Melissa???
This is the second time I’ve seen that message in less than 24 hours – both instances from incoming inquiries sent by sales professionals about their product or service.
Here’s how the sequence played out each time:
- They send an initial cold email with a basic value proposition about what they’re selling.
- They send a follow-up communication less than 24 hours later that includes varying amounts of question marks after my name: “Melissa?” “Melissa??” “Melissa???”
- The exact same result follows for each outreach attempt: nothing.
After crafting hundreds of email campaigns on behalf of clients and successfully guiding them through a value-led approach to sales marketing, I can tell you exactly why this Question Mark Method is going to fall flat every time.
To start, I’m not their customer. I have no idea how I actually got on the radar of these companies but something is off with their targeting because the products or services they’re selling don’t apply to my business at all. The first email was some kind of coaching program for accountants and the second was a phone call answering service for retail shops.
Before the thought of an email is even a slight whisper of an idea in your mind, make sure the people you’re emailing are your target customers. Complete your due diligence on those “prospects” you’re about to contact. Where did the leads come from? Is it a reputable source? What information about these prospects do you have? Can you use that information to corroborate the strength of the lead? Check their websites, socials, any earned media, awards, testimonials and see exactly where they’re at in their business journey, so you can craft a custom email about specific ways your business can help them.
Ah, another tip: Have a basic template for your outreach but customize it with every pitch. This may not be feasible for larger companies sending out email campaigns to thousands of recipients but if you’re a small business reaching out to dozens of prospects via LinkedIn or email every day, you can certainly add in a line or two about their specific business (from your due diligence research) and make the outreach feel incredibly personal to them.
In addition to that custom touch, the initial email must spell out exactly how your product or service can either alleviate a major pain point or add a benefit they wouldn’t otherwise receive. Completing that due diligence again provides you with the clarity you’ll need to articulate those key points, whether you take the Pain Point or Unique Benefit approach to your messaging.
Next, add a layer of urgency to the email. This could happen by way of a sweet deal that expires in a given timeframe, a free limited-time consultation, quantification of how many products or services you’re offering, (there’s nothing like the Fear of Missing Out to inspire a sale), a serious articulation of the timely problem they’re facing and how you can solve it, or the ramifications for their business if they don’t face the challenge and conquer it ASAP.
Testimonials can go a long way to help your cause. In our age of User Generated Content (UGC) Creators – users who craft highly converting, authentic content about products or services – adding feedback from real-life customers aligns with current UGC trends. Today’s audience is primed to understand the value of a product or service better when it’s articulated by a happy customer talking about the brand, so feed into this predilection with testimonials that sing your praises to the tune of absolute authenticity that consumers crave.
After sprinkling in some positive testimonials, it’s time to bring the drama.
Think of your email like a page-turning novel. Why would someone who opens it in the first place and then, why would they happily hop their eyes from the first sentence to the second? Here’s why: because they’re desperate to know what happens next. Because in some small way, their lives are being changed by the very words they’re reading. Their philosophies are altering. Their ideologies are shifting. They feel happier or less stressed. Life is sweeter now that your story has entered into their every day and they can imagine the possibilities of what your product or service can do for them.
That is a good sales email.
What isn’t a good sales email is one sent to someone for a product or service wildly outside of their purview. What also isn’t good is following up an already irrelevant email with “Melissa?” “Melissa??” because it not only reiterates a request that shouldn’t have been sent in the first place but also makes the recipient feel bad about themselves in the process. Replying to an unread email with just a “Melissa??” tells a prospect your company doesn’t have it together in the way they deserve. If your prospect is left with an uneasy feeling after your follow-up attempt, how are they possibly going to jump from “Melissa?????” to “Yes! I do want to give my hard-earned money to this person and brand I’ve never heard of before.”
They won’t.
A better, more impactful follow-up is brimming with professional courtesy and positivity, getting right to the heart of the issue. It outlines a clear strategy for survival amidst obstacles and even better, articulates a way forward for growth. Bonus points if your follow-up leads with value, whether that’s in the form of a free course, a free guide, a free week of service, anything to entice them to try before they buy and realize how beneficial your brand is for them.
So, to sum things up, whether you’re writing a single sales email or a sales email sequence to prospects, here’s what the communication should contain:
- Specific information about your prospect to make the outreach feel personalized to them
- Reasons why your product/service alleviates a pain point or provides a benefit they wouldn’t otherwise receive
- Testimonials to spark that UGC-Creator [predilection] of today’s consumer
- Urgency by way of a limited-time deal or expiring offer
- Value through something you can give them for free that offers a [taste] of your product, enticing them to want more
Oh and if you really don’t want to write your sales emails, we can always write them for you.
