These three elements must be included in the sales email

A sales email should mainly accomplish one thing: guide the lead forward in the buyer’s journey. To do this, there are some elements you just cannot drop. Which are these?

Traditional sales email usually doesn’t work very well anymore. Why? Because, most often, they are boring and not relevant to the recipient. Bear with us as we walk you through an example:

Subject line: Inbound marketing

Dear Mary Marketing,

We at Inbound Norway have jumped onto the inbound wave, and we now deliver inbound services within both sales and marketing so that companies in Norway finally can reach their sales targets. Inbound marketing is the modern way to market: Say goodbye to cold calls; cold leads; and non-measurable ROI.

It is important to get started with inbound marketing and sales right now – otherwise, you risk losing both prospects and customers. We can help you get started. With experience from a variety of industries, we know exactly what is needed to reach the goals you have.

To learn more, take a look at our website and read our blog. Please contact us if you wish to talk to us about implementing inbound marketing and sales in your company.

Sincerely,

Barbro Fagerbakk, Head of Sales at Inbound Norway

This is a prime example of what you as a salesperson should not write in your sales email. Not only is the content unspecific and impersonal – but it is also incredibly salesy. In other words: not very inbound sales-friendly.

So how should you write a sales email that helps you increase the number of sales? 

3 elements that must be included in the sales mail

1) An interesting and sensational topic that is relevant to the recipient 

First impressions are important. According to studies, you only have seven seconds to give a good first impression. The subject line is the very first thing the recipient will read in your email, and it is, therefore, crucial that you write a subject line that impresses.

Now is the time the reader decides whether he is bothered to read on or not. So what will you make of it? Yet another opened email without a reply or an email that is actually of interest to the recipients? In fact, 33 % of email recipients decide whether to open an email or not based on the subject line alone.

Therefore, type in something that is of relevance to the recipient, or asks the reader a question. The subject line should not only be of interest to the recipient, but it should also give an indication of what the email is about. How do you do this?

Extract the very essence of the email and make it as clickable as you can with 50 characters.

To help you get started, here are a few tips for writing a subject line that your recipients actually click on:

• Keep it short and easy
• Be personal and relevant
• Set the right expectations – don’t trick the reader into believing that the email contains any other information than what is the case.

Want to know more about inbound sales? Read more here.

2) How you as a salesperson can solve the recipient's challenges

Remember that today's buyer often knows a lot about the challenge he has and how he can best solve it. Therefore, you as a salesperson need to be careful not to overwhelm your prospect with lots of general information about the solution your company offers or information about the company itself.

Inbound sales are about helping – not selling. That is why it is your task to show how the specific products or services you offer will be the best solution for this particular buyer.

Begin by proving that you have understood the challenges the prospect have, what concerns he has and what goals he will have to achieve. Then associate this to your products or services and show a) How can the solution you offer help the prospect solve his challenge, b) How have your company helped others overcome the same challenges earlier, and c) How can your products or services help the prospect reach his goals.

3) A conclusion that makes the prospect long for the next meeting

You have now proved that you have fully understood the prospect and his challenges while at the same time showing why he’s a good match for the solutions your company offers. What now?

In the movie world, there’s something called “cliffhangers”, whose purpose is to entice viewers to watch the next episode. You will have to create this same situation in your sales emails. Give the prospect a peek into the next exciting step in the buyer’s journey.

There are many ways to do this but here are three specific things: book the next meeting,  agree upon a time for a phone call, or, if the prospect is not a good match for your company, explain why this is and break up – in a friendly way, of course.