Author Nick Rakhshani
Prospecting emails can be a great way to effectively communicate with your audience. Email is still one of the best ways to reach people. In some B2B markets it’s the primary mode of contact because your prospect is never at his desk. So in situations where it’s tough to get a hold of your prospect on the phone, email is your best friend.
Because it’s so easy to send an email, sales people often can fall into the trap of writing emails that are not effective. So below I’ve identified five most common email prospecting mistakes I see salespeople make. I’ve made the same mistakes myself. The bad news is you are probably making some of these mistakes. The good news is you’re about to learn how to avoid them.
1. Too wordy
Sales emails are not about long lenghty emails that educate your reader about your product or service. That’s best done in a one-on-one phone call or meeting. Your reader doesn’t have the time to read a long email from someone they don’t even know well. So keep your emails short and sweet.
2. Too salesy
This is the quickest way to have your email sent to trash. Think about how you feel when you get one of those salesy type emails. It’s plain annoying. Instead make it simple and conversational as if you were standing face to face with your reader and having a conversation.Conversational emails can be impactful in driving the message and getting your reader to take action.
3. Impersonal
This one is easy to do. All you need is their first name and something relevant about their business. Right away they realize this is not just some automated email that was sent to a thousand people. If your email is about a project, then mention that project so your reader can make a connection.
4. Neglecting to add obvious value
Stand out from hunderds of other emails by adding value to your reader. Think of ways that you can make your email infomrative. Think of what must be on your reader’s mind. Why is he looking for a solution? If you don’t know why, then do some quick research about his company to find potential ways you can offer help.Is he trying to save time or make more money? Is he trying to stay out of trouble? Maybe he’s interested in improving the qualityof his life. Then find a way to add value. This way you will increase the likelihood of a response. Just be sure that whatever you share speaks to your prospect’s deep needs and connects on an emotional level.
5. Forgetting to include a call-to-action
This is a trap that many sales people fall into. Sending an email that doesn’t have a call-to-action is like talking to a person without wanting to get their response. If your email is not going to cause a desired response then it’s just a waste of time. So make sure that your email clearly communicates a CTA. It could even be a simple request to clarify a point which you can do with a simple question like “Does this make sense in your business?” or “Where should I send this report?” This can make it easy for your prospect to hit “reply” and type out a response.