Are You “Overusing” Email As A Sales Tool?
Did you know that more than seventy five percent of today’s businesses have replaced cold calling with emails?
I would be willing to bet my next dollar, that the reason most salespeople and businesses do this is because they don’t want to feel the rejection of making that dreaded cold call. What most salespeople and business owners fail to realize is that according to studies up to 97% of those e-mails either end up trapped in a spam filter or deleted before their even read.
So what then?
I would love to sell you a program on how to “never suffer through another cold call again!” How to double or triple your prospecting results by just using e-mail! But I would be lying to you. The fact is unsolicited and one unwanted advertising is the same in any medium or form, it’s spam.
And no one likes it.
What determines whether a marketing piece is going to be successful or not is the effectiveness of the headline, targeting the right person or audience, and having a Client Centered Value Proposition that speaks directly to the recipient.
With the introduction of the internet sales people and business owners alike have access to new tools to communicate with their prospects and their customers. Some sales people and business owners may even think using email to sell their products or services is a great idea. But I would ask them, what is their real motivation, fear?
E-mail should be part of an entire cold calling and prospecting campaign. A campaign where cold calling is part of the overall strategy.
Why? In my opinion leaving a voice mail is still a better option than an e-mail.
And let me tell you why, when you leave a compelling voicemail, you are leaving your prospect with something that you can’t give them over an e-mail. You are giving them a sense of who you are; by your enthusiasm, by the tonality of your voice, and most importantly, by your presence. This is something you just can’t do by e-mail.
If you’re confident in what your product or service can do for someone and the solutions that you provide, you should be excited by the prospect of having an opportunity to tell someone about who you are and how you can impact their life.
That, is the attitude of a successful business owner and salesperson.
If you believe in replacing calls with e-mails, I invite you to really consider why? Why do you feel uncomfortable with calling someone? Why would you worry about someone’s perception of you that you haven’t even met yet? Why would you buy into the negativity that surrounds the two most evil words in the English language “cold calling”?
You show me a successful salesperson, and I’ll show you someone who is comfortable with picking up the phone and calling a prospect or client.
There is one exception in which I advise my clients to use e-mail as a prospecting tool to begin relationships, and that’s when the company that they are contacting as a rule does their business online. But I still strongly recommend a follow-up phone call.
Speaking to someone in person is the only basis to ensure that your communication is being received and understood and it is the best way to start a long-term profitable relationship.
Some e-mail tips:
1) Don’t put your company’s name in the heading of the email.
2) Put the persons name who you are corresponding with in the subject line instead.
3) Remember people tend to skim e-mails, so put your best stuff where it’s going be read at the top of the body of your e-mail
4) Mondays and Tuesdays are the best days to send emails.
5) Use a credible email address in your “from” field.
6) And lastly, listen to this…
All my best!
Kevin Boyle
Author / Public Speaker / Sales Trainer and Coach
“The Secrets to Sales Mastery”
ps – Did you enjoy this post? Do you have any tricks or tips on how to use email more effectively in filling your sales funnel? Please feel free to add your comments!
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