Are you interesting?

A few weeks ago, we shared a conversation with a manager who said: "We have lots of proposals out there, but we aren't getting much response." The advice we shared was somewhat harsh, but knowing the manager, we knew he was up for the challenge. We said: "If clients aren't interested in your proposals, maybe your proposals aren't that interesting." He took it well and reviewed what they could do to improve.

That sparked some great feedback from others, including the "Princess" Debra Carpenter, who recently sent us this great feedback for how she uniquely used that advice to get a prospect to answer her emails finally. Here's what Debra shared:

I took that "be interesting" message to heart and emailed an agency with a client I've been chasing for one year and a half!

My subject line was: Are you still there?

In the email, I said:

Hey Michael!

I'm thinking I'm not that interesting... So you have chosen not to read my emails.

Is that the case?

Debra

I received a response almost immediately:

Best. Email. Of. The. Week.

Let's talk next week! I'll explain. Look forward to speaking.

He answered my call the following week, and we met virtually. He's already included our station in 2024's budget for one of his clients and is looking to add another one.

I know it wasn't EXACTLY what you recommended to do... But because of the person's sense of humor, I knew it would either be a home run, or I could cut him loose!

Congratulations, Debra, on getting the client's attention, getting the appointment and making the sale! It doesn't get much better than that.

If you're having trouble getting prospects to respond or clients to make decisions, maybe it's time to get creative and possibly even a tad outlandish — respectfully, of course.

When we discuss prospecting in our Sales Essentials Class (the next class is December 5; sign up here ), we say you must be DIFFERENT and BETTER. This is because small and medium-sized businesses are bombarded by nearly 40 media reps monthly. If you're like Debra and have a story about something creative you've done to get attention lately, we'd love to share it. We have the best members/readers in the world.

Happy Friday!

Jeff Schmidt is the SVP of Professional Development. You can reach him at Jeff.Schmidt@rab.com. You can all so connect with him on X and LinkedIn.