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Fanatical Prospecting — Chapter-19: E-Mail Prospecting
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19 E-Mail Prospecting Your e-mail inbox is a bit like a Las Vegas roulette machine. You know, you just check it and check it, and every once in a while there’s some juicy little tidbit of reward, like the three quarters that pop down on a one- armed bandit. And that keeps you coming back for more. —Douglas Rushkoff E-mail is a powerful part of a balanced prospecting approach, and when leveraged intelligently it opens doors, gets results, and gener- ates far more engagement and response than social prospecting. When I say far more, I mean 10 to 20 times more. It also has the added benefit of extending your prospecting window, which makes you more efficient. With the many e-mail communication tools that are available, including Yesware, Signals, Tout, Tellwise, and your own CRM, you can create e-mails outside of the Golden Hours and schedule them to go out 214
during prime selling time while you are on the phone or face to face with prospects and customers. The data these tools provide also make your e-mail prospecting efforts more effective because you can test and measure response rates. This helps you hone and perfect your message. Once you have a message that you know works for a particular market vertical or group of similar prospects, you can send it out with minimal effort. It’s also easier than ever to build a database of e-mail addresses. Besides just asking for them, you can grab e-mail address through Google searches, social media, scraping programs line eGrabber’s E-Mail Prospector, various apps and browser plugins, and tools like Toofr and Prospect Ace that help you make educated guesses on e-mail addresses for prospects when you don’t have them. E-mail has also moved beyond the traditional inbox and into the social channel. The LinkedIn inbox, Facebook Messenger, and direct messaging on Twitter are often used as proxies, supplements, or complete replacements for traditional e-mail. The benefits of the social channel include skipping past gatekeepers, the spam box, and the ability to send mail to prospects even if you don’t know their e-mail address. The downside of e-mail in all forms is if you irritate your prospect by sending them spam-laden crap, they’ll block or unfriend you in a heartbeat. The rules and techniques in this chapter apply to both traditional and social e-mail prospecting. E-mail done wrong wastes your time, makes you look like a chump, and exasperates your prospects. My goal with this chapter is to give you a set of tools, techniques, and formulas that will instantly make your prospecting e-mails more impactful and generate better results. These techniques are just a snapshot of the available information on e-mail prospecting. There is simply no way to include everything in this short chapter. However, you’ll find a comprehensive list of tutorials, e-books, podcasts, videos, resources, tools, and articles on e-mail prospecting techniques at FanaticalProspecting.com. E-Mail Prospecting 215
The Three Cardinal Rules of E-Mail Prospecting Effective e-mail prospecting requires thoughtfulness and effort to get the message right. E-mail done right is an extremely powerful prospecting methodology that will reward you with a consistent stream of qualified prospects that keeps your pipe full. Effective begins with adhering to the Three Cardinal Rules of E-Mail Prospecting. Rule #1: Your E-Mail Must Get Delivered This means that your e-mail must make it into your prospect’s main e-mail inbox. Most companies and individuals today have filters set to either block or move “spam” e-mails to a junk folder. In some cases, entire IP addresses may be blacklisted when too much e-mail that is considered spam emanates from that server or address. There is no perfect science to staying completely clear of spam filters. However, there are things you can do to increase the proba- bility that your e-mail will get delivered. This is not a comprehensive list—rather, it’s a list of the most obvious and important tactics. ■ Don’t send bulk e-mail. Prospecting e-mail is one to one. It is one e-mail from your address sent to one individual, one e-mail at a Figure 19.1 Three Cardinal Rules of E-Mail Prospecting 216 Fanatical Prospecting
