8 "Sorry to Bother You" Alternatives Every Salesperson Needs

It signals desperation. Reps send “sorry to bother you again” emails in hopes of starting a conversation after not hearing back. The message is ... Logo-Full(Color) Marketing Sales Service Website Subscribe SubscribetoOurBlog Stayuptodatewiththelatestmarketing,sales,andservicetipsandnews. SubscribeviaEmail SubscribeviaEmail Marketing Sales Service Website EmailAddress We'recommittedtoyourprivacy.HubSpotusestheinformationyouprovidetoustocontactyouaboutourrelevantcontent,products,andservices.Youmayunsubscribefromthesecommunicationsatanytime.Formoreinformation,checkoutourprivacypolicy. ThankYou! Youhavebeensubscribed. Startfreeorgetademo Sales|5minread 8"SorrytoBotherYou"AlternativesEverySalespersonNeeds WrittenbyMegPrater @Meg_Prater HubSpotalsorecommendsupgradingyouremailsignatureusingourfreeEmailSignatureGenerator.GetStartedFree Whenyou'vebeeninsalesawhile,it'seasytodevelopbadhabits.Youpickthemupfromotherrepsortakeashortcutduringanespeciallybusyweekand,allofthesudden,you'veaddedsomeskillstoyourrepertoirethataren'thelpingyoumeetyourquota.Ifyou'renotregularlyexaminingyourbehaviorandresults,thesehabitscancausemistakesthatendindealsfallingapart,annoyedprospects,ormissednumbers. AndI'mnotjusttalkingaboutwaitingtoolongtoupdateacontact'sinformationinyourCRM.Seeminglyinnocuousphraseslike,"Sorrytobotheryou,"sneakintoourregularsalesemailsandphonecallsandpoisonourrelationshipswithoutusevenrealizingit.Here'showtostopit. WhyYouShouldNeverSay,"IAmSorryforBotheringYou" Ideally,salesrepswouldneverhavetowriteafollowupemailbecausetheywouldavoidthenumber-onefollow-upmistake:Failingtosetanextstepbeforeendingthecall. Allittakesisonecringeworthyphrasetokillasalesfollow-upemail.Oneofmyleastfavoritemovesisaskingforaprospecttorespond"ASAP."Butapologizingforcontactingyourprospectisnothingshortofpoisonoustodeals,andshouldbecutfromthevocabularyofeverysalesrep.Itusuallylookslikethis: It'smeagain HeyMike, Sorrytobotheryouagain,butIwantedtomakesureyoureceivedmylastfewemailswithagreatofferforourfirewoodpackagethiswinter. Idon’twantyoutomissoutonthisopportunity.Iknowyou’rebusy,butIjustwantedtotouchbaseonelasttime. Allthebest, AnnoyingAllen So,whyshouldyouavoidsaying"Sorrytobotheryouagain?” Itimpliesyou'vebecomeannoyingtoyourprospect.Italsoremindstheprospectthey’vereachedoutseveraltimesbefore(“again”)tonosuccess.Evenifthesalesrephasn’tannoyedtheprospectyet,thisisthephrasethatmightdoit. Itimpliesyou'vedonesomethingwrong.Inaddition,peopleusetheword“sorry"afterdoingsomethingtheydeemwrong.Whenwemakeamistakethatnegativelyimpactssomeone,thefirstphrasethatoftencomesoutofourmouthsis"I’msorry."Thisphrasemeanswe’veacknowledgedwrongdoingandknowweneedtofixit. Itsignalsdesperation.Repssend“sorrytobotheryouagain”emailsinhopesofstartingaconversationafternothearingback.Themessageisalast-ditchefforttopiquethepotentialbuyer’sinterest--ontherep’stimeline. Itcommunicatesyourtimeandenergyisnotasvaluableastheprospect's--whichsimplyisn'ttrue.Maintainauthorityandequalfootingwithyourprospectbyneverapologizingforbeingintheirinboxorvoicemailbox. Ifyoufindyourselfusingthisphraseinanemail--stopwriting.Instead,regroupandfocusonprovidingvaluetotheprospectandgrabbingtheirattentioninsteadof“bothering”themagain. Thereareamultitudeofwaystoprovidevalueinasalesfollow-upemail.HereareafewIsuggest. AlternativestoSaying,"SorryforBuggingYou" 1.Sendacustomerreview Acustomerreviewprovidesvaluebecausemodern-daybuyerstrusttheirfellowbuyerstogivehonestfeedbackaboutaproductthey’veused.Thinktheymightnottrustawrittenreviewcomingdirectlyfromyou? Connectthemwithcurrentandpastbuyerswhocanprovidehonestfeedbackonwhyworkingwithyouisgreataswellassomeofthedrawbacks.Forexample,youmightopenanemailwith,"Insteadofsendingyouapitch,I'llletapreviouscustomerdotheheavyliftingwiththeirunvarnished(really)testimonial." 