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How to Improve Your Conversion Rate 50% When Calling Prospects Part 2 of 3

Our last post talked about the research needed BEFORE sending a “warming touch” email and making the first contact call and today we will be talking about the logistics and content structure in the “warming touch” email.

UGH

The goal of the “warming touch” is to remove the “UGH Factor.”  You know when a potential get’s an email and says “UGH, another salesperson” or when they hear your voice for the first time and they say “UGH, Hi John.” If you are positioned as the person who can make a difference in their  business they will see you as a resource, a business person not a salesperson. If you achieve this, they will take your phone call or even reach out to you.

Sending Logistics

You have to contact as many people as possible if you are a sales/business person. But that does not mean you should be sending 1,000’s of emails to 1,000’s of contacts for a couple of reasons.

  • It is impossible to follow up on all those emails.

  • You don’t have enough time to research all of those accounts

  • If you don’t follow up and if you provided quality content it will push your potentials to the competition.

Business abhors a vacuum. If they liked what they saw they will go out and find a supplier. Hello…internet anyone? Send out no more emails than you can research and actually follow-up. For most industries/markets the magic number is 25-50 at a crack, 2 to 3 times a week, minimum.

Content

Every business is different. The body of your content will depend on your product/service but below are the caveats to structure your “Touch” regardless of industry and market.

Length

2-3 paragraphs and maybe bullet points that’s it. People do not have time to read the Magna Carta. Plus, if your product/service provides demonstrative value, it should not take 300 words to make your case.

Self-Serving Drivel

Please do not use phrases exact or similar to these

“I am writing to introduce myself.”

  • Of course you are, that is the purpose for this type of touch, a waste of time.

“XYZ is the largest privately owned ____.” Or “This year we will achieve in excess of $16 billion in revenue.”

  • Who cares, stop bragging, they care about what you can do for them.

  • There is a time and place to talk about the size of your company, this email is not it.

“I would love the opportunity to show you our product/service.” 

  • Of course you would. You just lumped yourself as a me-too salesperson.

I could go on but you get the point.

Relevant an Actionable coach

Remember the research you did in Part 1? This is where it pays off. Every email I send to a potential has something that they can take and use immediately, EVERY ONE. It could be an information article from a third party source, a free webinar invite from a respected leader in their field or an idea from me, what is important is that it is relevant and actionable.

Closing

The dreaded call to action is what most people will tell you is best. I explain to my clients that asking people to call you back is a bit obnoxious – even if there is value and reason. When you do that, your prospects are left thinking, “Wait, you want me to call you? So you can pitch me? You want me to stop doing my job and search for time in my calendar to give you so that you can sell me? Are you kidding?” I take a different tact.

Closing Line Examples

I try to put as much of the onus on me as possible to connect. Here are some ways that I do that. All of the below examples thank the potential, display you are willing to carry the ball to connect and attempt to move the conversation forward.

I start every closing with

“Thanks for your time”

I end every closing with

“Please feel free to reach out with any questions you may have.”

Always thank them for their time reading your email and let them know you are available to their reaching out.

Example 1

“I will follow up with you in a couple of days.”

  • Simple and direct

Example 2

“I can call you Friday, July 6th at 2:00pm. I’ll reach out to you then to discuss. I hope you’re able to take my call.” 

  • Give the potential a little more direction and maybe some anticipation.

  • You are giving them enough time (at least a week out) to ensure that they’ll have a free spot on their calendar.

  • Downside is they can dodge your call, upside is you can display your follow-up by calling when you say you will and leaving a voicemail if necessary.

Example 3

“I’ll reach out to Mary to see if you have some time free to discuss next week.” 

  • By suggesting that you’ll reach out to their executive assistant, you’re showing that you’ve done your homework by following the correct protocol for the continued conversation.

  • Not asking anything from them and their busy schedule.

Example 4

“I have time free on Friday, July 6th at 2:00pm. Are you free at that time to talk?”

  • By closing this way, you’re asking them to do something, although it’s minimal. They just need to check one date/time in their call.

  • Sometimes I’ll offer two times a week out for them to choose from and then say, “Which date/time works best?”

End of Part 2

Remember, we want to leave the taste of value with the customer; giving them something relevant and actionable they can use immediately. You want them to look forward to your call not dread the moment. Today’s post gives you a great structure to apply your content regardless of market or product/service.

If you want some specific examples please feel free to reach to me at johnk@matriximpact.com or give me a call at 216-347-6729.

When we wrap up this topic in part 3 we will be covering content of the follow-up call and the follow-up voice mail.

In the meantime, you can either make sales or make excuses but you can’t do both!

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