time. This alone should help you clear 90 percent of spam hurdles. Sending bulk e-mail (to multiple people) from your personal e-mail address is the easiest, fastest way to get black- listed, get blocked, and look like a total imbecile. ■ Avoid attaching images. Because hackers and spammers embed malware in images, many e-mail programs mark e-mails with images as spam or block images until permission is given to download. Your best bet on prospecting e-mails is to avoid sending images. ■ Avoid hyperlinks. The primary tool of hackers is the hyperlink. You click on it and the hacker inserts malware on your computer and steals your information. Because of this, people are super suspicious of hyperlinks embedded in e-mails. Your best bet is to avoid hyperlinks altogether in prospecting e-mails because they also trigger spam filters. If you do include a link: ■Avoid embedding the URL in text. ■Include the entire URL for complete transparency. ■Avoid shortened URLs that obscure the website address. ■Limit the total number of URLs to one—including any links in your e-mail signature. ■ Avoid attachments. Hackers have become adept at using attach- ments to infect computers with malware, hack websites, and infiltrate networks. Because of this danger, spam filters may grab your e-mail if it contains attachments. Your best bet is to avoid sending attachments in prospecting e-mails. ■ Skip spammy words and phrases. What you say and how you say it can trigger spamfilters. For example, using ALL CAPS in a subject line, adding lots of exclamation points, or using words like free or “special buy now!” can light up spam filters like a Christmas tree. Kevin Gao, CEO and founder of Comm100, lists 200 words and phrases that he says trigger spam filters when placed in e-mail subject lines, including amazing, free access, cash, don’t delete, do it today, increase sales, 100 percent guaranteed, and save $.1 Thepoint is,you mustbecarefuland thoughtful about the words and symbols you use and how you phrase those words— especially in your e-mail subject line. The best thing to do is step into the spammer’s shoes—look at the annoying spam you get and then do the opposite. E-Mail Prospecting 217
■ Don’t send to many people in the same company at one time. Spam filters look to see how many messages you’re sending at a time. Thisisprimarilydesignedtocatchbulke-mailerswhoaresending to large lists. However, if you are sending e-mail to multiple prospects in the same company, it pays to drip these e-mails in at different times of the day rather than sending them all at once. ■ Don’t send too many e-mails to the same person. This may seem counterintuitive, but with e-mail, too much persistence can hurt you. If you become annoying, the recipient of your e-mail can mark it as spam. That may impact more than just their individual inbox; with some systems, this may get you black- listed across the entire enterprise. ■ Scrub bounces. Many e-mail filters will catch you if you send multiple e-mails to an e-mail address that doesn’t exist. This usually happens when the person you are trying to contact no longer works at the company or you have a bad e-mail address. When you get a bounce, view it as an opportunity to gather better information. First, update the contact in your CRM and remove the e-mail address so you won’t mistakenly send to that address again. Next, check LinkedIn or do a Google search to find out if that contact is still at the company. If not, remove the contact from your CRM or update their record to reflect their new company. If yes, get to work by phone or online finding an accurate e-mail address. ■ Be careful with sensitive industries. Use extra caution when contacting sensitive industries like financial institutions, defense contractors, and health care. Hackers are relentlessly trying to get into these organizations to steal data, and as a result, there are strict firewalls in place. I recommend using text only with no links, attachments, or images. Rule #2: Your E-Mail Must Get Opened Here’s a fact of life: According to the Harvard Business Review, the average business executive gets 200-plus e-mails a day.2 Add to that 218 Fanatical Prospecting
the mail they get in their social media inboxes, instant messages, and the chatter on crowdsourcing tools deployed by many companies, and there is simply no way they can possibly get to it all. So your prospects cope with being crazy busy and overwhelmed by an inbox that is set to “infinite refill” the same way you do: scan and triage. They, like you, must make instant, split-second decisions to open, delete, or save for later. In this paradigm, to get opened, your prospecting e-mail must stand out from all of the noise and be compelling enough to entice a click. Familiarity Gets Your E-Mail Opened One way to stand out is familiarity. Imagine that you are scanning your inbox. An e-mail from a person you recognize catches your eye. What is the your most probable next action? The