Turn emails into sales
Once your Web site has done its stuff and has generated an email enquiry then it’s up to you to turn the enquiry into a sale and begin the process of building a relationship with the customer.
Here are 8 tips for successful email replies…
1. Reply promptly
It shows that you are efficient and on the ball. If people are comparison shopping then you want to get to them before the competition and you want get them while they are in a buying mood.
If you are getting lots of inquiries then make up a template reply to speed up the process, but remember to…
2. Personalize each reply
Use the email equivalent of making eye contact. Address them by name. Start by saying something like Thanks Jerry, for your inquiry about (this also helps make sure you actually answer their query - it might seem obvious, but it’s easy to get so carried away telling the punters how great you are that you forget to give them the one piece of information they asked for).
3. Build trust
If they have made an inquiry then your Web site probably looks good but they will still want reassurance that it’s not all just front. If you have pages on your site for customer comments, testimonials or case studies then put a link to these pages in your email.
4. Reinforce your key competitive advantages
Your Web site should already clearly show what makes your service or product better than the rest. Restate these advantages in your email. The enquirer may have looked at dozens of other similar sites and not remember why they contacted you.
5. Weed out tire-kickers
If you have your doubts about how genuine an enquiry is, and you don’t want to waste valuable time preparing a comprehensive masterpiece of email salesmanship, then it is often worth replying with a quick question of your own. If they get back to you then they are more likely to be a good lead.
6. Get on the phone
End your email by saying something like: The next step is for us to talk more in depth. Give me a ring, or if you prefer, I can call you… Talking to them on the phone breaks through the facelessness of the Internet and makes a personal connection. Selling is about building a relationship and a phone conversation is much more real to people, like the difference between seeing sheet music and hearing your favorite song. Plus, it is much easier to work out exactly what they want with the instant feedback of a phone call.
7. Be concise, be clear and be yourself
Do get to the point, don’t feel that you have to write in formal, formulaic biz-speak.
8. Be professional
Check spelling and grammars. If you are not confident about writing then read it out loud. If it sounds funny then it’s probably ungrammatical.
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