Quick Question, Trick Question

Quick Question . . . 

. . . has got to be the best email subject line ever.

When a prospect didn’t call me back, I sent the following email. The subject line was:

“Quick Question.”

The body of the email read:

Cliff,
I still have you on my ‘waiting for’ list of people I’m expecting to hear from. Am I still on your radar?
Chris

Cliff’s response came minutes later from two time zones away:

You’re good. Let’s talk this morning if you are available. I’m out of town but can be reached on my cell phone.

Result: Before I could call him, he called me from the road and we scheduled our next meeting and closed the deal.

My two-sentence e-mail worked (I believe) for two reasons:

I really do have a waiting for list and keep track of people from whom I expecting an email, return phone call, signed contract or check. The “Quick Question” subject line gives these time-starved pros something quick and easy to get off their full plates. I’m not asking them to read a 23-page PDF or even write a paragraph. It’s a quick question.

Thousands of salespeople on three continents have used this e-mail, word-for-word, to get prospects and customers re-engaged. If you haven’t already, then share it with your sales team today. Ask them to identify three people they want to send it to.

Follow up in a couple of days to see how it worked.

I don’t call this “The Magic Email” for nothing.

“Trick Question”

You really should try this one the next time you interview a new sales candidate.

Sarah McCann, my partner and wife, cuts to the chase with the first question she asks in every job interview.  Usually, she asks it it before the candidates have had a chance to hang up their coats and settle in.

“How’s the job search going?”

It comes off like small talk, but it isn’t. The candidates’ answers  instantly reveal their levels drive and heights or depths of their attitude.

It’s a trick question because they don’t even realize that she’s begun the interview.
Actually, shes off and running.

Some candidates bemoan the fact that nobody is hiring and that it is nearly impossible to get interviews. Others describe the process they have put in place to land a better job. They describe the strategies they’re using and share which ones have been most successful. They may even reveal the companies where they have already interviewed. Now she knows which firms she is competing with to get these self-starters with positive attitudes.

In sales, you’re looking for people who take the initiative and have a great attitude.

“How’s the job search going?” gives you that information during the first five minutes of your interview.

Add this to the structured list of interview questions you use with every candidate.

Quick question:
You do have a structured list of interview questions, don’t you?