Law of Familiarity is always in play with e-mail prospect- ing. The more familiar your prospect is with your name, brand, or company, the more likely they are to open your e-mail. This is why leveraging the phone and social channels prior to sending an e-mail can increase the chances of getting your e-mails opened. For example, you might call and leave a voice mail, ping them on LinkedIn, and follow that up with an e-mail (or vice versa). This “triple threat” increases familiarity and leverages your persistence across multiple channels. The layering of channels to build familiarity is extremely powerful. If you leave an effective voice mail and they hear your name and company name, then when they see your name and e-mail address in their inbox you will be more familiar. If you connect with them on a social channel and like, share, or positively comment on something that they have posted, this E-Mail Prospecting 219
increases the probability that your e-mail will get more than a cursory glance when it hits your prospect’s inbox. If you meet them in person at a trade show or networking event and leave a positive impression, then connect with them on LinkedIn, follow that up with a voice mail, and then send an e-mail, the probability that your e-mail will get opened improves exponentially. Layering prospecting channels to open doors should be focused, targeted, intentional, and strategic. You need to plan your touches across the various decision makers and influencers to improve e-mail open rates without becoming annoying. Your Subject Line Must Scream “Open Me” The subject line, however, depending on the level of familiarity your prospect has with you, can be the most important key to getting your e-mail opened. Sadly, though, most prospecting e-mail subject lines neither stand out nor are compelling. Most, in fact, scream “Delete me!” The three most common subject line mistakes: ■ They’re too long. Data from many sources across the sales ecosystem prove that shorter subject lines outperform longer subject lines by wide margins. Frankly, it’s intuitive. A long subject line requires your prospect’s brain to work harder. That extra effort in the context of split-second decisions about the value of an e-mail gets you deleted. Neither do long subject lines play well on mobile. It’s estimated that 50 percent or more of e-mails get opened on a mobile device. With the limited screen size, you get but a glimpse of the e-mail subject line. If you think about your own behavior on your mobile phone, you are even quicker to delete a message there. More than 50 characters in your subject line and the open rate goes down exponentially. 220 Fanatical Prospecting
Solution: Keep e-mail prospecting subject lines super short—three to six words or 40 to 50 characters including spaces. Remember—less is more. ■ They include questions. E-mail prospecting subject lines in the form of questions are delete bait. Virtually every major study conducted on the efficacy of different types of e-mail subject lines conclude that subject lines in the form of a question quickly doom your e-mail to the delete-button death-roll. Though there may be a time and place for using a question in your e-mail subject line, in most cases you should step away from the question mark. Solution: Use action words and directive statements instead of questions. List-based subject lines that include a testimonial like “3 Reasons Why ABC Chose Us” are especially powerful, as are referral subject lines like “Jeb Blount Said We Should Talk” and statement-based subject lines like “Biggest Fail in Industrial Pumps.” ■ They’re impersonal or boring. Generic, impersonal subject lines are boring. When you are attempting to engage hard-to-reach executives, a failure to connect will send you straight to the trash. Think about it. Every salesperson in your industry is trying to connect with the highest-value prospects in your market. These executives are inundated with requests for appointments. You will never break through this noise and get their attention with cheesy, impersonal subject lines. Instead of standing out, you’ll look like all of the other schmucks junking up your prospect’s inbox and wasting their time. Solution: Connect your subject line to an issue your prospect is facing—especially if it is emotional or stressful— or compliment them on a recent accomplishment or something that you know makes them feel proud. For example, the easiest, fastest way to get me to open your e-mail is a subject line that reads: “Loved Your Book!” You can also use relevant humor or tongue-in-cheek phrases to catch your prospect’s attention when appropriate. One of the participants in a recent e-mail prospecting workshop created the E-Mail Prospecting 221
