CHAPTER 1

GETTING STARTED

Organizing is what you do before you do something, so that when you do it,it is not all mixed up.

—A.A. MILNE, WINNIE-THE-POOH

I hate busywork. Drying dishes, for instance, is busywork. Why waste time dryingdishes when the air will dry them? I could be accomplishing a million otherthings instead of just standing there, drying.

"Sharing ideas" at a workshop is another example of busywork that drives menuts. When there is one right answer, don't make me waste time guessing whatthat answer is and discussing all the wrong ones. Just tell me the right answerand help me apply it.

Anything that doesn't help me move forward and get the job done, in my opinion,is busywork and should be eliminated. You can imagine my surprise, then, afterdespising being made to "outline" in school (busywork—why can't I justwrite the report?), when I realized that taking the time to organize my thoughtsbefore writing (not to be confused with outlining!) would actuallypropel me forward and help to accomplish the job more quickly.

Here's what I learned: by taking the time to focus on your sales strategy andwrite your goals before you write your e-mail, you save time!"Measure twice, cut once." It applies to e-mail writing too.

By taking the time to think through what you want your e-mail to accomplishbefore you start writing, you can save up to 80 percent of the time you spendwriting.

THE LIFE-CHANGING AND VERY COOL THREE-STEP WRITING PROCESS

The three-step process you're about to read about will change your life.Seriously. Not only will you save time (a CEO I worked with claimed that it hadtaken him as long as "2½ hours to get started" until he learned thisprocess), but the e-mails you write will be more concise, more persuasive, andmore likely to get read. And there's more. You'll save additional time becauseyour prospects will understand your intent and content the first time. They'llhave fewer questions for you, and those outrageously annoying time-sucking back-forth-back-forth e-mails will be eliminated. By knowing what you want to achieveand what matters to your buyer, you'll present yourself as an organized, smartsales professional, and that is, as they say, "priceless."

What are the three steps?

• Plan it.

• Do it.

• Check it.

Planning your sales purpose before you write enables you to focus both on yoursales goal (the outcome you'd like your e-mail to achieve) and the strategy touse to achieve that result. (Contrary to what many professionals think, the goalof an e-mail is rarely to close the business. Most selling messages are writtento excite the buyer and earn the right to advance.) With a plan firmly in place,you write more quickly, more cleverly, and more successfully, and your clarityof purpose makes it much easier for your customer to say yes to you instead ofto your competition.

PLANNING IS THE CATALYST FOR QUICK, CLEAR WRITING

Organizing before you write is the basis for clear, persuasive writing. All ittakes is answering five questions. (With practice, you'll be able to do this injust a few seconds.) The questions act as a guide to help you focus on thespecific outcome you'd like your e-mail to deliver, and the answers provide aclear path to successful writing and profitable selling. This planning, or"prewriting," step changes everything about the way you present your message,engage your buyer, and stand out from the crowd of competitors. Here are thefive planning questions:

1. Why am I writing?

2. What do I want to say?

3. What do I want to accomplish?

4. What is the next step?

5. Have I provided a reason why this person would be delighted to do what I askor say?

These (deceptively) simple questions will begin to transform the way you write.How?

Here is an example of a situation that screams for planning.

Situation: You're an experienced salesperson, but you're new with Company X. Youneed to start filling your sales funnel so that you can build business quickly.You're given a list of potential leads and know that you need to create acompelling e-mail to introduce yourself to these potential leads.

Without the prewriting step, you might create an e-mail similar to the one aworkshop attendee submitted, prior to attending the training:

Hi Name,

Greetings from sunny Scottsdale!

I'm writing to introduce myself as your new sales manager. I've recently takenover Sophie Spaniel's position, and I'm excited about working with you. Myexperience includes three years with a nonprofit and most recently as a nationalsales manager for a competitor, and I can say, I'm very glad to be here!

Our hotel has undergone an $XX million renovation in the last two years, and ourballroom space has expanded to 15,000 square feet! The spa also was enlarged,giving a total of 13,455 square feet of serenity.

I'd love to invite you to come down to see us and maybe have some lunch or aquick cup of coffee. It would be fun to meet you in person! I look forward tohearing from you soon.

Does this sound typical to you? Does...