This weekend, Waldow Social celebrated it’s half birthday. Yup. 6 months old!
As anyone who has started their own business knows, the learning curve is steep. One of the aspects of owning my own business has been the challenge of selling (pitching) to friends and acquaintances. Short answer: It sucks, but it’s necessary.
I recently pitched Chris Brogan on Infusionsoft (a Waldow Social client). I was a bit anxious when I hit the send button on that initial “pitch” email to Chris. Long story short: Chris and the team at Human Business Works is in the process of migrating to Infusionsoft this month.
I thought it made sense to chat with Chris about his take on how to sell/pitch to your friends without being … that guy. Below is the conversation Chris and I had. Note: The picture at the top of this post of “that guy” is not Chris Brogan.
Having trouble seeing the video? Watch on YouTube!
8 Tips From Chris Brogan on Selling To Your Friends
For those who are looking for the key takeaways (minus the commentary/banter), here is the jist of what Chris suggested when pitching your friends:
- Only do it if you really believe in the product or service.
- Only do it if this friend is someone who needs this.
- Do it without The Flinch. Be direct in the first sentence.
- Don’t take it personally if someone says no.
- Treat your list with compassion (and use it sparingly).
- Simplify the response / call to action.
- Don’t make the subject line too vague and don’t use heavy copy writing.
- Make it simple. Be clear.
At the end of the video, we discussed a few “email management tips” including playing The Email Game (something Chris is really enjoying), Nudgemail (a free service I use every single day), and a suggestion from Chris Penn on cleaning out your inbox monthly. I hope you all enjoyed the video conversation as much as I did participating in it.
Do you have suggestions for selling to your friends? How about tips for managing your inbox? Feel free to share below.
DJ Waldow
@djwaldow
Waldow Social