2.Includeacasestudy Casestudiesallowprospectstodiscoverhowabusinessinasimilarpositiontotheirssolveditsproblems.Sendyourlatestandmostrelevantstudywithanotesaying,"Thiscasestudymademethinkofyourbusiness.Iknowyourtimeisvaluable,andIthinkthisisworththefewminutesitwilltaketoread." You'veacknowledgedtheirtimeisapriorityforyou,withoutdiscountingyourownscheduleandwhatyou'reoffering. 3.Linktoablogpost Ablogpostisawaytobuildcredibilitywithprospectsandprovidethemnewinformationabouttheproductandcompanyastheystarttomakeadecision. Ifyou'retryingtograbaprospect'sattention,trysendingonewithanespeciallysnappytitle.Youmightevenworkwithamarketertocraftapostjustforthem.Afterall,whoisn'tgoingtoclickthelinktoaposttitled,"9ReasonsJulieNeedsABCStaffingSolutionsToday." 4.Referenceamutualconnection Surfacingamutualconnectionallowstheprospecttoasktheiracquaintanceaboutthesalesrepandgathermoreinformation.Italsosignifiesthatifafriendworkswiththissalesrep,theprospectmightalsoenjoyworkingwiththesamesalesrep. Anditgivesyousomethingincommontobondover.Forexample,"Iseewehaveamutualconnection:SansaStark.Herfamilyboughtseveraldirewolvesfrommeafewyearsago."You'vegivenyourconversationandrelationshipsomethingtobuildupon--andthatcanbeahugehelpwhenconductingoutreach. 5.Provideasuggestion Asmallstrategytipcanhelpsalesrepsbuildcredibilityandshowcasethevalueoftheirinsighttobuyers. Whenasalesperson’snameappearsinaprospect’sinbox,thereactionshouldn’tbe,“No,notthisrepagain!”or“Who?”but“Iwonderwhatthey’resendingme--Ibettercheckitout.” Sendthemanewindustrybenchmarkreportoramentionarecentmovetheircompanymade,andofferuniqueinsightintohowyourproduct/servicecouldhelp. Forexample,"Ithoughtyoumightbeinterestedinthelatestbenchmarkreportfrom[inserttrustedindustrysource].Theirfindingsonthe25%increaseinmobileappusagemightbeespeciallyinterestingtoyouandrelevanttoyourwork." 6.Dropshop-talkaltogether Wanttoreallygettheirattention?Don'ttalkbusinessatall.Instead,sendthemacasualemailsaying,"IwatchedadocumentaryonColoradoskicountrythisweekendandthoughtofyouimmediately.Haveyouhittheslopesyetthisyear?" Whileyourprospectmightnotbereadytodiscussbusiness--mostpeopleliketalkingabouttheirhobbiesandout-of-officeinterests.Onceyouhavethemengagedagain,useyourbestjudgementtosteerthembacktothetopicathand:youroffer. 7.Offertowalkaway Ifyou'vereachedoutmultipletimesoverthecourseofseveralweeksormonthsandyourprospectstillhasn'tresponded,doyourselfafavorandwalkaway. Youshouldbespendingtimeondealsthatactuallyhaveachanceofclosing,andpleadingwithanunmotivatedprospecttorespondtoyouremailsisn'tdoingeitherofyouanygood. Simplysay,"Tony,I'vetriedtoreachyouunsuccessfullyafewtimesnow.Usuallywhenthishappens,itmeansmyofferisn'tapriorityforyourightnow.Isthatsafeformetoassumehere?Ifso,youwon'thearfrommeagain." Ifyourprospectisstillinterested,thisshouldgrabtheirattention.Ifnot,itgivesthemaneasywayout.Youcanalwaysleavethedooropenforacalloremailsixmonthsdownthelinetoseeifthingshavechanged. 8.Complimentthem Ifyourprospectrecentlypublishedanewblogpostorthecompanyunveiledashiny,newproduct,letthemknowyou'repayingattention.  Chancesare,theyputalotoftimeandeffortintotheirrecentproject,andwouldloveforsomeonetonotice.Sendasimplenotesaying,"IsawyourrecentfeatureinForbesandwantedtotellyouwhatagreatwrite-upitwas.Iespeciallylikedyour observationthatAIwillbegintotakeastrongerholdinsales."It'sshort,specific,andcomplimentary.  Greatemailsbuildrapportandcredibility.Bylookingforthisdeadlyphrasebeforesendingyouremails,youcanimproveyouroddsofaresponse,andeventually,arelationship. Wantotherwaystoimproveyoursalesemails?Checkoutthesekilleropeningemaillinesorexplorealternativestosaying,"Hopeyou'redoingwell"--guaranteedtoputyourprospecttosleepbeforethey'veevenreadsentencetwo.   OriginallypublishedJun10,20192:17:00PM,updatedJune102021 Topics: SalesEmails EmailTrackingSoftware Don'tforgettosharethispost! RelatedArticles 30BetterAlternativestothe "JustCheckingIn"Email Sales  |8minread 20LessAnnoyingSynonymsandAlternativesto"PleaseFindAttached" Sales  |15minread SPF,DKIM&DMARC:WhySalesTeamsShouldFollowTheseEmailProtocols Sales  |4minread ExpandOffer ctaSalesPlanTemplate Getitnow Getitnow DownloadforLater