subject line “Keep Those Kegs Rolling” for an e-mail he crafted to send to a beer distributor. It was relevant, connected with his message, and was sure to catch the eye of his recipient. We are all self-centered and almost always focused on our own problems, issues, accomplishments, and ego. The fact is, 95 percent of the timeweare thinking aboutourselvesand the5 percent oftime that we are not thinking about ourselves, something—maybe a mouthy salesperson—has gotten in the way of us thinking about ourselves. So, play the odds, and make your subject line about your prospect. It’s really easy to do if you take a little extra time to research the recipient of your prospecting e-mail through an Internet search, company website, and social media sites. No One-Size-Fits-All Solution The brutal reality, though, is there is no secret formula for creating the perfect e-mail subject line every time. What works in one situation may not work in another. Advice that works in one industry vertical may not be applicable within your industry or prospect base. This is why experimentation and testing are the real secrets to success with subject lines. Testing helps you zero in on which subject lines get the most opens. With this data in hand, you’ll often find patterns that lead to subject lines that work phenomenally well with certain prospect groups, job titles, geographic areas, and business problems. Yet most salespeople don’t test. Instead, they create subject lines on the fly and then send their e-mails into a black hole, hoping that they’ll get a response. It’s an incredibly frustrating way to prospect because it’s like throwing darts at a target while blindfolded and hoping you hit a bull’s-eye, without any feedback to let you know if your aim is true. There are fantastic tools available today that make testing e-mail response rates unbelievably easy and affordable. Sales e-mail 222 Fanatical Prospecting
prospecting, automation, and intelligence services like Yesware, Tellwise, Tout, and Signals give you instant insight into what happens with your prospecting e-mail after you push “send.” With this information, you’ll be able to narrow down and home in on the words and phrases that get the best response, and your e-mails will stand out and get opened while those your competitor sends are relegated to the “delete” folder. Rule #3: Your E-Mail Must Convert Unless you are sending pure spam—generic e-mail templates that are copied and pasted, then sent randomly to a large swath of prospects regardless ofrelevanceandwithnoresearch—developing and crafting prospecting e-mails takes a significant investment of time. With conquest prospects, C-level contacts, and strategic cam- paigns, you will need to personalize each e-mail message. Thought and effort will be required to craft a relevant e-mail that connects with the recipient emotionally and moves them to take action. This doesn’t mean that every e-mail you send must be built from scratch. Certainly within specific industry verticals, markets, and decision-maker roles, there will be enough common ground and patterns that you’ll be able to develop templates that can be mass customized. These customizable templates allow you to deliver more prospecting e-mail touches in a shorter period of time. Even with a customizable template, though, to be effective, you must do research so the e-mail looks and feels unique to the recipient. It will fall on deaf ears if the recipient doesn’t feel that the message was crafted specifically for them. This investment of your precious and limited time is why it is imperative that your prospecting e-mails convert. In other words, generate a response that leads to your desired outcome: ■ An appointment ■ Qualifying information E-Mail Prospecting 223
■ An introduction to a decision maker ■ A forward to other influencers ■ Download of documents, a video view, or a webinar registration ■ A sales conversation If your e-mail doesn’t compel the recipient to take action, your time and effort were wasted. This is why investing the time to get your message right is critical. A Good Prospecting E-Mail Begins with a Great Plan A plan helps you define who will be getting your e-mail, the method or technique you will use to get their attention, the message Figure 19.2 Audience Method Message Outcome 224 Fanatical Prospecting
