Top 5 Sales Email Mistakes
I work regularly with employers and clients overseas who market to the US, Canada, and Europe. In addition to working with these companies, I get emails all day long from various individuals and companies (as I’m sure you do), selling their wares. Most of these solicitations look the same, say the same thing, and fall into the category of sales prevention. Being on the receiving end and having direct experience with offshore companies marketing to the US, has provided me with a unique insight as to what NOT to do when selling into the US market. When writing sales and marketing emails to prospects, one should consider the following to avoid these top mistakes and more importantly to stand out from the crowd.
“I am Name” Your name is listed as the sender of the email header and part of the signature. If the prospect is interested, they will look for your name. Listing your name only delays the point of your email and eats away at the very short opportunity to reach your prospect reading your email.
Excessive Greetings and Salutations. Of course, you don’t want to be rude or overly blunt, however, these salutations are often lost on the recipient of your email. When sending an email to a prospect front loaded with greetings, you are eating away at your very short opportunity to reach the reader. Even worse, the reader knows that the greeting is merely filler. GET to THE POINT! which brings me to my next point…
GET to THE POINT! … Get to the point!…. EARLY. The more you write, the farther you get from the point of your email and your email’s objective. If the prospect hasn’t deleted your email already, you have a short window to connect with your prospect.
Stop Cheerleading and start thinking about your client’s needs. You need to connect to your prospect by illustrating that you know and understand their business and challenges and how you might help them. Too many times, emails are a non-stop spec list of everything your company has done or can do. While this list might be helpful later on, it is usually too much up front. If you need to include a few points to stand out from the crowd or position yourself, use a brief bulleted short list of 4 to 6 items max. Two line sentences are too long. Keep it short!
Dump the Gimmicks and Cliches. With the exception of a good strategic approach, (a few ideas listed below) use of the usual sales dribble is an instant turn off. You don’t need to “reach out” “circle the wagons” “get the low hanging fruit” etc. All these sayings place you squarely “Optically” in the bullshit salesman realm. There are a few exceptions as noted below and I am always open to a creative approach. Here are a few examples: “In the interest of an unannounced call, I thought to send you an email introducing myself” This is an effective approach which tells the prospect you care and offers an opportunity to stand out from the crowd. Another approach when you just can’t get an answer back from a prospect, is to use the “Shall I stay in touch?” email. Google this one, as there are many different versions, however, it is quite effective in getting a reply back. Keep in mind that this is a bit of a last resort as it represents a break-up email. Best to reconsider your approach at this point.
Bonus Tip – The Subject Line Matters! Do your homework. Be effective. It is valuable real estate and makes all the difference whether your email will get opened.