PPB December 2016

Nobody has time toweed

through a long email or listen

to a rambling voicemail.

Streamline your message and

make it easy for the recipient to

respond quickly by incorporating

the following techniques:

•

Be strategic about the subject

line

: Use the subject line to

make your request or need

clear and help the recipient

prioritize. Some examples:

Need Your Feedback, or

Please Respond by Tuesday.

•

Get straight to the point

Don’t put a lot of non-relevant

information in the email or

message but make sure to

be friendly and cordial.

•

Give deadlines

: To prevent

your email or message

fromdropping down the

recipient’s inbox list, provide

a specific timeline for when

you need a response.

•

Provide your

recommendation

: If you

are looking for a resolution

to a problemand need the

recipient’s decision, provide

a fewdifferent options plus

your recommendation

so they can quickly act

upon the information.

CHRIS STUMPF

CEO & Managing Partner

Stumpies Marketing Group

UPIC: stumpies

In an age where it seems that

everyone carriesmultiple

devices (smart phones, iPads/

tablets etc.), compoundedwith

the heavy volume of emails,

texts, voicemails, etc. and the

possibility of human error, there

is no one answer. We all have

multiple projects going on at all

times so keeping a list of project

communications is amust. Onmy

list I keep track of names, projects

and all communication alongwith

the dates noted. Everyone seems

to have their own preference

of communication. Whereas

my preference is email, it

is important to find out my

customer’s preferredmethod

and stick to that methodwith

them. Understandably, things

can get accidentally deleted

or an email addressmay be

incorrect, so following up using

alternativemethods is important.

Regardless of if you are a

supplier or distributor, continual

communication is critical. Even

if there is nothing to report,

appropriate communication

is absolutely necessary.

SHELLEY BEDNARSKI

Southeast Region Sales Manager

Chocolate Inn/Taylor & Grant

UPIC: CHOCINN

I have used texting when possible

to be less intrusive as they can

read and response at their

convenience. Andwe know those

texts are never discarded quickly.

JOE NGUYEN

Senior Vice President of Marketing/

Product Development

Fields Manufacturing

UPIC: FIELDS

In today’s environment of

unreturned phone calls and

never-ending emails, it ismore

important than ever to build solid

relationshipswith your customers,

suppliers and even prospects. It

is so easy to delete an email

and never look back.The key

is developing your relationship

so the recipient of your call or

email understands the value

you bring to the relationship. A

creative introduction or

other gimmickmay work on

occasion, but relationships

drive long termsuccess.

JEFF GILFAND

President

Corporate Imaging Concepts, LLC

UPIC: CORP8803

Physically walking into the

client’s or prospect’s office with

a unique “challenge” itemhas

worked very well for some of

my customers. For instance, the

company I represent encourages

our distributors to fill one of our

vacuumdrinkware pieces with

ice and leave it behindwith the

client/prospect.They ask the

client to call or email themwhen

the ice hasmelted.The idea is

to a) illustrate the quality of the

drinkware heat and/or cold

retention and b) create a touch

point that compels the client to

want

to respond to that vendor.

KIM REINECKER, MAS

Regional Sales Manager, Texas and

Oklahoma

Starline USA

UPIC: STAR0009

With voicemail messages I try to

be very brief, clear, and I sandwich

my contact information at the

beginning and the end. It is also

very important to be enthusiastic.

Then, I followupwith an email,

or when appropriate a written

note. With emails, I get the best

response by sending themearly

in themorning. I try to keep them

simple with only one topic, very

short, and I use a unique subject

line if possible. For example,

this weekend I sent an email

with the subject line: Sticky

GumGuy.The email went to

an interesting person I sat next

to onmy flight home fromNew

York City. I promised to follow

up. Because I mentioned that

there was sticky gumonmy seat

when I sat down, I knew the

subject line wouldwork. I got a

response earlyMondaymorning.

DAVID J. HAWES, MAS+

Brand Architect

Geiger

UPIC: geiger

Do You

Have An

Answer?

A Distributor asks:

Recently I quoted a potential

client on a product and

was told they had received

a lower price from another

vendor. What do I do in this

situation? If I’m not willing to

lower my price, should I ask

what that price was? Can

I ask who the vendor is? It

would be very helpful to know

how far off my quote was

and what my competitors

are charging. What do

other distributors do when

faced with this scenario?

What’s Your

Answer?

Email answers

along with your name, title

and company name by

December 22

to Question@

ppai.org

for possible

inclusion in an upcoming

issue of

PPB

magazine.

Julie Richie is associate

editor for

PPB

DECEMBER 2016

INNOVATE