I just flew back to the ATL from a week vacation in Washington, D.C. We did a lot of stuff, including a tour of the White House, the Holocaust Museum, and the Capitol.

Let me explain how my email writing skills got us into the White House and the Capitol.

The wife, who is the best vacation planner on the planet, started planning our Washington trip back in November. She called our Congressman Tom Price and got the ball rolling on our security clearance to get into the White House and get us tickets to the Capitol and the Bureau of Engraving.

Being the pro that she is, she followed up several times until she got assurance that everything was a-okay and we were in for all three.

Then,  President Trump named Tom Price as secretary of Health and Human Services and started to go to hell in a handbasket.

Fast forward to three weeks ago. We had not received our tickets to anything, Karen got on the phone and is told, in a matter of fact manner,  since Tom Price is no longer our Congressman, we had fallen through the cracks, and even though we were supposed to get into everything, our spots had been taken.

Basically, they told us, sorry, Charlie, you’re out.

But here’s the thing, grasshopper, you’re never down and out if you can sell.

I bypassed the intern, who sent us a very, very poorly written email. (I’ll spare you the details but suffice it to say, I was pissed.) I got out my trusty Mac and banged out a very persuasive email that explained what happened. I spent a lot of time on it, and, although simple on the surface, it incorporated a lot of sales psychology.

I sent the email directly to the White House, Capitol, and the Bureau of Engraving.

The next day, I received an email reply from the Bureau of Engraving telling us they would give us tickets. Unfortunately, we already had the Holocaust Museum tickets for the same day. But then, I received an email from the Capitol – we were in!

I told Karen not to expect the White House to come through. That is a tough ticket. But, guess what, a few days before we left, we got an email with our tickets.

Tons of cool lessons here but one of the biggest for you in selling is not taking the first “no” you get as the final answer. Overcome objections and close and then close again if necessary.

Sell, baby, sell.

Kick butt, make mucho DEEnero!

Dave “Mr. D.C.” Dee

P.S. Here’s a quick bonus lesson for you: If you’re not using email consistently to sell your products or services, you’re blowing it. Contrary to some people’s belief, email is not dead. It’s alive and thriving – if you do it right.