Aggressive Sales Email: Red Flags
Who is more qualified to critique a sales email than yours truly?
Ha.
While I do believe I am definitely qualified, I want to share with you an email that I received that sparked quite a strong reaction.
I found my mind brimming with words such as “audacity” “nerve” and felt super irritated.
Here is what the email said:
Ah, I know. Much of the content is redacted to protect their privacy. Frustrating. However, I’m not one to publicly shame anyone so let’s work with what we got.
Here is some context you might find useful.
I contacted this company to join their affiliate program on August 23, 2023.
Their first response to me was October 31, 2023.
My response was on November 4, 2023.
This screenshotted reply was on December 3, 2023.
It’s difficult to have a productive conversation with anyone when their response time is 30+ days. This is red flag #1.
Suggesting that I would be doing a “disservice to my industry” to NOT partner with them is a big leap, considering I have never met this email sender and this is only our third correspondence. Do you agree?
Has anyone ever signed a contract to do business together by feeling bullied? Or degraded? Unlikely.
This is a SALES EMAIL. Consider what language you use in the context of a sales email. You are trying to get me to take a specific action.
Their point of no minimum also directly contradicts the contract they sent over, which is why I declined the affiliate partnership.
I find extraneous response times extremely disrespectful. It’s an immediate turnoff for me. I have fired clients because of it and turned down income opportunities because I refuse to work with someone who is unreliable. Taking 30 days to respond to an email makes you unreliable.
Do emergencies happen? Yes.
Do 30+ day emergencies happen back to back? No.
Final question…
Did we really need an entire blog post dedicated to why this email is unprofessional? Probably not. But if you’re still reading, your curiosity got the best of you.
Regardless of why you’re reading, I’d love to know if you would respond to this or let it go.
Thanks for reading.
-A