Inside Sales Email Strategy

“Should Inside Sales Reps Use Drip Email Marketing Campaigns?”

Yes. An inside sales email strategy can be very effective. But they need to be handled correctly. The last thing any business owner wants is for each individual sales rep in their company to send out mass email messages. So I would highly recommend that a marketing person be put in charge (with input from the sales team) to manage the drip email marketing campaign.

And remember… The purpose of a drip email marketing campaign for an inside salesperson is to:

1. Build the salesperson (or your company/organization) up as a trusted value-added resource in the prospect’s eyes; And…
2. Be “top of mind” as a potential solution provider when a “trigger event” happens on the prospect’s side.

Inside Sales Email Strategy

What’s a “Trigger Event”?

A trigger event is when something happens that causes your prospects to recognize a problem. In essence, it’s what causes a “warm lead” to become warm.

When done correctly, using a drip email marketing campaign that constantly brands you (or the company you work for) as an industry leader in solving specific problems for your target audience is a very effective strategy for turning cold leads into warm ones.

Should “Drip Email Marketing” Take the Place of Sales Calls?

Only if you want your sales to plummet.

Make the sales calls first. Add the drip email marketing campaign second.

All of the “no’s” you get – add those prospects to a solid drip email marketing campaign (that they can opt out of, of course) and watch how many “YESES” you start to get down the road as trigger events naturally happen.

Doing this will free up your time to research and call on new prospects. This way, you always have a steady stream of new calls/contacts rather than fishing in a stilled pond of old prospects.

What’s One of the Biggest Mistakes Inside Sales People Make When Using Drip Email Marketing Campaigns?

The same mistake as when they make their sales calls… They don’t know what to say to pique the prospect’s interest.

For drip email marketing to be effective, you need to:

• Solve a problem your audience has.
• You want to HELP, not SELL.
• You want to GIVE more than you TAKE.

I’m on this one salesperson’s drip email marketing campaign, and she will never earn my business… here’s why:

1. She has NEVER called me. I have no clue who she is other than that she always sends emails asking for a 30-minute phone call. The drip emails she sends are all about trying to set an appointment. Her emails have done NOTHING to brand herself (or her company) as a leading solution provider for what I might need. The only thing it has done was reinforce that she really doesn’t know my business or how she could help it grow – she has branded herself as a pesky salesperson. NOT GOOD!
2. Her emails to me usually say something like, “Because I had come across your company profile and thought there might be a fit…” Well, if we might be a fit, why not give me a real example of what you could possibly do for my company? Where’s the What’s In It For Me message?

Drip email marketing campaigns can be a great way to generate “hand-raisers” (warm leads), and it can also be a fast way to damage your reputation and make your prospects not want to speak with you.

Use it correctly (by providing the correct type of content), and you will eventually spend more of your calls with warm leads while freeing up time to make fresh new sales calls.

– Michael Pedone

Michael Pedone founded SalesBuzz.com: How to Sell By Phone Online Sales Training Course that Reduces Turnover, Increases Pipeline, and Shortens Sales Cycles.

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