How to use E-Mail to increase Sales

From SalesDog:

Using Email to Rev Up Your Sales
Craig James

Craig James shares some helpful tips for getting prospects to open, read and respond to your emails.

How many emails drop into your Inbox each day? 25 - 50 - 100 - 200?

How do you choose which ones to read, which ones to delete, and which ones to park - to be read whenever you get a free moment? You can be sure that your prospects go through a similar process when checking their email. So what can you do to increase the likelihood that your emails will fall into the first category - the ones they'll read, and maybe even look forward to?

First, let's touch on ways sales professionals are using this medium. Many of us use email to convey a compelling message of why to do business with our company to people who are visual, not auditory. We do this instead of leaving a voice message, because we've learned from experience that approximately zero people return voice messages. Some of us use email in addition to leaving a compelling voice message, because we don't know whether the recipient is visual or auditory. Still others of us use email as an opportunity to establish credibility and trust in ourselves and our companies - the foundation for doing business. More on that later.

Don't hide behind email
What should we not do with our sales emails? First and foremost, we should never use email as a way to avoid picking up the phone! Many salespeople, in particular, those who dread cold calling, hide behind email. As a one-way means of communication, email offers us a modicum of comfort: it can't beat us up by hurling objections at us. But who among us got into this profession in order to hide from attacks? We expect to get beat up! It's part of the price we implicitly agreed to pay in order to have the potential for a lucrative income this work affords us. As professional salespeople, we know that successful selling involves two-way communication - conveying what we want, but also listening to what the prospect wants. Never let email be a substitute for speaking with prospects.

Now let's move on to what we could be doing to make email work for us. Most of us recognize that email could, or at least should, help us sell more effectively. But few of us have actually figured out just how. Here are a few "best practices" that should start you on your way.

Don't write a novel. Keep your emails short, but not too short. Time is people's most precious asset these days. So, create just enough content to whet your prospect's appetite. Your goal is not to explain, it is to entice and motivate to your reader to action in the form of a reply email, a visit to your web site, or a phone call. Qualified prospects will do one of these things; unqualified ones won't, which is fine. Don't waste your time crafting lengthy emails that will only appeal to a small portion of your prospect base. Don't use big words. You may want to impress your prospects with your extensive vocabulary of three-and four-syllable words. Resist the urge. In writing, especially email, shortness in word length and lesser sophistication is as valuable as shortness in length of the email. Don't send emails too frequently. It annoys people and makes your emails more likely to be summarily deleted. Do have a compelling subject line. "Checking in" won't get too many prospects excited. On the other hand, a subject line that asks, "Want to know what your competitors are up to?" would surely get me to open an email. It's intriguing. Do offer value. Too many of the emails we receive are self-serving. They contain statements like, "We can solve this problem for you. I'm certain we can." Of course you are certain, but I am the one who has to pay for what you're selling me. Instead, offer something that educates your prospect, such as, "Download our free whitepaper to learn about …" How do you think you will be perceived by this prospect and whom will he call first when a need arises for your offering? Do provoke curiosity, wonder, or concern. Most business people are either looking for ways to take advantage of opportunities, or to avoid problems. Unfortunately, most sales email is boring, provoking a big yawn and a push of the delete key. Instead, craft an email that centers on an issue you know or suspect is near and dear to the recipient, subtly suggesting that you have something interesting that pertains to that issue. Do use numbers. If you can quantify the scope of a problem or opportunity, people can more easily get their hands around it and will be more inclined to take action. Example: "Click here for 3 ways to supercharge your marketing copy."

This is just a sampling of ways you can enhance the effectiveness of your email. Now you need to decide for yourself if you agree that these are some of the most important skills needed for your success in strategic selling. If you decide they are, look in the mirror and ask yourself, "Have I mastered these skills? If not, which ones do I feel need some work?" Then get to working on them. If you don't believe these are some of the most important skills needed for your success, that's fine. Go ahead and pick others, and ask yourself the same questions. The key is to work on shoring up those skills you believe are most important in order to enable you be the best salesperson you can be.

Craig James combines proven sales training methods with real world in-the-trenches experience, to help salespeople take their performance to the next level. Craig has been published and quoted in Business Week, Sales and Marketing Management, and Selling Power, and been interviewed by Sales Rep Radio. Visit his site at www.sales-solutions.biz.

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