When you start a discussion regarding services or products with a client via email, it is extremely important to check back in with that client if a sale is not made on the first try. It is critical if the first try does not make a sale. Don’t be concerned. Many times it can take multiple contacts before a client is ready to buy. Some of the services that are less pricey do not always need as many points of contact, however, it is still important to stay on top of follow ups. Sometimes the smaller sales end up leading to much larger sales, which is why it is always a good idea to pursue each lead opportunity. This is not an easy task. In fact, until now, it was pretty much impossible because of the time involved and, therefore, cost. By using automated emails, you are able to follow up on all of your leads from clients.
Tips for Using Email to Inprove Your Business
The busier your schedule, the more flooded your inbox can get. As a result, it becomes even more important to stay in contact with potential buyers. Phone calls and in-person visits are an option, but both are intrusive, time consuming, and costly. Many companies prefer automated emails as a time efficient and cost efficient method of keeping in touch with clients. Email automation is low cost and it provides a regular conversation with your prospect. This nurturing process eases them into a buyer when they are ready. When dealing with “long sales cycles” that last months or sometimes even years, having an automated email process helps tremendously with the process.
Moving Through the Sales Cycle
Let’s take a look at some ways that emailing can help out with progressing a client through the sales cycle. After the first contact with a possible buyer, the client will show some interest in your offers and possibly provide some feedback. Now you can create an email, or as some call a “drip email”, which will allow you to send vital information to a potential client that will help them further understand your company and product or service. This will then keep your company in front of them as they go through the choices they need to make to eventually make a purchase. This builds your brand awareness each time.
Choosing Where You Want to Automate
The best part about using email is that you can automate these contact points however you choose. For instance, when dealing with long sales cycles, you can start off by emailing information on what sets your company apart from others in your industry. This email could be triggered three days after the initial contact with the prospect. The second email might go out after day five (but not sent over a weekend), so the email would always be sent on a work day. After a week or so goes by, if you have not received a reply from the potential client, then you can allow the next email to be sent. This email could provide some special information about your service that is not on your website or collateral. This email can be put together so that the content looks customized specifically for them. At this time, hopefully you have received feedback from your emails and you have a conversation taking place. You can then keep moving forward with the email series, or if need be, you can pause or stop the series of emails for the next level of discussions.
Campaign Setup
Setting up your campaigns of emails for different scenarios takes some time, but you only need to do it once- and since it’s what you should be doing as a sales person anyway, but on every lead, it only makes sense to create these once and use them over and over again for different prospects. Your prospects will each be in different stages of your drip campaign depending on when you first connected with them. The emails will look exactly like you are creating them all one at a time to each potential client. Sometimes sales doesn’t need a lot of care and discussion. Next we will discuss how sending a follow up email can assist in closing prospects with short sales cycles.
Automated Email Follow Up for Short Sales Cycles
Many times there doesn’t need to be a lot of conversation to sell a product. Sending a follow up email assists in closing those sales too. Actually, when you have a long sales cycle there is a lot of time to make contact points, but with short sales cycles, you usually have less time for those decisions to be made. Therefore, a follow up email can make or break your sale. This is why automating the follow up emails is the answer.
Let’s examine some emails a health spa might use to help close sales. Once the initial contact is made, the potential client is added to your follow up email system. Maybe the first email thanks them for coming in and taking the tour and asks them if they have any questions about the pricing you discussed. A couple days later, if a reply is not received, a second email can then be sent to see if there are any further questions and if they are ready to signup. If this does not generate a response, a third email goes out sharing some information about the spa and what makes it different from your competitors. If still nothing, you might consider a discounted option on your fourth email that might help tip them into purchasing with you. In any case, you can rest at ease knowing there were at least 4 attempts made with even the offer of a discount to close the sale. Just think about the potential with all of the leads and contacts you receive. You no longer waste time on leads that go nowhere, and have the ability to focus on other things. But every good one is unearthed from this process- automatically through email sales follow ups.
Which Follow Up Email Service To Use
We are talking less than $5 a month when paying for one year. What makes it just as valuable is its simplicity. Its as easy as placing an email provided to you by TickleTrain into the BCC field of your email, and just that simple you have a drip series of emails. Your contact is then added to your Tickle campaign and you can control it from a user friendly dashboard. It’s really that simple. Write the emails, save them, get the special email address, put it in the BCC field. Done. With TickleTrain, you will get all the help you need to close your sales, increase your clients, and get the best workflow possible. Try it for free today by signing up at http://www.tickletrain.com.