One of the more depressing ironies about marketing and lead generation in the 2020s is that a great deal of money and energy is spent on systems and tech that are designed to build relationships, yet they fail utterly at the precise moment when they matter most — conversion to sales.
These systems are replete with emotional terms like “engagement,” “dialogue,” and “nurturing” that imply human understanding and authenticity. And yet at the most critical and delicate moment of the process, when the system that generates the lead is supposed to be concluded by human beings connecting with one another, it all falls apart.
I could write a lot about the miseries of the modern lead-gen letter, and I probably will someday. But for now, let’s concentrate on an example that’s easier and more cheerful: the response to an inquiry.
Responding to an inquiry is easier than writing a lead-generation letter, because all you have to do is answer a question. It’s more cheerful, because the person who is asking the question already likes something about you — your product, your service, your coupon for 50% off. And yet this is where most sales organizations blow it, because they forget that relationships begin with conversations, and conversations involve two-way communication.
In our example, we’ll specify that the inquiry is from someone who answered an open-ended question on your inquiry form.
Hopefully you have an open-ended question on your inquiry form, and hopefully you’ve asked it correctly to encourage respondents to tell their story. While “Questions” or “Comments” leaves the door open for someone to do that, it’s not at all as effective as explicitly issuing an invitation, as in “Tell us about your project.”
Hopefully, too, you are in the habit of capturing those fields and prioritizing them. This is important, because only a small percentage of respondents will take the time to tell you their story. Those who do are extremely qualified leads, because it means that what they have learned so far leads them to believe you can provide a solution to their challenge or meet their need. They also have a positive expectation that if you asked the question, you’ll respond with a specific answer. Moreover, pospects who answer this question are less likely to be motivated solely by cost and less likely to comparison-shop.
In other words, if you respond to these inquiries correctly, it’s hard to lose that sale.
The genius technique? It’s called “Reading”.
Here’s an example of such a letter. The text in blue is what was written; the text in red is the subtext.
Name: Margie Ruiz
Subject: Cabinets
Message: I’m interested in your Elite line of cabinetry, especially the flexible drawer options.
They seem like they would work perfectly for my great room. It’s a large area (about 500 sq. feet), and I want the cabinets in the kitchen area and family room area to match. But when I try to use your configuration tool, I can’t figure out how to make them work in two awkward corners and an area with a tall window. Also, it looks like the Elite line only comes in white or painted finishes. I need.a stained wood finish to match my decor and some bookshelves I’m planning to buy. I’m hosting a large family reunion in six months and want this to be finished by then. Can you help?
I’m really struggling with this project, but now that I’ve spent some time on your website and read the promising content you wrote about your products and services, I’m hopeful that you can provide a solution that will work for me and I can get this done.
Response #1: Someone (or some thing) only read the subject line
Name: Margie Ruiz
Subject: Cabinets
Message: I’m interested in your Elite line of cabinetry, especially the flexible drawer options.
Hi, Margie,
I’m Joe and I only read your subject line. Actually I didn’t read it; our system did. Although my job title is “sales rep” and my purpose is to connect with prospects and turn them into customers, we have determined that I’m far too busy and important to connect with anyone until you have demonstrated a more concrete example of interest, like your credit card number. In the meantime, here’s the template our sales funnel system sends automatically to everyone who selects the subject line “Cabinets” from our very limited drop-down menu.
Thank you for contacting us about your interest in CABINETS. We have a wide variety of CABINETS for home, business, and industrial uses. Here’s a link to the website you’ve already visited three times, and another link to the configuration tool you’ve already spent two hours trying to make work.
SPECIAL OFFER: Our heavy-duty industrial steel utility cabinets are 30% off through the end of this month, so order now! Use code “GARAGE”when you check out to claim your savings!
What Margie thinks when she reads this: (Sigh of disappointment and resignation). Never mind. That’s two hours I’ll never get back. (Reaches out to her friends on social media for a recommendation for a custom carpenter.)
Response #2: Only read the subject line and the first sentence
Name: Margie Ruiz
Subject: Cabinets
Message: I’m interested in your Elite line of cabinetry, especially the flexible drawer options.
Hi, Margie,
I’m Joe and I only read the first sentence of your message.
Elite cabinets are a great choice, and the flexible drawer options are very popular. You’ll be happy to know that in addition to our standard white, gray, and eight-crayon-box colors, we’ve added two exciting high-gloss paint colors: Screaming Lime and a Fuchsia Pink so bright you can see it from space.
Attached is a PDF of a brochure that repeats pretty much everything that you’ve already seen on the website. And here’s a link to the configuration tool. I’ve never tried it, but you can tell me if it works.
Let me know when you’re ready to order.
Joe
P.S. I noticed that you also wrote some other stuff. Judging by the multiple sentences, I’ll bet you even put some time and thought into what you wanted to say. Sorry you went to the trouble to tell us your story when we specifically invited you to tell us your story. But it’s TLDR so to me it’s just some random gray lines of text. Might as well be my dog talking.
What Margie thinks when she reads this: They didn’t even read my whole message. I might as well be talking to my dog. My friend Jane and my sister-in-law Anna are looking for cabinets, too. Tomorrow I’ll go on social media and tell them not to waste their time on this company.
Response #3: Rep read the entire message
Name: Margie Ruiz
Subject: Cabinets
Message: I’m interested in your Elite line of cabinetry, especially the flexible drawer options.
I’m Joe and I carefully read your entire message. I recognized that you told me a lot about your needs and gave me a lot of clues about how we can meet them. In fact, those are cues to me that if I answer your questions well, you might be the best and easiest sale I make this month.
You’ll be pleased to know that our new Forest line has the same flexible drawer options as Elite. It comes in 12 natural-wood stains, and we can even custom-blend a stain to match your decor. I’ve attached a color guide. Did you know that we also make beautiful matching bookshelves? Here’s a link to a portfolio of options.
I’m sorry you had trouble with the configuration tool, but thanks for letting me know. I’ll tell our web team so they can improve it. In the meantime, our cabinet planners are experts at figuring out the most challenging layouts. If you send us measurements of your rooms, and a few pictures of the area from your phone, we’ll create some layout options for your approval.
Our usual time from order to installation on standard finishes is about ten weeks. Custom finishes and configurations take a few weeks longer, but depending on which options you choose and how soon we get started, we can almost certainly have your new great room cabinets installed in time for your family reunion.
I look forward to working with you.
Joe
What Margie thinks when she reads this: This is just what I need. I can stop looking for vendors and get this project done. Where’s my phone? Might as well send Joe photos right now, so we can get started.
Does reading work?
Why yes, actually, it does. If a prospect tells you a story, and you respond to it thoughtfully and specifically, you’re much more likely to close the sale, to close it quickly, and to close it without haggling over price. Best of all, it’s equally true for business-to-business sales as it is for consumer sales. One of our B2B clients uses this technique to close nearly two-thirds of leads that begin as open-ended questions, with an average sales of $50k each. The ones that don’t close either can’t afford it, can’t get buy-in on their end, or aren’t ready.
Bonus tip: Even though only a small percentage of leads will fill out that general inquiry field, there’a an advantage to just having it there. It signals to site visitors that you are open to listening. As a result, our experience is that it can help boost qualified leads a bit even when people don’t fill it out.
There’s a cost to this technique, of course: about half an hour of your time reading, thinking, and responding thoughtfully. That’s practically nothing when that time nets you a higher close rate in less time. Try it, and let me know how it works for you.