3 Simple Ways to Win Over Prospects

It’s easy to fall into a daily routine when you’re in sales. You make the call, maintain contact with follow-up emails, and enter any important data into your CRM. But then it hits you: is your routine actually a trap?

The panic sets in and suddenly you realize your comfort zone might be holding you back. Well, you’re not alone. Though most salespeople have a daily ritual they commit to religiously, not all look forward to (or make time for) day-to-day prospecting. Cold calling, hounding others for referrals, getting yelled at— it’s basically the grunt work of sales, and it’s why sellers end up trapping themselves in an endless cycle of resentment, anger, and sales starvation.

If you’ve found yourself veering off course lately with your prospecting endeavors, here are three easy ways to get back on track.

1. Find a Middle Ground Between Personalized and Automated Content

With so much to do and so little time to do it, it’s almost too easy to blast prospects with generic sales messages. But that won’t cut it; you’ll need thoughtfully individualized content to connect with a potential client who, more often than not, is in the crosshairs of other sellers, too. Personalization is especially crucial in the beginning when you're forging meaningful relationships with prospective customers.

Content that includes information about a prospect’s company, for example, or lists the benefits of using your product to fulfill their unique needs, will stand out and differentiate you from the crowd. You shouldn’t ditch automation for good, however; any sales or marketing team who’s ever conducted a large-scale marketing campaign will agree that a certain degree of it is required. But the fact remains that personalized content elicits higher response rates from recipients. It shows that you’ve paid attention to their individual needs and are ready to address them.

If in doubt, start testing. A/B testing is an excellent way to gauge the impact of personalization on metrics you care about. Moreover, you’ll be able to fine-tune your strategy and cater to your audience’s preferences.

2. Avoid text-only emails

In today’s sale-oriented environment, email remains the most effective channel for growing a business. Research by InsideSales.com revealed that 32% of respondents rate email as their most preferred method for communicating with prospects. Other key findings from the study showed that 61% of first contacts happen through email while only 6% of sales professionals use a single call and voicemail as part of their overarching strategies.

Videos about product features are most popular with buyers, trailed closely by how-to and review videos. It’s no surprise that today’s buyers are generally unimpressed with tired tricks, like cold calls. And emails, though far more effective, are still commonly riddled with blocks of texts which no busy prospect wants to read.

Want more responses? Use less words in your emails. Pictures and videos are much more powerful; for example, reps using video in their prospecting emails see 5x higher open rates and 8x higher open-to-reply rates. Heck, just mentioning the word “video” in your subject lines can increase open rates anywhere between 7% and 13%. Keep your videos brief yet informative. If you’re short on them, try using infographics instead.

3. Sell Socially

Social selling refers to the practice of leveraging social media to find and connect with prospects. Great sales reps always make room in their daily routines for social engagement and follow a pattern that typically looks like this:

Start every day by initiating new conversations with a couple of leads
Reaching out to aforementioned prospects whenever they view your social profiles
Sharing content that’s applicable to the prospect’s needs until s/he is ready to buy
Responding to the prospect’s own posted content

All four steps can cultivate a reciprocal relationship between seller and buyer while ensuring both parties touch base often. Keep in mind that you can also use automated reminders to help you with the latter.

Closing the Sale with Joomag

As the all-in-one sales enablement platform, Joomag lets sellers personalize their online sales collateral in ways which resonate with buyers. Features include:

Multiple content creation options via the Crater™ Editor
Multi-channel distribution avenues
Detailed analytics for measuring sales performance and consumer behavior
Interactivity. Users can add images, videos, and plugins to their sales content
A complete email marketing and CRM solution via the Awesome CRM™
Branding capabilities

Sellers require immediate access to all the content they need when engaging target prospects. Joomag’s sales enablement solution can be deployed to give them peace of mind and automate the delivery process when necessary. Or, if a human touch is required, users can personalize their emails at scale and spend more time on building long-lasting relationships-- an important goal for any sales rep, team, or organization.

Try Joomag Today!

FAQ

Q1: How can I improve my prospecting efforts while avoiding the trap of routine sales activities?

A: Finding a middle ground between personalized and automated content is key. While automation is necessary for efficiency, personalized content stands out and connects better with prospects. Experiment with A/B testing to gauge the impact of personalization on response rates and fine-tune your approach accordingly.

Q2: What are some effective strategies for enhancing email engagement with prospects?

A: Avoid relying solely on text-heavy emails. Incorporating videos, images, or infographics can significantly increase engagement rates. Research shows that using videos in prospecting emails can lead to 5x higher open rates and 8x higher open-to-reply rates. Embrace multimedia content to capture and retain your prospects' attention effectively.

Q3: How can social selling contribute to my sales efforts, and how can I implement it effectively?

A: Social selling involves leveraging social media platforms to connect with prospects and cultivate relationships. Establish a routine that includes initiating conversations, sharing relevant content, and engaging with prospects' posts. Automated reminders can help you stay consistent in your social selling efforts, ultimately fostering meaningful connections with potential buyers.