Text messaging for sales is a great approach to keep your brand in the customers’ minds while they weigh their alternatives. If they’re talking to you, they’re probably talking to a rival to determine who can provide them with the greatest pricing and customer service.
Falling behind is not a good idea. So, what’s the best strategy to remain on top of the competition? Sending sales text messages to your customers to keep them engaged until they make a purchase is a great method to close the deal.
Texting sales prospects without bothering, frightening, or seeming unprofessional is the goal of this article. We’ll cover all of the basics here. There are much more unopened emails than unread texts in your inbox, so why not try texting sales prospects? As a rule of thumb, the first number is much larger than the second.
A study found that 42% of promotional text messages were opened, compared to only 32% of emails. Salespeople need to take notice here. First and foremost, it’s challenging to be noticed by buyers. So, let’s take a look at how to text your sales prospects successfully.
Methods for Texting Sales Prospects
Text and live chat might be excellent tools for your prospects to remember you. As a result, business dialogues will evolve.
Have Prospects Opt-in to Texting
Please make certain you have authorization from your customers before messaging them.
A few choices are available:
- Inquiry forms should have an “opt-in” checkbox.
- Include a disclaimer that supplying their phone number grants permission to SMS them if you launch a promotional campaign.
- To voluntarily opt-in, have them send a keyword text message to a commercial number.
Could you make use of it? It’s impossible to know if a prospect uses a business cell phone until you’re near him or her. SMS marketing is losing ground to mobile marketing. Commercial SMS has the same restrictions. Allow for timed opt-outs and follow-ups after the initial message has been removed. The quality of your sales texts will improve.
Call Prospects before Texting
An enterprise salesman can get a message that someone has downloaded an ebook. For some people, this tactic is just too overt. First and foremost, don’t text a potential customer before you call them. When you text a potential customer before you call, they are less likely to buy. Why? You’re an unknown.
They’ve never contacted you or taken a look at your products. Can we have it both ways? Make an action to build a personal association, clarify your value proposition, and learn about your customers’ issues. There are many advantages to texting. Before you send a message, call your customers.
Verbally Request Permission
Tell them you’ll be texting them so they know what to expect. It is essential if you’re worried about how your prospect will respond to an unexpected communication. “Can I SMS you?” is a question that Sarah might pose to Jimmy after their first encounter. Customers tell me that texting is more convenient than email when rescheduling appointments or getting information.
This request is successful due to two factors. Customers frequently contact Sarah via text message, according to her. She tells him why he should text. In his mind, he will see how much easier it is to communicate via SMS than by email.
Consideration should be given to the industry, buyer persona, and individual characteristics. I don’t know what kind of company Jimmy works for. Because he assumes that his company abides by the rules, he prefers to communicate via email.
Determine your Texting Cadence
Spam is spam, regardless of how it’s delivered: through email, LinkedIn message, or text message, for example. It’s important to exercise caution while messaging potential clients since they may lose faith in you and even ask you to leave them alone if you send too many texts or say too much. Every text message must have a specific goal in mind.
The acceptable ones are:
- Checking your prospect’s availability for a phone or in-person conversation
- A phone conversation or meeting may be confirmed with a simple text message.
- Sending a useful resource through email.
- Providing a brief response to a question they had previously asked.
While talking with prospects, being succinct is critical at all times, but it becomes much more so when texting. The buyer’s whole screen will be occupied with long sentences, making them seem overpowering. So write as little as possible. Send an email instead of your message if it exceeds 300 characters.
Be Professional and Kind
The importance of maintaining one’s composure cannot be overstated. Sloppy grammar and capitalization aren’t acceptable even while you’re texting. Be careful not to evoke memories of middle school in your audience. However, you may still show off your individuality. The more approachable you are, the more human the experience will be for both of you.
Text within Office Hours
Last but not least, refrain from texting during non-working hours. Receiving a work-related text at, say, 9 p.m. might seem intrusive since texting is a personal medium. People often dislike receiving messages in the middle of the night.
Conclusion
Texting may help you close deals more successfully than using sales calls or email alone. Following these rules will increase conversion rates and establish your business as an authority in your field.