Many organizations rely on someone selling to bring in new business and even expand business with existing clients or customers. If your organization has at least one person who is responsible for sales, you should consider starting an email newsletter.
In fact, if someone in your organization sells, a consistent email newsletter might be the best marketing investment your organization could make. Let's take a look at why that is.
The fortune is in the follow-up
You may have heard the saying, "The fortune is in the follow-up." Well, the reason it's a saying is because it's true! A good email newsletter is all about follow-up.
Of course, that assumes you're sending out your newsletter on a regular, consistent schedule with professional, helpful content. The actual frequency depends on your audience and your business. But the minimum is once a month, and for organizations that are not retail or e-commerce based, the maximum is once a week.
An email newsletter does not mean you can stop following up in more personal ways, like thank you cards, phone calls, and even direct emails. But it does supplement those methods nicely.
Scale up trust and value
Sandler Rule #34 is Work Smart, Not Hard. While that concept certainly isn't unique to Sandler, we've taken it on as one of our core principles. And one way we apply it in marketing is through tactics that scale well.
Here are the four stages prospects go through to become a client or a customer:
- Know
- Like
- Trust
- Value
Once someone knows and likes you, ongoing communication helps you develop trust and helps them value who you are and that you do. Best of all, it does so in a way that scales up. While you should improve over time, your newsletter won't take much more time at 1,000 subscribers than it did at 100 subscribers.
Let them discover they want it
In the sales and marketing world, hard selling is prevalent. At Sandler, we have a couple of rules that can help you utilize an email newsletter while not continually trying to close people:
- Sandler Rule #26: People buy in spite of the hard sale, not because of it
- Sandler Rule #27: You can't sell anybody anything—they must discover they want it
Sure, social media is excellent for getting people to know you and engaging with your audience over time. But email newsletters are delivered right into their inbox on an ongoing basis. If you focus on newsletters that help—not sell—then your subscribers will learn to trust and value you over time. Eventually, you'll hit on the right pain at just the right time, and they'll discover they want to talk.
Make it easy for them to reach out
When a subscriber is ready to talk, your email newsletter needs to make it as easy as possible for subscribers to do so. Be sure to follow these best practices:
- If someone simply clicks reply when reading an email newsletter, the email address that reply goes to should be monitored, ideally by the person responsible for selling.
- Be sure to include your phone number and, where applicable, your address. In general, the more contact info you have available without going overboard, the more likely people are to trust you.
- If someone wants to take an intermediate step rather than reach out for a conversation, make that easy. Include links to your social media presence—assuming you post regularly—as well as a link to your website.
If you take a look at all those factors and decide it's worth it, then start an email newsletter! And if you need assistance, feel free to reach out to a qualified expert. At Sandler, we're big believers in getting professional help.
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About the Authors
Mike Crandall
Mike Crandall is a Speaker, Consultant, Coach and Trainer focused on Sales, Management, and Leadership Development.
He's also the owner of Sandler Oklahoma, a world leader in innovative sales, management, and leadership training. They offer consulting, coaching, and training for individuals and organizations serious about professional development and growth.
Mike is the author of "Motivational Management The Sandler Way" and has written a sales column for several years.
Tim Priebe
Tim Priebe is a public speaker, author, columnist, and the owner of T&S Online Marketing. He helps businesses that are worried they don’t have the expertise or time required to invest in doing their own digital marketing. He helps them plan where and how much to invest and often helps execute the plan.
Tim’s company helps with websites, social media, blogging, email newsletters, Google rankings, and online video. Tim is the author of several online marketing books, including "102 Tweets," "Blog a Week," and "Online Marketing Mindshift."
