With the multiple emails, social media posts and other communications sellers share, bad sales messages are likely to happen. But with a bit of insight into just what makes a message “bad,” you can avoid these messaging mistakes.

You can't take back bad sales messages

Each communication you email, share or post has an impact. It’s up to you whether that impact is positive or negative. And with most types of messaging, you can’t take back the negative ones.

And you may not even realize that you are sending less-than-ideal outreaches. In a Hubspot article, Michael Pici discusses various types of “bad” sales messages. The first he highlights is one that can be tricky to avoid in sales.

It’s all about you

It’s what he calls the “me me me” message. As you can guess, this communication is self-promotional and sale-focused. Instead of connecting, you offer a sales pitch. The message is focused on you instead of the recipient.

Take a look at your recently shared messages. If they come across as too “me me me,” they're likely bad sales messages and need improvement.

“Rather than leading with a description of your product and its features, talk about the prospect's situation and reference a challenge or opportunity they’re probably facing,” Pici advises. “Once you’ve demonstrated your understanding and experience, your prospect will actually want to talk to you.”

He recommends challenging yourself. Before crafting your message, commit to not mentioning your company or your offerings (or at least in the first few lines).

You only reach out when you have an ask

Bad sales messages aren’t just sent out to prospects. Sellers’ communications to current clients can also be lackluster. Or worse, few and far between.

As Pici explains, sellers will only contact clients when they need or want something, be it an upsell or a testimonial. And, he points out, “Customers see right through this trick, and it gives the impression you only care about their money.”

This is not the type of messaging you want to give clients, especially if you hope to retain their business.

“At the end of the day, your relationship with your customer will be the main reason for [their] decision to keep doing business with you or to look elsewhere,” writes Rachel Cagle for SalesFuel. “Those customers provide your business with a steady revenue, so make sure to maintain your stability before reaching for something more.”

Don’t reach out only when you have an ask. Instead, check-in regularly with your clients. There are so many opportunities to nurture the partnership and provide value, such as:

Offering customer education by sharing content, knowledge sources and news. Consider ongoing training options and webinars.
Liking, sharing, and commenting on their social media/blog posts.
Scheduling regular check-ins to gauge how their business is going and how you can continue to help.
Remembering milestones like birthdays, job anniversaries, etc. and sending an email for the occasion.

Value makes the difference in sales messages

You can avoid bad sales messages by ensuring each engagement with a customer offers them some kind of value. Do this continuously, and when you do want to upsell or request a testimonial, it will be welcomed. Your relationship will be strong, as will their trust in you. They’ll know that you aren’t just using them; you care about them and their business. And this, for 46% of buyers, is a top attribute of a seller, according to SalesFuel’s Voice of the B2B Buyer study.

For more in-depth discussion on showing value to prospects and customers, check out this article.

Photo by Thirdman