Top Tips When Emailing Prospects

One of the most common challenges any business owner faces is the ongoing commitment to generate new leads and convert those leads into happy, loyal customers. With so many lead generation methods available to every business including online advertising, direct marketing and offline marketing to name just a few, it has never been easier to generate leads. However, one lead generation method that many business owners routinely struggle on generating leads through emails.

As technology and consumer preferences have evolved over the years, email is fast becoming the main method of communication for many businesses and individuals. Benefits such as delivery, tracking and cost make email the preferred communication medium. However, with people receiving more emails than ever before, how can businesses make their emails stand out from the crowd and generate leads on a consistent basis? With that being said, the focus of today’s blog is to highlight our top tips when emailing prospects.

Many people approach writing an email with trepidation as they are not sure whether to go formal or informal, in terms of the structure of their email as well as the type of terminology they use. However, research suggests that emails which are written in a conversational manner work best as they add a personal or human touch to the message. In addition, emails written in a conversational manner generally stand out more and receive a better response as compared with a more formal approach. Our advice would be to keep the tone of any emails you send to prospects as conversational but still ensure that you use correct grammar.

A common error normally associated with emails that are sent to potential leads or prospects centres around diluting the central message of the email and focusing too heavily on an introduction or features. When sending emails to potential prospects it is critical that you get to the point quickly and focus on the recipient. For example, if the mobile app proposal contains features that will help businesses boost customer retention or result in increased profitability, make this central to the message you are delivering.

Too often we have seen emails which focus on features, integrations and buzz words which have little meaning or value to the business during this initial interaction. There is an opportunity to address all those areas later in the sales funnel during a meeting or interactive demonstration, but not at this stage.

Every recipient of an email wants to feel as though the email they receive is personal to them and not delivered as part of a generic email blast. Therefore, it is crucial that you spend some time researching specific contacts, referencing the company name and industry to provide value to potential prospects. By implementing some of the above personalisation tips you can ensure that any emails you send out will have the maximum impact and add a human touch to your interactions.

While adding images within the header or body of an email is a tactic commonly used to make emails more aesthetically appealing, it should be done cautiously. Many email software programs do not load or display images within the email automatically until the user downloads them. It therefore results in large empty spaces and sends a signal to the recipient that the email is not personal. However, including images such as social media icons or call to action buttons are popular examples of acceptable images to display within an email and provide value or content to the recipient.

We always recommend that any sales or prospecting email is closed with a question to keep the line of communication open. Asking the recipient whether they would like to schedule a call or like further information or want a demo app are great examples of ending an email with a question. It is imperative that the question you close with follows on to the next stage in the sales process and doesn’t require the business to commit to anything.

While implementing the best practices discussed above, it is important to appreciate that not all businesses or prospects will respond to the initial email. Therefore, you should look to follow up with the potential lead in a series of follow up messages or calls to keep your business at the top of mind. By consistently following up with leads you can ensure that you are maximising the impact of your message and taking each prospect through your marketing funnel.

As we have seen throughout this blog there a number of steps to creating and sending the right type of email for your target audience. By utilising some of the best practice methodologies mentioned above you can have an impactful, engaging email that helps you generate and nurture leads on a consistent basis. To find out how Eazi-Apps can help you work with all types of businesses in developing, deploying and marketing mobile applications contact us today.