Tips and techniques for inside sales professionals who use email as part of their prospecting process

1. Inside Sales Series
10 Inside Sales Tips for Using Email to win New
Business (Part 2)
From Evolve Consultants on November 2, 2012. By David Malone
Inside sales is the skill of selling products and services remotely. It’s changing
the face of B2B selling as we know it. Depending on what you sell, it may
mean you have limited or no face time with the people who are your sales
targets. Inside sales requires a different mindset, a different process, and a
different set of sales behaviours. The purpose of this series of blogs is to
challenge your thinking around Inside Sales, and provide you with some
practical tips and ideas that will help you win more sales from afar!
Part Two: - Ten tips that will get your emails noticed and give you a better
chance of winning an all important conversation with that sales target.
* In our last blog we covered tips one to five.
6. View the world from the sales target’s hill
Whether you like it or not your email is going to interrupt your sales target’s
day or flow of thought. Therefore, your email must talk about a very tangible
W.I.I.F.M. (what is in it for me) result as viewed from the sales targets
perspective. If it doesn’t they will most likely ignore or delete your mail.
Ask yourself what type of information will the sales target be interested in
receiving. Here are some questions to help clarify your W.I.I.F.M.
How does your offering make your sales target’s world better than it is now?
How will the sales target measure the impact your product brings?
© This article is copyright of Evolve Consultants 2012

2. Inside Sales Series
What risk / exposure could the sales target face if they don’t talk to you?
7. Make sure your email has a clear next step … initiated by you.
Never finish the email without initiating the next step. Some people close out
emails by stating things like “If you are interested you might contact me or
give me a call”. In effect this type of conclusion assumes the customer will be
inspired sufficiently to make the next contact. May be they will - but mostly
they won’t! You must initiate a possible follow up or next step. Do
acknowledge that you know that the sales target is busy, and do suggest a
follow up in a couple of days.
Tip: Ask yourself, what do you want the sales target to do as a result of
getting the email? This will provide you with the angle for your next step
suggestion.
Is it to ……
(a) Phone you back?
(b) Reply to your email?
(c) Check a website or link?
(d) Schedule a conversation?
(e) Introduce you to someone else?
Once you have worked out the action you want the sales target to take
always give a specific time and a specific agenda for the next contact.
Example 1: Sales Target
© This article is copyright of Evolve Consultants 2012

3. Inside Sales Series
I will follow up with a phone call this Friday between 9.45 and 10am to
schedule a discussion around your possible requirements.
Example 2: Following up on a productive 1st conversation.
I will call you on Friday between 9.00 and 9.30am to discuss how Dimco Inc
has been impacted by the change in standards. I’d also like to discuss how I
believe I can assist you. . I will send you a meeting invitation by gmail etc
8. Develop some email templates
Rather than having to invest lots of time in composing new emails, we
suggest you develop an email template for the likes of
 Your opening introductory emails
 Following up on a voice mail
 Following up a 1st conversation that has gone well.
 Staying in touch after they declined your advance on this occasion
9. Hunt in packs … voice mail & email should travel together
If you have just left a voice mail for a sales target (that you have yet to talk
with) – you should send an email to support the voice message almost
immediately. By doing this you are reinforcing the voice mail message and
you significantly increase the possibility of getting your message noticed
Your follow up email should
 Reference the voice message
 Reference the possible W.I.I.F.M
© This article is copyright of Evolve Consultants 2012

4. Inside Sales Series
 Reference how you will follow up this email
10. Don’t give up – send a useful resource
Just because the sales target doesn’t say yes to ‘meeting’ with you now or
making that purchase now – doesn’t mean they won’t buy from you in the
future. We suggest you keep in contact with them (if you can). Here’s how
 Thank them for their time and response. It takes a professional to be
gracious in defeat.
 Suggest that you keep in touch – situations change.
 Send them a useful resource, blog or link.
 Agree to resume the conversation at a later stage / time (If appropriate
for them).
Ends:
Salestippro + 353 1 853 20 75
www.evolve.ie info@evolve.ie
Ireland’s leading sales performance authority
© This article is copyright of Evolve Consultants 2012