Fumbling on the Two-Yard Line

My friend David received the following e-mail from a company looking to sell him something. I can’t name the company, but it sure wasn’t Salesforce.com.

OK, it was Salesforce.com:

>>>

Hi David,

I just tried calling you and spoke to the receptionist. I left a message and I thought I’d shoot an email your way as well.

There are two reasons why we should have a conversation:

1) Save you a lot of time—I’m really honest in regards to whether any of our solutions will work for your type of business.

2) You don’t know what you don’t know. Perhaps, the demo or webpage you viewed only covers one aspect of Salesforce or gives the idea that we work only for a specific type of business (be it size, industry, sales process etc).

In the end, whether we part ways or not, you will come out with value-added information about Salesforce.com

Looking forward to hearing from you in the future.

Sincerely...

Salesforce has been really driving the field. He has affectively moved the ball through the defense and now stands over center. The ball sits on his own 20-yard line. Here’s the snap...

Oh, what a great play! Salesforce brings up “time” right away. Time is a wonderful selling point and a precious commodity. The defense has backed up, and the play goes for 20 yards. Nicely done! That’s a solid gain!

Salesforce is now in the shotgun. The ball is snapped...

It’s an audible: “You don’t know what you don’t know.” Brilliant! The defense ponders that point and considers the fact that perhaps Salesforce could indeed add some value to his company. It’s a 48-yard gain! The ball is on the two-yard line and the crowd is going wild in anticipation. All that is left is for Salesforce to follow up and an appointment is eminent.