In sales, too much communication or contacts make people feel annoyed but too less interactions stop salespeople from laying the foundation for good relationships – is the a middle ground?
Mastering the art of the communication frequency takes a careful balance. Salespeople not only have to make prospects feel respected and valued, but also have to spend as much time as possible bringing in new business. Relationships are wonderful, but when there is too much time for prospects with a small budget and fussy demands, salespeople need to know when to let go.
What makes one touchpoint better than another when trying to grow your business?
Engaging is like dancing with prospects. The best salespeople and entrepreneurs understand when to push the tempo and when to let the other party set the pace, . At the right time, choose the correct approach, and an interested prospect will easily partner with you.
Salespeople must add value to the consumer experience at every touchpoint in this new decade, where data intelligence and personalization have become the expectation. Salespeople should provide more detail, point to other relevant information, and ensure that prospects feel they are in charge, rather than asking if anyone is ready to buy.
Make the most of these critical touchpoints to close further deals with more qualified prospects:
#1 A better version of a first email.
While marketing can manage this early exchange, a successful first impression sets the stage for trust on both sides, regardless of who's responsible.
Experienced salespeople know that the first outreach is not necessarily the start of the relationship. Before taking an action that generates an email, prospects today view all kinds of media and materials online and in print. However, by converting this first chance into something special, salespeople can distinguish themselves in the minds of individuals who are looking to buy.
Try a video greeting instead of sending a regular cold email allowing prospects to ask questions. Maintain a few professional lighting and sound standards, but don't get hung up on the details. To create a short video, use the details the prospect submitted, and provide a few tips or next steps. Send the email, then, and wait for the reply.
#2 Engagement without encroachment on social media.
Maintaining an active social media presence provides young organizations with a variety of benefits. Social networking helps brands and representatives to explicitly interact with prospects in sales, at a level where both parties feel secure.
Limit social media interaction to brand-owned channels and relevant public spaces. Bear in mind, the goal is to continue the discussion, not to get blocked or identified as spam. It's great to allow people to send messages with questions, but unless they specifically ask, do not DM people about special promotions.
Get users engaged by answering questions and posting more user-generated content as much as possible. Maintain an active presence during business hours with real people; lean on chatbots to continue the conversation when the doors close and provide context for future prospective engagement.
#3 Smart outreach at natural moments.
Buyers today know that businesses are monitoring their online activities and open rates via email. Although prospects tend to maintain privacy, businesses can't waste their data collected. Smart outreach based on good data, using automation of workflows and relevant tools, empowers organizations to interact with prospects in the moments when they are most likely to step down the funnel.
For example, assume that a prospect regularly opens emails and clicks links, but for more details, it has yet to reach out. These opportunities can be identified by workflow automation tools for meaningful touchpoints and either prompt salespeople to reach out or send automated responses. This could be a great chance for a follow-up video email in certain cases.
Don't let best practices and other organizations decide what qualifies as smart outreach because different firms and prospect pools prioritize different components. For a machinery and equipment sales company, one whitepaper download could matter less to a software business than three email clicks-throughs.
In sum, consider the target audience's most significant touchpoints, refine messaging to make the most of such resources and begin to have more meaningful conversations.