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Comments

John Windsor

Great post, Dr. Konrath. I particularly liked the "Shake the Status Quo" advice. You've done a better job of helping people understand how to make a connection than the typical, vacuous advice like "Start strong, maintain interest, finish strong."

Susan Martin

Thanks for being so specific, "Be immediately relevant" is such great advice as people just don't have time or patience to hear what's not!

Daniel Sitter

Aside from your wonderful content in this article Jill, you have succeeded in providing a highly memorable imprint on the minds of your readers.

Your topic and your title have served as a relevant conversation piece for many salespeople recently. Hopefully, these conversations will soon lead to new customers for you.

Excellent job. Nicely done. Very creative!

Lewis Green

Good post Jill. We do have to create an impact and be immediately relevant. Now, if we marketing consultants could just convince our clients, everything would be bliss. Asking them to change, to be bold and innovative, is, as you suggest, a shock to their believe systems.

Babette Black Burdick

Jill,

In approaching sales calls, emails, mail and voicemails from the perspective of bringing new thoughts and innovation to the table, one truly helps the prospect become "unstuck." And it works for current clients too. Sharing case studies with tangible ROI feedback immediately distinguishes the caller as a trusted partner vs. a typical salesperson. Even if the prospect doesn't return the call, you set the stage for the prospect's anticipating more communication from you in the future. You've just helped them do their job more effectively.

Raza Imam

This is a really, really good post. I've used this advice to spice up my own cold calls. Below is the script I use.

"I read about XYZ and it really jumped out at me [triggering event, but I mention specifics to get them interested] because it seems relevant to work we've done with our clients. I own a Chicago-based offshore development firm and thought it would make sense to reach out.

You probably get 100 emails from "Bob's from Bangalore" but many offshore firms are little more than 'software sweatshops' that over-promise and under-deliver. Most companies we talk to have gotten burned when going offshore, or are disgruntled to say the least.

We're not rocket scientists, but we know finding good developers isn't hard, but finding reliable developers is.
I created a silly blog making fun of the entire outsourcing industry (SoftwareSweatshop.com)

Outsourcing is about high value, not low cost. We don't take our selves too seriously but are dead serious about what we do. Give me a shout if you think it makes sense to chat.

Thanks,

Raza Imam
SoftwareSweatshop.com"

Troy Bingham - Power Dialer

We found direct mail to be very successful as we send out small, inexpensive toys in priority packaging. It costs a little more but has significantly increased or return.

Skip Anderson

Providing a "jolt" is so important in a world of sameness and also-rans. At this point in the presidential politics season, all the ads seem to have that familiar tone that we see every four years. Where's the creativity? Where's the jolt? The economy has been a jolt, but I'd love to see a "jolty" political advertisement.

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