5 Reasons Nobody’s Reading Your Sales Emails
Emails are the No. 1 way professionals prefer to be contacted, and they’re also the form of communication most likely to receive a response. But what happens when that response is the delete button?
While there’s never a one-size-fits-all answer, fixing the following five mistakes can improve your open and response rates. Better email response rates ultimately lead to more sales conversations, opportunities and closed deals.
1. Sending in the dark
How do you even know if nobody’s reading your sales emails if you don’t track them?
Picture this: You send an email, and it never gets opened. But you have no way of knowing this because you can’t track opens. So you fire off a follow-up email, assuming the recipient has seen the first one.
See the problem? If your sales reps don’t know what’s happening with the emails they’re sending, then they don’t know what to do next.
Quick Fix: Use email tracking software to monitor opens, link clicks, attachment downloads, email forwards and website visits.
2. Weak subject lines
Your prospects can get hundreds of emails a day, and you never get a second chance to make a first impression. The subject line is your first impression.
If your subject line is too long or irrelevant, nobody will take the time to open it, much less read it.
Quick Fix: Keep subject lines short, simple, and specific.
Example: 12 things you don’t know about your CRM
3. Contacting the wrong person
If you take the time to create a well-crafted email, make sure it’s hitting the inbox of someone who cares. Sending an email to the wrong person or to somebody who can’t act on it is a waste of time.
Quick Fix: Do a little research first. Use LinkedIn and the company website to discover the decision-maker’s contact info. Start with searching on Google and use the tips in this post: “12 Ways to Find Anyone’s Email.”
4. Lack of research
While too much research can slow the process, lack of research can kill your results. Identify your prospect’s needs instead of making your sales emails about you. Make your messages relevant by showing how you can solve a pressing problem, or you could end up in an “Email Fails” blog post.
Quick Fix: The Internet is your friend. It has never been easier to find information, such as:
- Details about the company (Google)
- Current employees (LinkedIn)
- News (press releases and social media)
5. Too much text
If your prospects open an email only to be greeted by a message that looks longer than the U.S. Constitution, they will quickly decide to ignore it.
Quick Fix: Respect your reader’s time by crafting your email in the most concise way possible. Use indents, bullets and clear calls-to-action.
How do you get your sales emails read? Let us know in the comments below.
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