How to Craft a Killer Sales Message
Last week we discussed the first steps in putting together a solid prospecting plan – the importance of creating a complete buyer profile and then deciding how you plan to build your list. If you didn’t read that post, you can read it here: Are You Targeting the Right Prospects?
This week let’s dig into understanding your prospect’s pain points and crafting an appropriate sales message to specifically address them.
(Also, check out Spiro’s sales automation CRM for some help prospecting)
Identifying Your Prospect’s Pain Points
You have a product or service to sell, but why does your prospect need your product? Your goal is identify the issues of your prospect, the need they have, and how you can specifically address and fix their concerns. How does your product or service alleviate their pain points?
Once you know the typical buyer you are going to be targeting, you can look to current customers of your product that also fit into the prospect profile category and delve into what gains they get from doing business with you. Don’t sell the features of your product, but sell the benefits.
Check out some customer references you may have on your own website from a client that mirrors your prospect profile. What are they saying about you? What problem did your product solve for them? Not all companies that have similar profiles have identical pain points, but using current client stories to project prospect problem solving is a good place to start.
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Crafting a Message
Once you have a story to tell, based on similar clients, then you can craft a message referencing ways you have helped other companies do X, Y and Z.
Write an email template that lays out what you think their pain points may be, and how you plan to solve them. Maybe you don’t hit the nail on the head and correctly identify that prospect’s problems, but it does show you put in time and effort to craft a tailored, forward-thinking sales message.
Begin with the subject line. Our research has shown that best open rates for subject lines fall into one of these categories:
- Personal Touch- Reference their love of Ohio or insert the name of their company
- Mysterious and Intriguing – Put the subject in the form of a question so curiosity wins
- Simple and Straightforward – Address their pain points right off the bat
- Humorous – Poke fun at yourself or use the opener of a joke in the subject
- Honest – Let them know your purpose – you want 5 minutes on the phone, etc.
Let’s go through examples of good subject lines in each of these categories. Say you are selling commercial alarm systems to small, local restaurants.
- Personal Touch – Protect {Their Restaurant’s Name} from theft!
- Mysterious – Have you heard about my Aunt Mae’s kitchen fire?
- Simple – Put your mind at ease with fire and theft protection!
- Humorous – Maybe Billy Joel didn’t start the fire, but…
- Honest – Can I have 5 minutes to talk about your alarm system?
After you have nailed down a good subject line, begin to hone in on the body of the email. Keep it short and lay out in plain English what pain points you plan to solve for them. Add in a personal customer reference, or some stats on your product’s success in alleviating their problems.
Close the email with a clear and concise call to action. Are you asking them to email you back to set up a time to talk? Or do you want to let them know that you will be calling them tomorrow at 10AM. And always include all of your contact information, so the prospect can gain a better sense of who you are as well.
Once you have crafted a killer sales message, the next step is putting in the time to reach your prospects. We will discuss that next week in Prospecting Part Three.
