Although I am no longer in the business of providing public relations and media outreach services, I still find Rafe Needleman’s Pro PR Tips a wonderfully entertaining and informative read.
Rafe delivers again with today’s post entitled “It’s a press release, not a graduate thesis.” While some may find his sarcastic prose and mocking of PR reps offensive, I believe Rafe’s motives to be genuine and just.
His message today is simple, relevant and (unfortunately) too often ignored: write in plain English.
I have followed Rafe’s path in a series of posts that chastise the ill-informed and lazy outreach efforts of certain sales reps. In fact, I had a client send me kudos after I published “Killing the Sales Pipeline One Call at a Time.”
Included below is an unsolicited message I have now received three times on LinkedIn. Even if we put aside the typos, grammatical errors, and babbling, run-on sentences, this note shatters several absolutely critical best practices when it comes to sales outreach.
1. Invest the time to learn about your prospect’s professional background and tailor the message accordingly. At least Jacky acknowledges that her message is sent to a “random selection or (sic) members.”
2. Don’t hide behind a vague offer of networking. I know you’re selling something. It is cool; most of us have to do it. Get to the point by explaining what it is you are selling and why it will help me.
3. Never spam someone in an online community. It breaks the rules of trust and relationship that bind participants in a social network. It’s OK to approach, yet you need to do it in a way that is consistent with mission of the community.
JackyLopez.com lookbigrunsmall@gmail.com has sent you a message.
Date: 12/30/2012
Subject: I look forward to expand networking opportunities
Hi Marc,
I recently join the group and decided to introduce myself to a random selection or members.
I see we’re an affinity group who are in business or help others who own one, which is a great opportunity to get to know each other well, grow the group and promote some discussion for mutual benefit.
I’m an enthusiastic networker with a passion for helping people transition through change in a way that makes them comfortable, because change often isn’t. But I believe we can do a lot to remove the stress of dealing with technology by breaking down terms that are foreign to our ears, and yet we feel like we should ‘adopt’ or ‘upgrade’ or else we’ll be left behind in the dust by the competition.
Some of those intimidating terms are: cloud computing, transform your business with mobile, data analysis,
apps development, application integration, and the list goes on and on.
If you visit my site jackylopez.com, chances are I’ll be online to chat with you right away, by clicking (on the right) LIVE support icon, if not leave a comment/question and I’ll respond within 24hrs. I wish you and your love ones a peaceful holiday and prosperous 2013!
Kind Regards,
jackylopez.com
Mobile Website & App – Cloud Computing – Application Design & Development -Application Integration