Your prospects might receive dozens or even hundreds of emails a day. This means that for your prospecting emails to get seen, they need to be good. If your message doesn’t capture attention right away, it will probably get deleted and lost forever.
While crafting powerful sales emails might seem daunting, you can borrow a few email-writing secrets from Jenny Keohane, a content marketing specialist at Yesware. In this issue of Promotional Consultant Today, we share Keohane’s six ways to create personalized emails that will almost always get a reply.
Showcase commonalities. The first tip for connecting with prospects is to show them what you have in common. It’s even better when you can point out something unusual. To look for what unique hobbies or interests you might share, look at the prospect’s social media profiles. If you see something that’s not particularly common, mention it in your email, says Keohane. Saying something in an initial outreach could open the door to future conversations.
Mention mutual connections. Another way to boost the odds of getting your sales emails read is to mention someone you both know. Keohane points out that we take cues from people we already know and trust. Noting a mutual connection shows that you have done your research and you mean business.
Time it right. When to send your emails is always a tricky topic. You want to send them at a time that prospects are most likely checking their emails, but when is that? According to a 2020 Yesware study, the best time to send your emails is 1 pm and the next-best time is 11 am. Keohane adds that Monday and Tuesday are the most active time periods when replying to emails, so consider this when planning your communication.
Address particular pain points. One of the best ways to get a reply to your email, according to Keohane, is to personalize it with the prospect’s specific needs. That’s because pain motivates action even more than pleasure, she says. Scan the company website for press releases and monitor social media pages to see how you might be able to strike a chord with your email.
Use their name multiple times. You never want your sales emails to come across as generic. By incorporating the prospect’s name more than once, you can make your communication look incredibly personalized. Plus, people love to see their own name. Keohane says you can incorporate people’s names in various ways, from complimenting them on a recent promotion to starting a dialogue about a new offering. Don’t just say, “I’m impressed by you, Chris,” she notes. If you don’t get specific, you risk your email getting deleted.
Getting your prospects to reply to your sales emails requires the right approach along with testing and measuring. Try some of the tactics above, from spotlighting commonalities to repeating their name, to see which ones get the most responses. When you strive to craft emails your prospects actually want to read, you will be able to start more conversations and have more productive dialogues.
Compiled by Audrey Sellers
Source: Jenny Keohane is a content marketing specialist at Yesware.