When modular home sales reps send first time e-mails to
potential “new to modular” builders, they must be short and make it easy to
move to the next step.
Sales e-mails–the kind you send to builder to see if
they’re interesting in talking about your factory–are quite different. Because
you don’t have a relationship with the recipients, you don’t have the right to
put much demand on their attention.
Most sales e-mails are way too complicated.
What Doesn’t Work and
Why
Almost every sales e-mail reads as follows: (Note: I’ve
numbered each section to make it easier to critique; the numbers wouldn’t be in
the actually e-mail, of course.)
- Subject:
ACES Modular Home - Hi
[prospect name]! Hope you are well. - ACES
is the industry leader…[a paragraph about how wonderful ACES is.] - Acme
has the following products and services… [a bulleted “spray and
pray” list.] - Acme
has served the following customers… [some big builders.] - I
would like to set up a 20 minute phone call to discuss how we can help
you. - If you
need any further information, don’t hesitate to call me at [number] or
browse our website [website.] - Sincerely,
[sender’s name and contact info]
To understand why
this type of letter doesn’t get a response, let’s look at it from the perspective
of the potential customer:
- The
subject line means nothing to me, so I probably won’t open it. - I
don’t know you, so the greeting rings false and the concern for my health
is bogus. - Why
should I care about your company? - What
does any of this have to do with me? - I’m an
small home builder; if you work with large enterprises then you’re
probably going to treat me like small potatoes. - Are
you effin’ kidding me? Like I have 20 minutes in my crazy schedule to hear
some dumb-*ss sales pitch. - Apparently,
you think I’m so stupid that I can’t find your phone number and website
under your signature. Also, you apparently live in some cloud cuckoo land
where I’m desperate to have a conversation with somebody who has already
wasted three minutes of my time with this confusing e-mail. - A
final lie, since there’s nothing sincere about anything in this e-mail.
It’s amazing that salespeople get any response at all from
this kind of dreadful communiqué. It’s practically begging to be
deleted.
A Method that
Actually Works
Here’s the structure for a sales e-mail that’s more likely
to get a response:
- Subject:
[something relevant to the prospect] - Dear
[Mr.|Ms. prospect’s last name]: - I’m
contacting you because I may be able to [potential benefit to the builder.] - Companies
like yours ([list]) build their modular homes [something quantifiable that
leads to that potential benefit.] - Reply
to this e-mail and I’ll e-mail you some details so that you can quickly
evaluate whether it’s worth your time to pursue this. - [sender’s
name and contact info]
Here’s why this
structure works.
- The
subject line engages the recipient to open the e-mail. Examples of
“something relevant” would be a mutual contact, a recent change
in the prospect’s business, a factoid about a prospect’s competitor, etc. - While
many industries and companies are informal, when you’re contacting
somebody for the first time, it’s best to err on the side of formality.
Nobody is ever insulted by formality. - People
always appreciate it when you get to the point quickly. From the builder’s
perspective the “point” is “what’s in it for me.” So
tell them. - This
is your sales message, but stated from the builder’s perspective. The
customers in the list should be of similar size and shape to the prospect.
If you don’t have this list, just use “Our builders rely on us
to.” - It’s
unrealistic to expect an initial e-mail to convince a prospect to commit
time to meeting to you. Instead, you make the “next step”
something trivial that indicates the prospect’s receptiveness. - The
prospect is smart enough to figure out how to call you or access your
website if required.
Attention Sales Managers: Don’t assume that your sales reps
are sending out good first time emails to new builders. They simply have never
been shown the right way and guess what? Your factory may never get another chance
with this site builder if he deletes the message.
Today and I mean today, send this article to every single
sales rep you have and let the professionalism of your company begin to show.
If they need help composing this first time email, sit down with them and work
together on it. Just do it.
