The role of sales prospecting emails in the sales process gets questioned from time to time. Well, we do live in a fully digital age, we make online purchases; we communicate with family and friends via texts and social media posts. Any business engaged in marketing and sales must use all the digital means at their disposal, from stunning websites, engaging, and compelling blog posts, social media promotions, online advertising, and more. All of these are designed to keep existing customers and to attract new ones. How About Email? One primary method of finding prospects is through emails. In fact, if done right, research shows that Email marketing has a high ROI of all marketing activities and tools. For every dollar spent, marketers can expect an average return of $42. The question becomes this: how does a company craft sales prospecting emails that will actually get opened and then generate responses? Given the fact that the average consumer receives just under 150 emails a day and that they delete or “spams” a full 24% of sales emails, sales and marketers know that they have to “buck” these statistics with emails that will work. The answer lies in using the following strategies and tips. They will increase your “odds” and certainly help to effectively communicate with prospects and convert them into ultimate customers. Identifying the Right Prospects In sales, you have spent a lot of time researching your target audience. And there are plenty of data-gathering tools to help you do this. Having a truly accurate customer profile allows you to compare prospects against it and then to decide whether sending an email is worth it. Where do you go to find prospects that are a fit? You can start with social media. All the major platforms have “groups” with similar interests and demographics. Suppose, for example, you are a business that is offering meal kits for busy millennials. You can use the analytics of the major social media platforms to identify these groups and monitor their conversations or recommendations. You can then participate in those conversations, discussions and provide a backlink to your website. From there, you can nurture further and, perhaps by providing great insights you can garner an email address. This will be a good prospect. All of this takes time. There are other email tools you can use that may provide a prospect email list based upon the characteristics you identify. These come with a cost, of course, but a good resource will be invaluable. And it will save you lots of time. Personalization Matters Personalization is as simple as addressing a prospect by name. Or is it? Actually, it’s not. Adding a personal touch means that you address a pain point that your prospect is experiencing, both in your subject line and in your email content itself. Otherwise, you are sending just another sales pitch. Even if they need the product or service, if they don’t feel that you are in tune with their unique need, they will be unmoved. Do you offer a subscription box service? What problem does it solve for your prospect? Whether it is software, disposable razors, diapers, or wine, how does this provide efficiency or delight to your prospect? When your sales prospecting emails focuses on that, you will have “hit a nerve,” and the chances of a response are so much greater. This is just as important for B2B prospect marketing. What pain points have you gleaned from your research, perhaps on LinkedIn? Does someone have an issue with managing remote workers that can be solved by your software? Your email should address that issue in a personal way. That All-Important Subject Line Journalists understand this. They know that their headline must grab the immediate attention of the reader. It has to have psychological appeal and pique curiosity if the potential reader is to move forward. And so, it goes with email subject lines. If you do not “strike a nerve” with that subject line, you are relegated to the “delete” button or, worse, to spam. Many journalists spend as much time on the headline as they do on the article itself. You, too, must spend a lot of time on that subject line. Can you ask a question that will resonate and address a pain point? Can you indicate that you have a solution to a problem you know they face? “Are you tired of dirty razors?” “Done with lugging huge packages of diapers from the car?” “Struggling to keep your remote team all on the same page?” These are subject lines that will probably resonate with your targets. If you want to analyze the effectiveness of your subject lines, there are a number of tool that will do this for you. Plus, you can also test different headlines for resonation (more on that later). Above all, your sales prospecting emails should avoid “salesy” pitchers like “Get your discount not!” or “Buy now for a great price offer!” How many emails do you think people get with these types of subject lines? Too many, and they are not impressed. 4.   Sales Prospecting Emails Should Be Brief One of the biggest mistakes you can make is to wax profoundly on who you are, what your company is all about, and more. In fact, long emails are not read. Prospective customers and clients are busy people. They want to know what you are offering and “get in and get out.” Your sales prospecting emails have one single purpose. You are introducing a value and a solution to a prospect with a single method for them to respond. There are lots of studies that show email recipients most often read emails that are between 75-100 words. And this study included an analysis of over 40 million emails. Use this as a guide as you craft the body of your email. Keep your message singular and short. It’s All About Value and Benefit Marketers understand this as they create other marketing content.Sales Prospecting Emails That Get Responses