By Craig Klein, SalesNexus.com CEO
We often talk about the new internet-empowered buyer and how they want to be in charge of the entire buying process. They scour the web researching any purchase before they make contact with a salesperson and their behavior has turned the world of sales upside down.
Despite your belief that the consumer is hurting themselves by using the web as a primary resource for information, the buyers continue to search for answers within the digital content they can find. Your email marketing campaigns can be tailored to fit what sales leads think they need.
Hungry Consumers
All the evidence shows that today consumers are very hungry for information. They find it on websites, social media, and conversations with friends; plus in the emails they choose to read.
With the knowledge that your sales leads are hungry for information, how does that drive your email marketing strategy?
The individuals and companies that have the most success take an approach that offers a high ratio of information, with a sprinkling of promotional messages. While everyone is seeking a discount, if you focus too much on the price/product message – it screams “Buy my stuff”. Not a very friendly message to your hungry sales leads.
Shift in Perspective
In an article on Copyblogger, they retell a story used by master copywriter Gary Halbert. He asks, “What does it take to have a successful restaurant?” Despite the common answers naming the location, service, prices and even food, his answer was “No”…then he continued with this response, “To have a successful restaurant…you need a starving crowd.”
Today’s wants you to “feed” them the information they crave. A consumer is put off by traditional advertising. They expect to receive valuable information from you without feeling any obligation to purchase from your company. If you begin a conversation with a sales pitch, they will turn off, click away and find someone who can solve their problem without any evidence of self-interest in the sale.
What Sales Leads Desire
In the same article, Sonia Simone talks about the fact that your sales leads want interesting information. They want content that will make them look smarter and they want their problems solved.
She claims that when you shift your content (email marketing) to focus on the reader, these things will happen:
- Your content will be easier to read
- You quit trying to sound big and successful and begin sounding like a smart, helpful human being who can provide answers.
- While you may be bored by answering the basic questions your sales lead craves, it is not about you…it is about them.
- The sales cycle will become more efficient and customers will become more loyal because they know, like and trust you.
How You Can Serve Them
You can predict the cravings of your new sales leads by looking at your current ideal customers. Use your CRM (Customer Relationship Manager) to find insights. Ask staff what they have experienced. Learn what the salespeople know better than anyone. You might even pick up the phone and talk to a few of your currently great customers.
The goal of this exercise is to develop a composite persona of your very best client. In the persona description, you outline their age, company size, type of industry, gender, hobbies and anything else you can identify. Mash all those descriptions into one composite “person” and focus all your email marketing on that one person.
Marketing automation does not mean impersonal marketing. In fact, done well, it is the exact opposite. Use what you know to determine what your sales lead is starving for. Let that knowledge guide everything you do in your email campaigns.
Craig is the founder of SalesNexus.com, a leading provider of CRM, Email Marketing and Lead Generation solutions to business 2 business sales teams.
