Why do sales professionals use email?



The following was my answer on Quora:
Follow up. Follow Up. Follow UP.
Thank you Monica for asking me to answer this question.
Let’s assume that the sales professional and the client or prospect have exchanged business cards. On said business cards is the email address.
Let’s consider what sort of emails a sales professional would send:
  1. Thank them for the connection. Short sweet, to the point. (Reminds them that you connected).
  2. After a meeting: you send an email with bullets on
  • What was discussed.
  • What actions each party promised to make.
  • Confirm follow up actions you will take or information you promised.
  • Confirm next steps: when you will follow up and how?
  • Schedule a meeting
  • Reinforce the mutual benefit to be gained with focus on the reader.
Almost all top sales professionals would not rely solely on email. It is another touch point. It is not a license to spam.
A savvy sales pro would think of it as a form of keeping in touch but stays on topic.
Close the email with the next step: usually promised in person.
Email shows the ability to stay true to one’s word.
Email can be used to provide information or articles the reader expressed interest in.
CRMs (Customer Relationship Management) tools have email features that allow sales pros to track the relationship, record notes, follow up when promised. They also indicate the last time you touched base. Act accordingly.
If the recipient responds, even with a simple “thank you” it would indicate you are not lost in the SPAM folder.
The recipient will usually respond with agreement on next steps.
They may respond with a referral to someone else in their buy cycle. Leverage that name, cc the referrer as acknowledgement that you did act on their recommendation. Then refrain from including them in every other communication.
Email invitations to events, open houses, etc.
From the beginning, a sales pro can establish the rules of engagement. What sort of information they are interested in (i.e. sales, announcements)
People are adverse to unsolicited email, keep that in mind.
REMEMBER: email should never replace face to face communications.
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Where there's smoke, there's fire: influencers or fraudsters?


AUG 9, 2014. - FEB 1, 2015.

Chrysler Museum of Art:

Celebrating 70 Years of Smokey the Bear

Rudy Wendelin and the Creation of an Icon [SOURCE]

    
The following question was asked of me to answer on Quora [ link ] with response shown here. 


Jeannette Marshall
Jeannette Marshall, 
studied Marketing & Management at Business


GREAT question: Why do some “social media influencers” resort to shady practices (i.e. buy followers/likes/comments) instead of growing genuine engagement?
Let me answer both questions — hopefully, you will consider them adequate.
First and foremost, the same principles apply when you network using social networking.
Some earn the right to be referenced as an influencer because they fly in the same speed and altitude as many, perhaps spending more time cultivating their connections from a blip on the screen to an everlasting true connection (direct interaction between two members on the same platform is commonly deemed “influencers”.
Secondly, some say “ I am, therefore, am deemed so” (ref to an online influence). They could be transparently sharing the known measurement stick as others, i.e. Klout | Be Known For What You Love or Home.Kred.
Thirdly, those third party algorithm experts are tracking a combination of a potpourri of attributes, to rise up above the crowd and establish her or his self as a topic expert.
Usually, there are tools developed that provide that information about their social media users or engagers. These people use the substantiation of the 3rd parties to pull out the person of having an online “expertise”.
The aforementioned circulate around the name, engage with those with similar interests, by introduction to others who have taken the time to build their skill set in such a way they can provide some knowledge and circulate around many options.
Twitter and Klout show remarkable transparency that allow questions to be answered like:
  • what is the chance someone becomes familiar with a champion of a topic or share content consistently on a particular topic that interests others? As you increase posting while others click your posts - leave to go read it, sometimes leading a comment on the linked page that has become a weighty topic; Like how Tump and his communications team run it similiar to business as usual, while he, himself, very specifically isolates a situation and then Tweets on what is wrong, with others usually, his tweets are expressive on his reponses to a headline or communicate his opinion.
  • there is only you. you have a pseudonym name that you piggy pack of with your real name, linked to a specific hashtag that seems to go along with the message in 140 characters or less.
  • The trend to follow or “like one can change abruptly, usually by a jump in audience numbers. am effective consistency in message, which it be a political standpoint, a philosophical perspective. The spike in followers can come right after.
  • Some truly are gurus on the path or journey they are, passionate about, or welfare or concern that they take personal interest in: i.e. anti-bullying right across the board to local important happenings
  • Others can be deemed Brand Ambassador. That is a lot greater attempt at being sincere and communicating or expressing their voice, maybe accompanied by a cool article they sourced (reference to the source is standard best practice.
  • Online reputation management can be a larger scope by a big major entity that reigns over a specific space: i.e. comedy, art, photography, updates, tribe-filled groups who are supporting that person, brand or identity.
  • What you click any where, any time, the likelihood being you are seeking justification on your stand on a topic, express yourself creatively that places you steadily in a certain lane (i.e.education may be the topic classification while the material you post may be dedicated to making education an important topic that others may want to speak to (or Tweet or Facebook post or Pinterest board.
  • Kinship. Some groups of individuals are formed that focus on a specific topic, discussed accordingly by following and using the appropriate #Hashtag that it relates to. Lots of “How to’s” and information abounds while remaining consistent under the umbrella of opinion.

