(Disclaimer: I was not compensated in anyway to promote this service. I pay my monthly subscription with my own funds.)

Ever wonder if the email you sent to a client, prospect, colleague, or friend actually made it to their inbox and that they actually opened and read it?

Well, say no more! Problem solved!

In August 2016, I signed up for Bananatag and am a big fan of their service. Their website is www.bananatag.com and I pay $12.50 per month.

In a nutshell, when you send someone an email, whether personal or business, it sends you an email notification when the recipient opens your email or clicks a link if there’s one inside the email.

So what? Who cares? Sound a little too big brotherish for you? Here’s why it’s helpful.

When prospecting or making sales calls: send an email first. If the email address is valid, it notifies you that the email address is legitimate and you don’t have to worry about if it hit their spam filter or if the email address is wrong, assuming they opened the email, no matter how briefly it was.

You can then call them later on and follow up by telephone and have a multi-touch campaign going.

There are plenty of similar services out there. I don’t know of any service that guarantees your email won’t hit their spam folder.

If they clicked on your website embedded in your email, you know.

If they clicked on your LinkedIn profile in your email, you know.

No service is 100% accurate. If you’re looking for perfection, stop it! It also won’t tell you how long they read your email, etc. They may open it, you get notified, but they delete it and never read it.

I’ve sent emails to people and they respond back and I didn’t get a notification. That’s okay. Move on!

If you send a proposal to a prospect or an email to an existing client, the majority of the time, you’ll get notified.

It’s nice so that you don’t have to wonder if they received an email or not, or if you had the correct email address. Peace of mind for $12.50 a month.

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays everyone!

I came across this site earlier this year on creative ways to prospect and get inside targeted companies.

Here’s the link: http://www.littlebookthatsells.com/

I’ve ordered a few batches from this company and the feedback has been exceptional. Only one prospect had constructive feedback and he thought it was “gimmicky”. (You can’t win them all!)

In a nutshell: your targeted prospects get bombarded with phone calls, emails, texts and sales letters via snail mail.

How do you stand out differently in all this noise?

When’s the last time you received a box in the mail that contained a children’s illustration book and music player narrating your company and story?

This company will do it at a very cost effective rate. I sent out 40 boxes and set up 4 meetings so far during this holiday season. Yes, it’s a small sample size, but when was the last time you generated a 10% response rate?

Here are 3 reasons why you should trying doing something different and creative:

1. It will catch the attention of very busy executive decision makers. (Again, when was the last time you received a box in the mail at work?)
2. The gatekeeper may be less likely to open the box because it may be a personal, not work related item.
3. It’s a better and sticky way to get your message across. Prospects can delete emails and voicemails quickly. They are less likely to throw away a book and music player.

Here’s what the prospect gets in each box:

1. A custom children’s book narrating your company story and value proposition.
2. A music player and headphones so prospects can hear your story audibly.
3. A handwritten note and call to action
4. Samples or any giveaway you deem appropriate. (Like a $5 Starbucks card.)

If you are a B2B company and have a medium to high average sale, I recommend you try something different and creative like “The Little Book That Sells” to get inside targeted companies.

I’m Ray Ruecker with Connect 5000.

I, like countless other Americans am glad that the 2016 presidential election is over!

(This is not a political post or an endorsement of the President-Elect. I’m a registered independent voter and voted for Gary Johnson since I couldn’t bring myself to vote for Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump.)

There are countless reasons and factors that determined the winner of the 2016 Presidential Election. Congrats winner: 50% of the country didn’t vote for you.

One of the main reasons I believe that Donald Trump won the presidency is this: He uncovered pain of the voters, addressed it and promised he’d fix it. There were many voters who felt they were forgotten and left behind by Washington, DC in this current economy. Fair or unfair, Trump continually magnified his voter’s “pain” and said he’d do something about it.

It remains to be seen if he will keep his promises and fix America’s “pain” but I digress.

How about you? When you’re reaching out to potential clients, do you simply throw up a bunch of features and benefits and hope something sticks?

Or do you uncover your sales prospects “pain”, probe deeper and magnify it and show how your solution will solve their pain?

If I have a splitting headache, I’ll do about anything to relieve that pain.

It’s the same with your sales prospects. Uncover their pain, address their pain and tell them specifically how you’re going to fix it, and they’ll “vote” with their budget.