Sales through email is not a new lead generation technique. However, it is a method that many print shops haven’t quite mastered for their company. It’s one of the most cost effective and targeted tools a printer can use to reach their audience and increase sales. Understanding the techniques of the platform is crucial to its overall effectiveness. Let’s look at an overview of how email sales prospecting can be used to increase your company’s overall sales with these suggestions.

Don’t waste time introducing your company.

Don’t dedicate any of your message to introducing yourself or your company. They don’t know you and they don’t care. If they want to learn more, they’ll see your name and URL in your signature and they’ll investigate. Understand that many of the people you email will see their email on their phone or glance at their preview pane. If you start talking about yourself and who you’re with, you’re going to be easily ignored.

Spend as much time on your subject as the body

The goal of the subject line is to get them open the email to read the first sentence. To compete with hundreds – if not thousands – of emails in someone’s inbox, your subject line needs to be incredibly clear and direct. The harder for them to figure out why you’re reaching out, the harder your email gets open. A good way to craft your subject line is to include the “pain” of your prospects, tell them how your product or services can solve their pain usually triggers their interests instantly.

The body: Find a reason to connect

Give your prospects a reason they should want to connect with you; a reason to care.  You really must get into the shoes of your prospect and think how they think.

This requires research. Always start with LinkedIn, as it’s the most up-to-date source for relevant business information on any prospect, then move to other tools. Cover all your bases, and check Twitter, skim a company blog, visit their web page, etc. When finding a reason to connect, look for things like:

• A mutual friend or colleague

• Points of similarity. Do you share the same interests or hometown. Do you have the same Alma Mater. These are great open points

• Do they have a good blog post or content shared

• Are there any recent awards, recognition or achievements

• Look for trigger events, such as funding announcements, new equipment or new leadership, etc.

• General positive contribution to the community

Find a benefit

How will your print shop benefit them? Do not sell them a product like a brochure or a business card. Figure out the exact pain point of your prospects and know that you can deliver real value to them. Give them a teaser about your solution. One common mistake many print sales reps make is they talk about their printing processes or capabilities. People don’t want to know about your new wide format printer or your digital press, they want to know how your company can help solve their problems.

Find some emotion

When crafting the body of your email, think about appealing to emotion rather than facts or logic. It may sound counter-intuitive, but facts and logic don’t do a whole lot in persuading someone to do something. On the other hand, emotion can go a long way.

So rather than citing the percentage of customers that reorder print from you, explain how your solution will increase their effectiveness in sales or marketing. A great way to appeal to emotion is to tell a story. It’s never a bad idea to attach a case study to your email that has some emotional gravity to it.

Find a call to action

If you do not ask for it, you won’t get it. Make sure you have a call-to-action at the end of the email. What is the next step they need to take? Make it clear, and make it simple. Make the call-to-action easy for them to say YES.

It’s ok to nudge them a bit

If you’ve reached out a few times and haven’t heard back, it is ok to call them out on it gently.

You might say something like:

“I’ve sent a few emails and haven’t heard back from you. I’m going to assume either the timing is not right or you’re just not interested in moving forward at this time. Either way, it would be great if you could get back to me and let me know so I can close the loop on my end.”

What now?

Once you’ve written your email, you’re not done. No matter how well-written it was, no sales is ever made with one email. You’re going to need to follow up, and you’re going to need to find their preferred mode of communication. It might not be email. It might be a phone call or a text. You can reach out via LinkedIn, Twitter or Facebook. Try them all until you find the one that elicits a response with your prospect. Use the same strategies in your follow up that are listed above.