With 2015 well under way, (the holidays seem like a distant memory already, don’t they?), sales and marketing professionals are kicking off programs to hit goals in the New Year. While it’s okay to focus on chasing new business, what about the sales prospect that didn’t close at the end of Q4 2014? We’ve already discussed how when equipped with the right strategy and tactics, Q4 holds the potential to not only finish out the year strong, but offers the opportunity to lay out actionable sales pipeline for the new year. But what does communication look like in a resurrection email? When reaching out to those prospects that didn’t sign at the end of 2014, join forces with your marketing and communication team to help you incorporate the following elements in your communication:
The Win-Back Email
While a win-back email is typically used to reignite interest in customers that have purchased from you in the past but haven’t recently, it can be an effective resurrection email as well. Restart communication with prospects who didn’t sign in the last year by sending them a personal email that comes directly from you, reminding them of the solutions you offer. Throw in some extra incentives, such as a free trial if your newly revamped product allows for it, or an ROI analysis of how much more they could achieve with your service and that prospect has the potential to be your first closed deal of 2014.
Make the Call and Demonstrate Value
Holiday marketing communication trends indicate that around the end of the year, many people tend to go on an unsubscribe binge. To avoid becoming blacklisted, reach out to prospects early in the New Year with demonstrated value of your products/solutions. Ensure that they stay subscribed to communication from you by giving them a sneak peek of upcoming content, events or product features or let them know about how others in their industry are finding use with your solution. Also, be sure to emphasis the importance of your product as it relates to the prospects specific needs – remember, they to, like you, are seeking out ways to hit goals in 2015.
Entice with Variety
Once you’re assured that your sales prospect is still interested in hearing from you, augment your sales outbounding touchpoints with email nurture for communication. To increase the likelihood of a prospect converting to an appointment set and then to a client, various types of email nurture messages will help reignite communication. For example:
- The Greeting Email: Wish your prospects a Happy New Year to get back on their radar, mention where you both left off the conversation in 2014 and notify them of products and solutions to look out for in the coming year.
- The Educational Email: As mentioned earlier, everyone appreciates learning industry specific trends and best practices. Include information about your product, how it can offer solutions specific to the prospect, and even success stories from other clients who can attest to the value of your product. This is a good portal to also include relevant case studies, white papers, or any other industry research that supports your claim.
- The Promotional Email: Use this mode to communicate the awesomeness of your product and solutions, offer incentives to sign-up similar to the win-back email, and personalize the deal for the prospect you’re reaching out to. The goal with this communication should be to nudge the potential client past the appointment setting conversation to signed client.
- The Newsletter: And if those nurture emails don’t do the trick for sales conversion, this newsletter email offers the opportunity for the prospect to learn about your company and specific instances or recent happenings that make you a unique and worthy business partner. If the sales prospect has converted and to a client and recently signed, this is a great way to welcome them and update them on company news and upcoming events.
Everyone looks to begin the New Year off right. In the sales and marketing world, this includes communicating with prospects to secure deals and hit target goals. Don’t leave behind the sales prospects of 2014 that didn’t close. Bring them forward with you into the New Year and convert them into a 2015 client by communicating early and communicating well!
This article was syndicated from Business 2 Community: Resurrecting Communication that turns a 2014 Sales Prospect into a 2015 Client
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