm. My original email went out to electricians in my area. He runs an electrical parts manufacturer for automotive and marine applications.

      The site is really ineffective. Google can't parse it. They don't show up for any relevant searches I can find. I'm interested because he may be B2B which is an area I want to get into more now.


      Thanks Jason and Tom.

      Good points Andy and Kung Fu. He was very quick to tell me my work was sloppy (which I thought it wasn't, he just wasn't the target market). He also wanted to slip in some marketing theory. Sounds like a guy who knows his theory and is having trouble making it work for his business. Could be a red flag.
      • [1] reply
  • I try to steer clear of guys this witty and almost "cocky". They will throw curve ball after curve ball throughout the business relationship.
  • Agreed. The guy is an internet troll trying to play real life human. I'd steer clear.
  • He's a d-bag as most of us thought.

    At least you followed up and disqualified him.
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    This is a prospect?

    This teaches me not to judge a prospect too quickly. The following thread is from an email campaign I ran. 290 emails to one target niche. 2 requests for removal (very civil). And this...