6 Proven Voice Mail and Email Tactics to Get a Response from Your Leads
A sales person who is confident in their abilities and the products they’re selling will tell you that once they can make the first connection with a lead, they’ll be able to win them over. But making that first connection can be a challenge. Once you launch your first response to the lead, how do you follow up? How do you walk the fine line between being persistent without being obnoxious?
The answer is in delivering value with every attempt you make to connect with your lead. In other words - ask not what your lead can do for you, but what you can do for your lead! A business person who requests more information online for a product should be considered in-market and “down funnel” because they’ve essentially raised their hand, provided their contact information, and said, “Talk to me. I want to know more.” So, if you're not connecting with tme right away, don't assume they're not interested!
If they are not responding to you immediately, assume they’re “just too busy.” With the B2B sale, you’re competing for your prospect’s time and attention, so you need to focus on how you can deliver something more valuable to them than whatever is taking their attention away from responding to you.
Here are six best practices for voice mails and emails that are designed to get a response:
1. Act quickly.
We can’t underestimate this enough. Time is of the essence. Sales people who respond to a lead right away greatly increase their odds of connecting with their prospect. In studies we’ve done at Wheelhouse, the vendors who respond to their leads as soon as they receive them increase their connection rate by 40%. This is why we recommend the LIFO method when it comes to lead response: last in, first out. Even if you’re working on a number of leads in your sales pipeline, always respond to the newest leads that come in first because this is ybest opportunity to catch your prospect while they’re in the buying mood, and before your competitors do.
2. Follow up regularly and provide something new each time.
The art of lead nurturing is helping your sales opportunity to evolve. Calling to simply “follow up” is not enough. Think about how you can keep things fresh and provide some new piece of information every time you follow up, whether it’s leaving a voice mail or in an email. Here are some examples on what you can provide:
Information on new product enhancements – and how your prospect will benefit
“Hi, Sam, I thought you would like to learn about a new product update that will help you to...”
Time sensitive promotions and discounts (But don’t over use these!)
“Hi Deirdre, as we’re nearing the end of the quarter, we are offering new clients a special promotion to sign now – no set up costs and one free month.”
Ideas on what’s working for other clients or new testimonials
I wanted to share something with you that one of my other (non-competing) clients is doing to increase incremental revenue...”
New stats, new news
“Hi Paul, I thought you would be interested in a new study that came out that rates the top phone systems in the industry.”
3. Deliver value with each attempt.
In addition to providing fresh information each time you make an attempt to connect with your lead, you also want to focus on delivering value with each attempt. Even if you don’t yet have specifics on their situation, consider ways that you can show your prospect how you’ll save them time and money, or how you’ll help them grow their business. For example:
“Hi Kelly, I am following up with your request for more information on a phone system for your sales team. We provide free set-up and integration services over the weekend to minimize any downtime, so your team can be up and running Monday morning.”
4. Offer benefits first and product features later.
First and foremost, the question every sales person should be prepared to answer is not “What does this product do?” but “What will it do for me?” As proud as you may be of your products, you always want to lead with the benefits first because this is what your prospect is most interested in. When following up with your leads via voice mail or email, focus on one key benefit each time, which will be more impactful and easier for them to remember.
So, instead of saying:
“We have just added a new video conferencing camera to our product line. It does this, that, and the other…”
Consider saying:
“I saw when you requested information on our products that you were looking for a camera that can handle both small and large meetings. Our new XYZ camera is designed for groups from two to 200...”
5. Keep it simple
While you want to be creative each time you attempt to connect with your lead, you also want to keep things simple and relevant. After all, your sales prospect’s needs are simple: they are looking for ways to make things easier and more efficient, to help them save money, and/or to help them grow their business. With every attempt you make to connect with your lead, give them a data point (even if it’s just descriptive vs. quantifiable) on how your solution addresses their needs. For example:
“Craig, I received your request for more information on our CRM tools. I’m sure you are like many clients we work with who are juggling other priorities and are concerned about the drain this implementation could take on resources. Let me allay those concerns…”
6. The Last Resort
Finally, if you’re not getting any response from your lead after multiple attempts, you can try the direct approach.
“Hi, Lee, I just wanted to follow up with you again to make sure you are still in the market for networking equipment for your company. No pressure, but if you are no longer in the market and could let me know, that would be great, then I can direct my resources towards people who need the help. However, if you’re still in the consideration process, I’d be happy to share the knowledge I have to help you make the best decision.”
The beauty of Internet leads is that they’re from people who have opened the communication lines first. This should give you the confidence that delivering value and addressing their needs every time you reach out to them will greatly increase your odds of getting their time and attention.