Using Email Follow Up to Increase Sales
If you use email to discuss services and/or products with clients, it’s critical that you follow up with them if a sale is not made on the first attempt. It is critical if the first try does not make a sale. Don't get frustrated. Sales usually take 5 or more contacts before a looker turns into a buyer. Now it’s true that lower priced services may not require that many points of contact, but even those require diligent follow up. Many small priced sales can equal a large one, so it’s important that persistence endures with every lead opportunity. It isn't always easy to do so. In fact, until now, it was pretty much impossible because of the time involved and, therefore, cost. Using automated email gives you a time saving option to follow up with your client leads.
Long Sales Cycle Follow Up Emails
When you have a busy schedule, the inbox of your email can be filled up quickly. 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. Actually, there are many companies that prefer automated emails just for the simple fact that it saves time and money. Email automation is low cost and it provides a regular conversation with your prospect. This process makes it easier on the client as well when they are ready to buy. When dealing with "long sales cycles" that last months or sometimes even years, having an automated email process helps tremendously with the process.
Examing the Sales Cycle
Let’s examine some approaches to emailing that help move the customer along 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.
How to Automate the Process
What’s great about email is that it can be automated at certain touch points that you decide. 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. You can have this email set up to send a few days after the first contact with the client. Then, the second email can be sent out five days afterwards, and also taking care to not send over a weekend and always 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. You can make the wording of this email look like you just put it together for them. At this point, you would hope they have replied to one of your emails and you have a discussion going on. You can continue with this series of emails or, if the conversation has turned to something else, this campaign can be paused or turned off and then moved to some other series of emails for the next stage of your discussion.
The Best Way to Setup Campaigns
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. All of your potential clients will be at different levels of the drip campaign, based on when you first contacted them. The emails will look exactly like you are creating them all one at a time to each potential client. However, there are times where a lot of conversation is not needed. Next we will discuss how sending a follow up email can assist in closing prospects with short sales cycles.
Automated Follow Up Emails for Short Sales Cycles
Lots of products are sold with very little extra discussion needed. These cases are no different. Follow up emails help close those sales as well. With short sales cycles, there isn't as much time to nurture and connect with the potential client. As a result, you can lose a sale pretty quickly without that follow up email. Automating your email follow ups makes perfect sense.
The Example of the Health Spa
Let's review a few emails that a company such as a health spa could use to assist in closing a sale. Once the initial contact is made, the potential client is added to your follow up email system. The first email can ask if there are any questions and express thanks for the clients visit. 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 there is still not a reply, then a third email can be sent with specific information about the company and how it sets them apart from other spas in the area. If after the third email there is still no reply, then a discount or promotion could be offered that could give them the incentive they need to signup. 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. Imagine this diligence on every lead that walks in your door or contacts you through your website. Your time is freed to do other things besides following up on leads that may or may not be good ones. All of the great leads are uncovered fro using this email follow-up process.
What Email Follow Up Service To Use
You pay less than $5 per month when subscribing for a year. What makes it just as valuable is its simplicity. All you have to do for a drip series of emails is enter a specific email address provided by TickleTrain into the BCC field of your email. Next, just add your contact to the Tickle campaign from the 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. Give it a try today for free. Sign up at www.tickletrain.com.