you will craft to connect with them and compel them to take action, and finally, the action you want the recipient to take. With e-mail prospecting, this is your AMMO. You don’t have to look far to see that planning is rare when it comes to prospecting e-mails. The vast majority of prospecting e-mails are awful. We’ve cataloged enough examples to last a lifetime in the “E-mail Hall of Shame” at FanaticalProspecting .com. Because I am a business owner and decision maker, I get blasted by prospecting e-mails from every direction—on my work e-mail, LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook. I receive dozens each week that are laughable and an embarrassment to the person who sent it and the company that allowed the e-mail to hit my inbox. I’m baffled at how often the salespeople who took the time to send an e-mail to me did no research. I received an InMail last week on LinkedIn from a rep at a large sales training company pitching me on sales training. Seriously, a 20-second review of my LinkedIn profile would have saved this rep the bother. But what does that say about the brand he is selling for? This guy is pitching me on the awesome sales training his firm delivers and demonstrating the worst of sales behaviors. Bad e-mails destroy your brand equity, credibility, and image. It stuns me that so many companies allow their salespeople to dissemi- nate this crap. Worse, the majority of sales organizations spend no time teaching their salespeople how to write effective prospecting e-mails. The worst e-mails are: ■ Long, important-sounding pitches using incomprehensible jargon—a lot of words with no meaning ■ Feature-focused product dumps ■ Cheerleaders who blab on and on about their “amazing” company, product, or service ■ The ones that get my name wrong—seriously, it is Jeb: three letters E-Mail Prospecting 225
■ The long ones that cause eyes to glaze over. WTF, we live in the age of Twitter, text messaging, infographics, OMGs, and LOLs. Prospects have the attention span of mosquitos. I delete 99.9 percent of them. Every once in a while, though, I’ll get a brilliant e-mail that makes me stop in my tracks. This golden e-mail connects with me, makes sense, is relevant, and compels me to respond. The sender took time to research and plan. Consider your audience. Prospects are people—not robots—so your prospecting e-mail should be authentic and personal. It should connect emotionally. Consider who you are writing to: ■ What is their role? ■ What do you know about their style? ■ How do they consume information? ■ When do they consume information? ■ How familiar are they with you? These questions help you match the tone, structure, and formality to the person to whom you are writing so that it connects. The emotional connection is vital because your e-mail will only be effective if it causes your prospect to take an intended action. Determine your method. E-mail prospecting methods cross the spectrum from a single, standalone e-mail to a multi–e-mail, multi-message strategic prospecting campaign. The method you choose will impact your message and should be driven by your intended audience and defined outcome. Will your message be: ■ Short and sweet? ■ More detailed? ■ Hard hitting? ■ Soft? ■ Direct? ■ Standalone? ■ Part of an SPC campaign? ■ Nurturing or action oriented? ■ Cross-platform? 226 Fanatical Prospecting
This is where planning and strategy are crucial—especially with conquest prospects. You want to avoid being random with your most important opportunities. Tailor the message to your audience. The message you craft must be strong enough to compel your prospect to take action. Your prospect wants to know that you get them and their prob- lems, so your message must be relevant to their situation. The most effective way to tailor your message to the person you are writing is to step into their shoes and ask some basic questions: ■ What will get their attention? ■ What’s important to them? ■ What will cause them to give you what you are asking for? The key here is taking time to do some basic research to get to know your prospect and using that information as the founda- tion on which you construct your message. Define your desired outcome. If you don’t know what you want, you won’t get what you want. If you fail to clearly define what you are asking your prospect to do or provide, they will be confused and your e-mail won’t convert. The Four Elements of an Effective Prospecting E-Mail The AMMO framework assists you in planning and developing your strategy. Once you have your plan in place, you’ll use a four- step framework to craft your e-mail:
- Hook: Get their attention with a compelling subject line and opening sentence/statement.
- Relate: Demonstrate that you get them and their problem. Show empathy and authenticity.
- Bridge: Connect the dots between their problem and how you can help them. Explain the WIIFM.
