Sales Prospect Texting, the New Business Communication Paradigm

Do you currently text prospects you’ve never met, to try and set sales appointments? The answer is most likely no. It isn’t a common method of communication yet. I’ve been suggesting my staff start incorporating this strategy. Interestingly enough, all of them have pushed back at the thought, like it was a concept so foreign to their way of thinking, they couldn’t understand how I could even suggest it. This made me wonder how many others might be thinking the same way about texting. I would be shocked however if many would feel that way in a few years from now. Texting isn’t a normal business communication method today, but if I’m right, soon, it’ll be as common as email is today. To make my case, let me walk you down memory lane a bit and examine how we used to communicate in sales to prospects and how we have landed in the arena we find ourselves today.

How many people walk in the door, hoping to introduce themselves, only to be handed a card and told to make an appointment? Getting past the gate keeper isn’t easy and they are trained to say no to everyone. We’ve all been there right? You go in confident that you can offer the folks you’re calling on some added value or benefit if you could just get in front of the right influencer or decision maker. If you’re like me, you probably have even done some research before walking in the door and have asked the gatekeeper for a specific person by name. Sometimes I’m walking in the door because I’ve not only called for an appointment, I’ve most likely also emailed but haven’t heard any response back. Being screened and/or blocked by business defense systems is nothing new. 

With phone, email and personal visits all failing more and more, sometimes hope can seem lost for those people who are newer to sales. I’ve been selling for a while now, so I know there is hope to reach my prospect, I just have to find the right solution that works on them specifically. I am always looking for new ways to catch the attention and pique the interest of those I’m trying to meet with. Sometimes the hardest ones to reach become a personal challenge almost like a game that I try to conquer, not just for the sale, but for the satisfaction of a job well done. Mixing things up and trying different approaches, using different materials and or combinations of methods is something I strategically employ in my effort to gain new business. In my sales staff meetings, I describe these different methods as bait. I want to deliver the right message in a way that my intended target responds to favorably. I have done this with varying success over the past 20 years in part because no one solution has ever been completely reliable, especially when you consider the different personalities of those I call on. There is no one size fits all sales approach, however there are statistically, approaches that work better in any given vertical market and/or era. Times change, and the approach to continue to be successful must also adapt or you’ll watch it go from productive to unproductive as the days on the calendar turn. 

I remember 20 years ago, the main communication method I used was an introduction letter followed up with a phone call. The point of the letter was to introduce myself, my company and to build interest. Then I would call a few days later and try to set an appointment with the prospect. Sometimes to garner the face to face meeting, I would offer to meet over a golf outing, lunch or some other entertainment option, which would entice the prospect enough to agree to the meeting. Sometimes I miss the days where people had the time to meet with a stranger for more than a few minutes; but those days have passed. I remember watching in horror as that strategy unraveled and became less and less effective. This is when people stopped taking the calls as frequently, and rejected the meetings more and more. To survive, I had to adapt. I don’t care how good you are at convincing people to buy your product, if you can’t meet with them, you don’t get the chance.  Appointment setting of some sort is not optional in sales, it is required.

Ironically about this time, there was an ever-increasing amount of email addresses added to business cards. They had never been there before, but as sales professionals were desperate to set appointments and getting nowhere on the phone; the email life line was being established. Sales representatives started to use them to reach out to people who quit taking our phone calls. It was an interesting time and relates to today because it was somewhat awkward back then to reach out to someone you didn’t know via email. Emails like texts today were most commonly used for personal communications with friends and family. The information needed to reach out via email was provided on the business card and there were no established defenses for email yet. You could reach a person directly much more effectively via email as a result, at least giving you a shot to have them consider your message.

Today email might be the worst way to get a new prospects attention, because it is the most common method for reaching out. Ironically, I believe the phone is more effective than it has been in the recent past, like turning the clock back a few decades because more and most people are not using it. The phone ringing no longer seen by many business professionals as such a nuisance. The twist is today when using the phone, you better get to the point quickly because the person answering it has a lot of work to do as almost everyone has scaled back work forces that have required each of us to accomplish more in a day, but I digress. The main thing to notice here is what made email successful was the information needed to send it was accessible on the business card and there was no established defensible system to prevent your communication from reaching the intended recipient. 

Following the history of what made emails work for business, texting today is the obvious solution to reaching out for prospects, to set appointments. I have come to this conclusion because all the conditions are identical to that of the early 2000’s when email took prevalence over the phone. When the phone stopped working, email addresses were new and primarily used for personal and friendly communication. Further the information needed to reach out was provided by the business on their individual business cards. Likewise, today texts are used primarily for personal and friendly messages and the cell phone number needed to text is provided on the business card. You may wonder how to use a text and need to develop some skills on texting, however there’s no denying the similarities or the potential positive effect it can have on your appointment setting efforts.

From a simple photo, to a brief “can we talk about ____________?”, there are numerous ways a short and sweet text can be the edge to help you make the connection, that you’ve been looking for. I will caution that you must keep in mind and follow the socially acceptable etiquette of keeping it short, not speaking in complete, perfectly crafted and punctuated sentences and don’t type in all capital letters. The idea is to keep it friendly as that’s how texts currently work. You can show the prospect that you are not stiff, that you have a normal personality and perhaps catch their attention in a new way.  

The challenge of communicating with people who don’t know you and aren’t looking for you to sell them anything will always exist. The solutions will need to continue to evolve to keep up. Just as the email defense was eventually fortified, so too will a defense for texting. I know that as communication methods continue to be established, and companies continue to put the information needed to communicate that way on their business cards; sales people would be foolish not to utilize these methods. In the end, the form of communication won’t help you be better at selling, however it can get you past the gatekeeper and that in turn will give you more chances to sell. In order to be successful at sales, you must have a willing prospect who agrees to purchase your products or services. Texting is a method of reaching out you are most likely not comfortable using yet to do the introduction, but I would suggest you start. Texting as a business tool is a major change in the paradigm, but it is one that can help you get where you want to be, and that’s over your quota consistently. Best of luck to you as you continue to adapt and develop your communication skills.