Slowly, steady, consistent content is THE BEST way to hail a tribe and start being considered an authority on certain topics. Simply buying followers is not doing anyone any good. You are far better off growing your following steadily and measured, tracked, shown, information or data starts to produce numbers that satisfy the anointment of being considered an expert.


I use a couple of tools, like KRED and KLOUT, that evens the playing field across the board while it emphasizing the topic or communication stream that is easily identified by your profile, your posts and your actions.


For authenticity and credibility, one cannot merely have a blanket statement on their profile that they cannot substantiate. Others participate in online #chats in Twitter that show the hashtag title and falls under “MOMENTS” on Twitter if it explodes with activity, clicks, brand new posts, using brand new features (i.e. GIFs instead of an image) to beat the same drum over and over again.
In summary, there is definitely fun to be had, discussions to become consumed with, information that is identified.


The best guideline: be as honest as safety allows by what you post online. Stay away from controversial topics, unless you get charged up to have a healthy debate on something you feel passionate about.
Finally, as you circulate and engage directly with followers, you discover what information folks gravitate towards hearing from you about. A reward for your diligence leaves you with a road map on what areas appeal to you, varied and situational reactions.
The easiest part is uncovering lots of tools, opinions, quotes, recommendations that you particularly show an interest in.
All this information is available at your fingertips. All the social media sites and business networking sites can help you with fact checking (avoid misleading or untrue interpretations), researching and becoming invested in reading those numbers that will tell you a story::… expunge information for you to tap into and help guide you or lead the way to an area or topic that people react favorably to.
Avoid experts. They say that are an expert at something. You just now need to become more familiar with those third party algorithm genius who prove the beacon to shine on you to be enlightened from. An expert, in my opinion, is when you have steadily grown your reputation and consistently circulate around specific topics or with those who appear to be knowledgeable about it.


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About the Author

Jeannette Marshall

Jeannette Marshall

BUZZveloper @optioneerJM blogHER+MOST VIEWED Business Development Writer: QUORA
Worked at E-jeannette
Studied Marketing & Management at Business
Lives in Calgary, AB
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INNOVATION: making things great again






I really don't read or perceive that there has been declared the official winner of the race for CLOUD computing:  one of three things that the technical sector has decided is one of the cool things we need:

IofT:  Internet of things or intelligence of things?

The best way I would be able to explain to a non-layperson what this acronym means is that you can control things designed to have enhanced technical capabilities.  I would use General Motors as a prime example.  In my view, opinion and limited observation.  I don't have to work there, all I have to do is pick up on the consistency of being on message flowing neighborly along that appeals to the largest percentage of people.  

Again, I've never worked for GM or read any prospectus or proposal on how they were going to prove that they were savable after a big government bail out.

I saw it before, just as a user of products, a major accounts rep, a vendor and a buyer perspective:  Xerox.   Anne Mulcahey (need to check spelling) put some building blocks in place on how they were going to rebuild a once great company from the basement of the downward steps to rock bottom to recovery and rethinking innovation and deciding to self-consciously or corporate self-examination:  what would they be known for?

So a lot of these almost washed up companies are having an injection of innovation or continued creation of a historical identity.  

Most would say that Xerox discovered xerography and became this really big company, until it delved out significant intelligence to Apple and Adobe.  Well yes, that is correct.

My guess would be how Xerox, through stringent quality control, strove to replace dust pollutant of toner dust, toxic for our water systems and ecosystems.  They made new toner that was sustainable, really smartly reusing natural resources that does not upset the universe's eco-structure from emitting toxins.

Safe to say, Xerox is a prime example of something highly identifiable can decoy from staying static and holding true to being innovative.

The best companies in the world, in my opinion are not bricks and motor, factory, industry, on the "try" at the end - see that?  Or maybe I'm psychic and see the pattern emerging.  How?

From watching the numbers.  Looking for patterns.  That information is out there and it is free.  When it goes to the cloud, someone is going to make heaps of money storing their customer's information. 


AI:  Artificial intelligence.  

I guess somewhere, somehow, someone decided that it was hip or cool to include "intelligence" to create an acronym that rings with distinction, like a battle cry to the trod on economic forces blow over.

Robots have been around for decades.  I haven't fact check, however, I'm going to say they started surfacing when more and more companies starting realizing, by looking at numbers with a strong focus on profit, they had to try to get rid of people, which is the highest expense .... yet few would survive without its people.

Has anyone written about a theme of companies who become so bloated with their own ego and self-importance, that complacency would never reside.  Quickly replaced with value, rate of return, key performance indicators.


Disruption.

Is when someone comes up with an idea that totally transforms the way we do or think of things.  Think of the smart phone as a disruption to mobility telecommunications.  

Taking something that we use every single day, is as familiar to us as our television or automobile:  the telephone.  As it evolved from a communications device into a hand held computer that uses wireless or the internet in order to transmit.  


A telegram is something we consider as old, war era communications of great importance has now been developed into something immediate.  Every day is special because we can communicate with others, convey our thoughts or feelings by the click of fingers or twiddle of thumbs.

What else is out there that hasn't been thought up yet or uncovered a need for?  The first things to look at are those every day indispensable items we use and then make them better, causing a ripple effect that requires traditional means to update their technology or capabilities or they will be stuck in the mud at the side of the super highway of happening things.





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