- Ask: Be clear and straightforward about the action you want them to take, and make it easy for them to do so. E-Mail Prospecting 227
Here is an example of an e-mail to a COO of a bank. It leverages the four-step framework: Subject: COO—The Toughest Job in the Bank Lawrence, Ernst & Young recently reported that the COO has the toughest role in the C-suite. The COOs I work with tell me that the increasing complexity of the banking environment has made their job harder and more stressful than ever. My team and I help COOs like you reduce complexity and stress with strategies to optimize growth and profit, mitigate credit risk, allocate resources effectively, and minimize regula- tory surprises. While I don’t know if we are a good fit for your bank, why don’t we schedule a short call to help me learn more about your unique challenges? From there we can decide if it makes sense to set up a deeper conversation. How about next Thursday at 3:00 PM? Dave Adair Senior Account Executive JunoSystems Let’s break this down into each of the four parts. Hook You have about three seconds to grab your prospect’s attention— hook them. In that three seconds, your subject line must compel Figure 19.3 Four Elements of an Effective E-mail 228 Fanatical Prospecting
them to open the e-mail and the first sentence must entice them to keep reading. Kendra Lee, author of The Sales Magnet, calls this the “glimpse factor.” Prospects choose to read your e-mail for their reasons, not yours—their unique situation and interests. Therefore, the best way to hook them is to make your subject line relevant and the opening sentence about them. Here is an example of a subject line and opening sentence that bombed—real e-mail sent to me from a guy named Brandon: Subject: Cloud Based Software Hi Jeb, I was browsing Linked-in and wanted to reach out to you. First, the subject line is all about him, not about me. Also, never use “Hi” or “Hello” or “Dear” or any other salutation in front of your prospect’s name. No one in business does that except salespeople. “Hi __” is a complete turnoff for prospects. Next, how does the fact that you were “browsing LinkedIn” in the least bit interest me? Finally, you “wanted” to reach out? That is past tense and all about you and nothing about me. Let’s take a look at our model e-mail: Subject: COO—The Toughest Job in the Bank Lawrence, Ernst & Young recently reported that the COO has the toughest role in the C-suite. This e-mail is being sent to a bank COO. The subject line uses the acronym COO and the word bank. It implies that the COO has the toughest job in the bank. That is compelling because it plays on emotions. We all believe we have the toughest job in our company. Next, we address our prospect professionally, as if he were a colleague. E-Mail Prospecting 229
Finally, the opening sentence is a great hook. Using a credible source, Ernst & Young, we hook the COO by stepping into his shoes and demonstrating that we get him (the toughest role in the C-suite). Relate Effective e-mails connect with prospects on an emotional level. The reason is simple: People make decisions basedon emotion. The easiest way to connect with your prospect emotionally is to demonstrate that you get them and their problems—that you can relate to their struggles and issues. Here’s Brandon’s attempt to relate: We build custom software solutions; web, cloud, mobile, desk- top. Whether you have need to modernize outdated software, build something new from scratch, or augment your team to meet a critical deadline, I’m confident we can help. How does this relate to me or any of my problems? Notice that this paragraph is all about him. Just a features dump. My reaction: So what? Conversely, in our model e-mail, Dave makes the effort to relate. Of course, since he is not himself a COO, nor has ever been a COO, it would be disingenuous to say that he understands Lawrence’s situation. So instead, he uses his relationships with other COOs to demonstrate that he can relate. The COOs I work with tell me that the increasing complexity of the banking environment has made their job harder and more stressful than ever. Bridge Since people do things for their reasons, not yours, you must answer their most pressing question: “If I give you what you want—my 230 Fanatical Prospecting
time—what’s in it for me?” If you are unable to answer WIIFM with value that exceeds the cost of your prospect giving up their time, your e-mail will not convert. This is where your research pays off. When you know a specific issue that your prospect is facing in their business, you should bridge directly to that issue and how you might be able to solve it. When you are unsure of a specific issue, bridge to issues that are common to your prospect’s role, situation, or industry. Here is our buddy Brandon’s attempt at bridging to WIIFM: We’ve been able to figure out how to maintain high quality and keep our rates competitive. It’s a model that has led us to three straight years on the INC 5000. Again, so what? Everybody brags. How is this important to me? How does this add value to my unique situation? How is it relevant to me?Hetootshishornbutgivesmenoreasontowastemytimewithhim. Dave, on the other hand, ties his subject line, opening sentence, and relate statement together with a bridge that connects the dots between Lawrence’s perceived issue—stress—and solutions that reduce stress. He answers Lawrence’s WIIFM question. Most importantly, he speaks Lawrence’s language—the lan- guage of COOs: growth, profit, risk, allocate resources, minimize surprises. By speaking Lawrence’s language, he continues to relate and demonstrate that he gets him and his problems. My team and I help COOs like you reduce complexity and stress with strategies to optimize growth and profit, mitigate credit risk, allocate resources effectively, and minimize regulatory surprises. Ask To get what you want, ask for what you want, and make it easy for your prospect to act. E-Mail Prospecting 231
