The depressing part about email prospecting is this…

Prospects can’t wait to DELETE your email. Most people have overflowing inboxes (especially work emails) and prioritize what they will read and what they won’t. The last email they want to read is one from a “salesman”.

The ones you’re sending right now are probably delete bait…Sad but true.

Hey it’s not your fault. There is a lot of bad sales training going on and even more bad habits spreading in the workplace. In most sales environments our bosses tell us to A. Send cringe worthy “approved” email templates B. Free style or C. don’t bother at all. 

All 3 are bad ideas.

The good news is I have a couple great ideas for you.  In this post you will learn The 7 Commandments of Modern Email Prospecting To Live And Die By. 

These guiding principles are so powerful that if you follow them emailing will become a borderline lazy way to get appointments and more sales.

What Are The “7 Commandments of Modern Email Prospecting”?

1. Thou Shalt Be Prepared

First things first, you can’t expect to win business by flying in blind and writing random “shoot from the hip” emails. You have got to be prepared.

By doing your homework on the prospect you can game plan how to get their attention and be relevant. For smaller clients learn about their industry and common problems they face.

For larger clients invest the time to learn more about them specifically through Google searches and social network investigating.

Does your company have any history with your prospect? Use whatever you can to create a personalized message that will immediately make you stand out.

 

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Want the biggest trick to getting your emails prepped and selling in minutes? Get the full cheatsheet collection in the Email Marketing Quickstart Kit! Get it here.

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2. Thou Shalt Make Thy Subject Lines Magnetic

Always remember prospects are looking for a reason to delete your email. A magnetic subject line can convince them otherwise.

The most effective email subject lines are short, create curiosity and use specifics whenever possible. They attract eyeballs like a magnet.

“Erica in purchasing recommended you hear this”

“How to shorten your sales cycle by 23% in 30 days”

Think of email prospecting as fishing and your subject line is the bait.  Tease your leads with something that will get them to bite.

3. Thou Shalt Use Specifics Wherever Possible

In marketing, it’s common knowledge that people believe numbers.

When you drop specific numbers, percentages and timeframes into your stories and testimonials they turn “real world” and believable…which makes you more credible.

Vague or rounded numbers trigger the BS alarm but specific numbers are another story.

By citing specifics you make the prospect curious about how you accomplished those results and if they can see the same. 

Make sure you include these tangible results in your emails to help prospects “see” the benefits and let them know “why” they should bother speaking with you.

4. Thou Must Always Remember…Curiosity Is Your Friend

“What’s in it for me?”

Your prospect is always thinking about this and if you tease that answer in 3 strategic places in emails you put prospects on a slippery slope to speaking or meeting with you.

1. “What’s this about?”  In the subject line you want to get their attention and make them think.

2. “This sounds important” In your 1^st sentence you want to hook them and pull them to the next sentence.  Specifics, Questions, and Referrals are a great lead in to the body of your email

3. “Can this help me?” In the close of your email is another great place to drop one more curiosity nugget. Make them think about how you can make things easier or better. Spike interest here before you…

5. Thou Shalt Include an Irresistible Call to Action

What is the goal of your email?

It should always be to start or continue a conversation.  When you close your email you need to encourage a response from your prospect. The best way to do that is to ask a question.

Simple but specific questions work best so your prospect can respond in seconds. Here are a few examples:

“Do you have a few moments to chat on Thursday the 9th? If not let me know what your schedule is like Friday morning.”

“I’m confident I can help you the same way. All we need is a 5 minute conversation to get started when would be the best time to speak?”

In every sale you have to initiate the next steps otherwise you’re just spinning your wheels. The only difference in email is you’re not asking for the business.  You’re only asking for a decision on whether or not to move the conversation forward.

6. Thou Shalt Start An Email Follow Up Campaign

Prospects are busy and sometimes even if your email is valuable, creates curiosity and outlines a clear benefit to speaking with you…they just don’t have the time to respond at that moment.

Then it slips their mind completely.

This is exactly why you should plan to send multiple emails if you want them to get back to you.

Persistence without pestering is the name of the prospecting game. In some cases it can take as many as 9 attempts to get through to a busy prospect. Most sales pros stop at 2. Are you hanging in there?

You will want to include a mix of phone calling and emailing. Switch up your emails also. For example in one email you may introduce yourself and share your value proposition.

In another you share a relevant piece of content they may benefit from reading.

This is one of the easiest and most effective modern sales prospecting strategies. Why?  You can set up your own templates in advance and take the guess work out of emailing . 

 7. Thou Shalt Design Thy Emails for Mobile Viewing

Did you know the numbers of emails opened on mobile devices is on pace to be higher than the amount of emails opened on computers by 2014?

A study conducted by Digital Marketing Agency Knotice showed 41% of all commercial email was opened on a mobile device in the end of 2012. Up from 27% in 2011 and 13 % in 2010. 

By 2013 that number was over 50%

Email service provider Constant Contact also conducted a survey of smartphone owners where 80% of them said it’s “extremely important” they can read their emails on their mobile devices. 

In fact 75% of nearly 1500 respondents claimed they were “highly likely” to delete an email if they couldn’t read it from their phones.

So what does this mean for you?

Chances are your prospects are reading your emails from their phones or tablets. That means they want to scan…not read.

• Keep your emails shorter than 100 words,
• Use lots of white space,
• Make your emails scan able by keeping paragraphs 2-4 lines max
• Only one call to action or link per email.

#SalesTruth  None of these commandments stack up to the power of relationship. If your prospect already knows you and you have an established connection your response rates will be infinitely better.

The TakeAway

Prospects are busy and if you really want to finally break through the inbox clutter you have to work smarter. In this post you have learned the 7 Commandments of Email Prospecting to live and die by.”

1.Prepare

2.Make your subject lines magnetic

3.Use specifics whenever you can

4.Remember that curiosity is your friend

5.Include an irresistible call to action

6.Start an email campaign

7.Design your emails for mobile reading

Following these commandments will pay off in the form of more conversations with hot prospects, easier closes and more sales. They establish you as a resource your prospects will WANT to work with and be confident sending unsolicited referrals to.

Here’s What You Should do Next

1. Download the Email Marketing Quickstart Kit for 103 of our highest converting subject lines, tricks for building your first profitable email list and the 4-step email optimization checklist to get your emails opened, clicked and selling!

2. If you found this post helpful pay it forward and share it with anyone else that may benefit from reading.