Do you send prospecting emails that are mostly ignored? If you’re like most salespeople, you’re probably saying, oh, yeah, and if so then let’s take a second to put ourselves in the shoes of our prospects. Now, this person if they’re a decision maker, and they’re actually an economic buyer, and this is an important person, and that means that this person is receiving hundreds of emails every single day. And I’m not talking about emails that are just spammy from a robot or anything like that I’m talking about personally written emails, and important decision maker is receiving all of these emails every single day. And this means that they’re constantly skimming through emails to see what matters because they’re so tight on time. So if you and your email don’t make the cut, then you are as good as dead. But with the right sales approach, you can get your email in front of any prospect. In this chapter, I’m going to show you five down and dirty tips to send better sales emails that actually get read. Check it out.
Number one, think subject. And first sentence, that may sound weird to you. But let me explain. In today’s fast-paced world, your prospect is very likely looking at your email on either a mobile device, so an iPhone or a droid, or they’re looking at it through Gmail or some type of a program that is very likely to just show the subject and the first sentence of the email. This means that in order for your email even to get opened, it is important that your subject and first sentence are simple, and to the point, and most importantly, that they look like they were written specifically for this person.
Number two, drop the formality. Now I find that many salespeople out there are trying to write emails that are going to impress the prospect with the quality of their writing and the formality and the structure, you know what your prospect doesn’t care. In fact, by trying to use formal language, you are actually much more likely to get your email deleted immediately. Because in today’s business world, all writing is conversational and casual. So actually, by writing a simple email that is going to come across as conversational, is much more likely to be read. Because the only people that are writing formal emails are those trying to sell something, drop the formality.
Number three, personalize with research. Now, I don’t mean to suggest that you need to do a tremendous amount of research for every single email that you send out. But doing just a little bit of research show that you know who this person is, and what they might be concerned about, is going to dramatically increase the likelihood that they’re not only going to open the email, but also that they’re going to read it and ultimately respond to that email, because the second that they think that your email is some sort of a blast, or you know, the shotgun approach to just maybe inserting the person’s first name and then sending the exact same copy and paste that email to every single prospect. If they think that’s what it is, you’re done. So personalize your email with company names with specific issues or specific accomplishments that that company has achieved, whatever it is, that shows that you’ve done just a little bit of homework, that’s going to go a really long way. And then ultimately, opening and then reading and finally responding to that email.
Number four, keep the email super short. There is a tendency for a lot of salespeople wants to educate a prospect through an email. And the reality is that your goal is not to educate the prospect through this email, your goal is simply to elicit a response and prospects are not going to be interested in reading a long email, if your email is multiple paragraphs, or if your email is, let’s say, almost an essay, you know, looks like a full page, that prospect is immediately going to feel overwhelmed, and is ultimately going to probably move on from that email and never respond to your email, even if they were interested in what the beginning of the email actually said. Keep the email short. And by that I mean literally five, six sentences at the most even shorter is better. Number five, engage with a question. There’s a tendency in a lot of emails to end those emails with a statement. And the problem with a statement is that it doesn’t engage the prospect never and your emails with a statement that sounds something like this. Let me know if there’s anything that I can do to help. Or let me know if you’d like to set up a phone call. Because you know what, that prospect is never going to let you know because you haven’t asked them anything. You haven’t encouraged them to actually engage with your email. So after you’ve written that shortish email. Now it’s time to close with an engaging question. Because again, the only goal of your email, the only purpose is to elicit a response. So end up with a question that sounds something like, do any of these issues ring true to you? Or what’s the best address that I could send this to? Right, now you’re simply encouraging them to respond with something that’s pretty simple. And by doing that, they’re far more likely to ultimately respond to that email.