Yes, there are many new communication channels out there with social media. But, when you look at how deals are largely made for professional salespeople, email is still the way deals get nurtured and get closed.
You watch your email closely, because you can see whether an order comes in or a request for service on a deal happens.
There are other systems which augment this powerful communication medium even further. I like to set up clients on Yesware to get more feedback and digital body language from email recipients. You can see when someone opens an email an how frequently within your Google Apps email system.
You live within this environment all day and you can have the added benefit of timely responses and engagement based on your customers’ level of interest with your communications.
Using such an integrated tracking system, here are a few strategies to help you close sales:
- Time your calling. When everyone is busy, calling at the right time is key. When you see someone opening a current or past email, use it as an opportunity to call. You will be top of mind and their attention is on you.
- Make your communications resourceful. Email is not text messaging. It is an opportunity to share a thought or idea. Take the opportunity and package it in your writing. This way you will see your customers opening their saved emails frequently as part of a resource for themselves. It positions you. People save their emails. Imagine how they can reuse your stuff if you give it more thought.
- Track with links. Your resourcefulness can be measured by what your recipients click within the body of your emails that you send. Be sure to link to valuable articles from others in your industry as well as your own. This extends your communication and makes your email live with more ongoing value.
- Position your content for sharing. You should assume your email gets forwarded and shared. Invite this, especially when decisions are made within the context of a team of people. Ensure what you write serves multiple people that would be on the thread. You can monitor how it is shared with your email tracking.
The main thing is to think about the life of an email communication. Email lives in people’s inboxes and is referred to later via search tools that customers have. So make it count. It’s not just a simple point-to-point communications. It is much more strategic and if you sell well then you can close faster.
