Remember, your website is your silent salesperson and it must tell a good story and guide the prospect to the point that the prospect is ready to interact with a real person or complete the sales otherwise.

Here’s an email I received from a provider of managed IT services.

(Yes, I know the letter goes off the side of the page.)

Does this make you want to hit “Reply” or pick-up the phone?  Didn’t think so.   What really surprised me was the opening sentence, where the sales guy says he’s “trolling the waters for IT projects.” Am I a fish just waiting to be reeled in? Do I want to feel like I was sold to by someone who was “trolling” for business?! No. There’s also no call to action, and no offer either.  It’s all about them, and not about problems I might be having that they might be able to solve.

To have an experienced copywriter pen an effective email might have cost $400 at most.  I’ll bet this company lost many times that amount in new business with this email.

1. Cultivate an in-house email list. Make sure every page of your website has an email sign-up at the top, and put a link in your email signature too.

2. If you have many different products and services, consider offering unique email communications for each.  Let users choose which they’ll receive at the time they sign-up.

3.  Segment your email list as you do your prospects and customers (you are doing that aren’t you?), and send content that is relevant to each list.  For example, if you serve vertical markets with unique needs, buying processes, lingo, etc., consider sending emails with content specific to that vertical.  You’ll be seen as an expert by the recipient and get a better response.

4.  Never use a rented or purchased email list, as the poor results will not justify the cost, no matter how little the list costs.  Better to cultivate and use your own list.  If you have the opportunity to send email to people registered to attend a trade show, it’s better to send a well-written, eye-catching pre-show letter to get people to your booth than an email. Remember, the recipient doesn’t know you  and will likely ignore the email, if it reaches him/her at all.

I could go on and on about good email marketing.  Feel free to send questions and I’ll answer them.

1. Who the heck are you?

This is more than just telling the prospect what you sell, how long you’ve been in business, blah, blah, blah.  This question separates you from competitors and whatever else is taking up your prospects’ time. Your prospects may not be motivated to buy.  They may be tight with your competitor.  They probably have more important things clamoring for attention. You must stop your audience for a nanosecond and plant a seed in their mind that what you want to discuss might be worth their time.

2. Why should I care?

Your answer to must be directly relevant to your prospect. Your answer has to be:

• Something the prospect thinks/cares/worries about

• Something that isn’t being said by everyone else.

• Something you can really provide.

Your job here is to raise an eyebrow. And earn a few more minutes as you move to Question 3. Make a wild claim and you’ll be hearing crickets.

3.  Why should I believe you?

This is the struggle for credibility. No single fact will win it for you. You need a cornucopia to tip things in your favor.

Some ways to bolster your credibility include awards, acceditations, testimonials, case studies, your reputation, credentials, other successful products/services, and even the way you dress and act.  You’ll want as many of these as you can get, not just one or two.

However, a good, strong, logical story, well told, can earn as much credibility as three or four of the credibility-builders listed above. This is especially true for companies that are “early adopters” who rely less on what others do and more on their own judgment.

You may not have all the proof you need.  But if your stuff works, there’s a reason. And if you can explain why it works while others’ fall short, and you can do it in a distinctive, compelling way, you’ll pass Question 3. This doesn’t mean you don’t need any of the credibility-builders. The more the merrier. But if you’ve got a great story to tell, learn to tell it well.

The fix? Use an Email Service Provider (ESP) who vets prospects, and can provision a dedicated server, dedicated set of IP addresses, unique email domain, etc. as needed. I’ve been using MailChimp for several years and was impressed initially by the questions they asked upfront about me and my lists to ensure I was sending only opt-in messages. I believe they also keep a sharp eye on how many of your recipients click the Junk Mail button.  There are many other ESPs besides MailChimp so do your research to find one that fits your business. In the end you’ll get greatly improved delivery rates and hopefully more ROI from your email efforts.

P.S.: By the way, if you decide to stick with Constant Contact, opt-out of the self-serving ad they place to the bottom of your emails about signing up for their service. It detracts from your message and brand and is just plain out of place.

UPDATE:

Here’s a great example of a lost branding opportunity. It’s the webpage after unsubscribing to a business publication. Yes, that’s everything on the entire page.  (Sigh.)

Last week in Las Vegas I attended a large international trade show. (I also jumped 855 ft. off the Stratosphere Hotel, but that’s a story for another time.) Anyway, as I walked the show’s aisles and looked at the hundreds of booths, it hit me how most exhibitors’ messaging was about themselves, with bland facts about their products or services and nary a word on their value propositions or the benefits provided to customers. Considering that exhibitors have 3 or 4 seconds to capture an attendee’s interest, there was a lot of money being left on the table that day.

The same thing could be said for the web sites of most B2B companies.  The copy is usually about how long a company has been in business, how great their customer service is (a poor differentiator due to its overuse) and other self-serving accolades.  The result is that prospects come to the home page and leave after viewing it for just a few seconds and seeing nothing compelling.  In the world of web stats this is the bounce rate. If yours is over, say, 30%, it’s cause for concern.

What’s a B2B company to do? Here are a few tips:

• Ensure your communications are centered on HOW you help customers succeed, especially how your company helps customers generate revenue or reduce expenses.  If you’re not sure, ask your customers.  They’ll tell you and the information will make great testimonials as well.

• Understand the different market segments you serve and communicate how you serve each of them. Segments usually have their own unique set of concerns and lingo. Talk to prospects like you know their segment and you’re half way home.

• Know your customers’ buying cycle and the type of information they need at each point of the sales funnel.  If your customers typically buy via committee, you’ll want information that satisfies people on the committee from other departments (legal, finance, etc.).

Do you buy lists of email addresses and send unsolicited messages?  Are you getting little response for your investment?  That’s not surprising.  Studies have shown that unsolicited emails have very low open rates. People treat their email in-boxes much differently than their snail mail. Yes, sending emails is cheap, but what’s the point if you get no response?  Here are some pointers from MarketingProfs on improving your email marketing program:

• Hire an ESP (email service provider). Sending emails from Outlook is inefficient and you’ll have to deal with deliverability issues, lack of metrics, and blacklisting problems.  So the cost of an ESP is worth it. (I recommend MailChimp.com.)

• Build and use a custom email template, not a generic one. Your business is unique, so spend a few hundred dollars to have someone create a custom template that reflects your branding.

• Send messages on a regular basis. Don’t send too much email nor too little. If you go for weeks or months without sending a newsletter or an offer, people might forget who you are and flag you as spam.

• Study your email metrics.  Your ESP can provide wonderful data on open rates, click-through statistics, number of shares, etc., etc.  You’ll learn a lot and will steadily improve your marketing.

A few points:

1. Someone who only wants your giveaway is not a lead.
2. Ask questions of each attendee before scanning them to determine if s/he is really interested/qualified.
3. Create and use a short 3-4 question form that salespeople can use to gather additional information on especially well-qualified leads.

Happy Exhibiting.