Our buddy Brandon: I’d love to schedule a time to connect and outline how we’re able to do this while discussing any projects or plans you might have. Just let me know a time that works with your schedule for a free consultation & quote. Brandon does the expected. He says what he would love to do. “I’d love to schedule a time to connect and outline how we’re able to do this [I assume deliver high-quality at low prices].” Here is what I hear Brandon saying: “I would love to hear the sound of my own voice as I pitch you on all of our wonderful features and tell you how great we are. Oh, and good news for you, it’s free!” Uh, no thanks. Then he puts the burden on me to find time on my schedule and get back to him. How does making it hard on me make sense? Even if I wanted to meet with him, I’d probably save this until later (see never) because I would not have time at that moment to go through my calendar and find time for some sales guy. Here’s how Dave asks: While I don’t know if we are a good fit for your bank, why don’t we schedule a short call to help me learn more about your unique challenges? From there we can decide if it makes sense to set up a deeper conversation. How about next Thursday at 3:00 PM? Dave disrupts expectations. He tells Lawrence up front that he might not be a good fit for his bank. That is exactly the opposite of what Lawrence would expect of a salesperson. Unlike pitching that pushes prospects away, disrupting expectations pulls prospects towards you. Then Dave continues and sends a subtle but powerful message. He says he wants to “learn” (see listen). This pulls Lawrence in deeper because everyone wants to be heard. We love to tell our story to people who are willing to listen. 232 Fanatical Prospecting
Dave caps things off with the phrase “your unique challenges.” This makes Lawrence feel important because everyone believes that their situation is unique. Finally, Dave takes away the pressure by implying that the call will be short and lowers risk by saying if it doesn’t make sense, “I’m not going to push things.” Then he assumptively (“How about”) asks for a meeting and offers a day and time, which takes the burden off of Lawrence to make that decision. Practice, Practice, Practice The truth is, writing effective prospecting e-mail messages is not easy. The most difficult step is training yourself to stop thinking about your product or service and alternatively step into your prospect’s shoes, relate to their situation, and learn to speak their language. Develop the habit of researching prospects and becoming aware of trigger events that are impacting them and opening up buying windows. You will struggle at first. Everybody does. The key is practicing until effective, authentic e-mails roll off of your fingertips. The more you practice, the faster and more proficient you will become at writing prospecting e-mails that convert. The Best Time to Send E-Mails The million-dollar question with prospecting e-mails is, “When is the best time to send them?” Like telephone prospecting, the verdict on this is all over the board. Some experts say in the morning, some say at night, others say on Tuesday afternoons at 3:12 PM on leap years. It’s mostly noise. The best time to send a sales prospecting e-mail is when your prospect is most likely to open it and take action (convert). E-Mail Prospecting 233
For most B2B salespeople, this will be first thing in the morning to midmorning because that is when your prospects are fresh and usually handling e-mail. For B2C sales, you may need to adjust your timing to capture your prospect’s attention when they are most likely to take immediate action on your request. It is easy to test timing with e-mail intelligence tools, and the good news is you can write e-mails anytime (preferably outside of the Golden Hours) and schedule them to be sent at a time of your choosing. Pause Before You Press “Send” I am the typo king. I’m quite sure you may have found a few of my mistakes while reading this book. So I end this chapter with humble advice from a man who has made the terrible mistake of not pausing before pushing “send” and launching a typo-, spelling-, and gram- matical-error-laden e-mail to a prospect. It is a lesson you want to avoid learning the hard way. Proof your prospecting e-mail before you send it. Read it once. Read it twice. Step away from it for 10 minutes and read it again (you’ll be amazed at what you catch using this process). Print the really important e-mails and proof the hard copy. Your e-mail is a reflection of you, your professionalism, and your personal brand. Pause before you push “send” to ensure that the impression you make is positive. 234 Fanatical Prospecting