I sent this email to a publisher last week.

I’m no expert in the aaa industry. I have read through your media kit, though, and I think a call would be productive if you are looking for some sales support. Can I interest you in a Zoom meeting during the week after Labor Day? If you let me know a time that works best for you, I’ll send an invite. 

I would take that email back if I could. Grounding sales efforts in knowledge of prospect’s business is always useful. Keeping the email brief increases the chances that it will be read and responded to.

Still, I would now write this email to

I see that your bbb conference is taking place in March, and that you’ve already sold sponsorships to ccc and ddd. Would you add a senior salesperson on contract for more of these sponsorship sales?

In fewer words, I would have described my knowledge of the prospect and my own value proposition better.

Our website says

Sales campaigns involving conference sponsorships, site licenses and group training rely less on email marketing, and they need different approaches. We have our own approaches that supplement the sales efforts that our clients already have in place, increasing their revenues while saving time, effort, and expenses – guaranteed.

Email marketing suits B2B publishers perfectly for lower balance sales. Sales intelligence software, CRMs, social media, sales sequences, and cold calling can be effective for lower balance accounts. Business Development Representatives can also be effective in finding interest from long lists of prospects. We use more traditional selling techniques to identify new leads, secure video conferences, present agreements, and close sales. We do this as an extension of a client’s sales team, adding to existing sales efforts with a different approach.

This is certainly not brief enough to capture attention in a sales email or LinkedIn message. We have too much to read as it is.

My prospect responded much more briefly and much more effectively to my initial email.

Paul – Thank you for your note. We have an internal sales force and do not use agents in the US, though we appreciate your interest.

This wasn’t the news I wanted to hear, but my prospect’s brevity was brilliant. I know exactly where his company stands. His response was direct and polite.

In these ways, brevity for the buyer and the seller is especially useful in the B2B publishing industry. We strive to use words judiciously in sales, as we do in editorial, marketing, and other contexts as well.