Email automation may sound like a dream for sales professionals. Yet it can be a hindrance to personalization — and success.
As an account executive at financial identity security company Truework, Kiana Mayo believes that retaining a human touch is tantamount to growth in sales. “In order to thrive, sales reps must be genuine,” she said.
In Mayo’s mind, email automation should serve as a helpful addition to one’s prospecting strategy rather than a foundational aspect. She said it’s important to acknowledge that automated emails are obvious in nature, so it’s up to sales reps to prove they’ve done their research.
“Prospects want to see that you’ve put in the work to get to know them,” Mayo said.
While performing adequate research is key to personalization, it’s not the only step reps can take to foster a human approach to prospecting. Michael Kleber, account executive at data synthesis automation company Tonic, said he adopts the perspective of prospective clients in order to understand their pain points and foster strong relationships from the start. By adding a personal touch to each of his outreach tactics in the process, he is able to retain and maintain prospects.
“Building campaigns with personalized messages can engage potential customers and keep them warm,” Kleber said.
Built In San Francisco caught up with Mayo and Kleber to learn more about how — and why — they cultivate a human touch during the prospecting process.
Which prospecting strategies have been most successful for you recently?
I prefer to create different sequences based on personas and stay consistent with my personalized emails and LinkedIn messages. For each of my accounts, I ask myself several questions around relevance for personalization.
QUESTIONS TO CONSIDER
- Have they used our self-service product?
- What technology do they have that we can integrate with?
- What can I learn about them from LinkedIn or a Google search?
- Are they hiring for certain positions?
I then use this information to add a personalized touch to my persona-based sequences. Not only does this prove that I’ve done my research, but it also makes the messaging more relevant, considering it’s based on what I’ve learned from others in corresponding positions. As I began to write more of these types of emails and LinkedIn messages, I started to create them more quickly. The content in your personalized emails is also very helpful when preparing to call your prospect. None of these strategies should be new to sales professionals, yet consistency is ultimately the key to success.
How much of a role should email automation play in a sales rep’s prospecting process, and what are its potential side effects?
Email automation is helpful, yet creates laziness. Sales reps should use automation to hold themselves accountable and stay informed about emails that need to be sent. By creating manual tasks, reps can quickly add personalization to their email template before it’s sent out. I use manual email, calls and LinkedIn tasks throughout my sequences, but I also add a few automated emails, which are very helpful. These emails are typically short and usually serve as a “reply” to one of my more personalized messages.
An over-reliance on automated emails can cause reps to lower their response rates, burn through their account lists, and leave more room for errors. Above all else, people know when an email is automated. They want to see that you’ve put in the work to get to know them.
An over-reliance on automated emails can cause reps to lower their response rates, burn through their account lists, and leave more room for errors.”
As automated email campaigns lose their potency, what specific skills should successful reps focus on refining?
Continually refine your personalization and persona skills. Ask yourself if you understand prospects’ different personas and focus on remaining relevant to each one’s interests.
The best approach is to send short and relevant emails with a clear call to action. The subject line and first sentence should be as personalized as possible if you want prospects to consider opening the email. Refrain from focusing on their company and concentrate more on the prospect themselves. It’s also important to personalize in an efficient manner.
I look at various sources, such as LinkedIn profiles, company data, relevant articles related to their industry and technology they use. If I can’t find anything quickly, I focus on sharing what I hear from similar personas. Always identify a prospect’s problem, provide the outcome of solving this problem, and write genuinely. I encourage reps to write emails in an informal yet professional tone.
Which prospecting strategies have been most successful for you recently?
I try to adopt the perspective of the potential customer to understand the pain points they would like to alleviate, while focusing on cultivating strong relationships from the beginning. Typically, I start the process with an email campaign, connecting with three to five points of contact at the target company. Next, I follow up with more personal outreach, which often includes a combination of LinkedIn direct messages, cold calls and texts. Building campaigns with personalized messages can engage potential customers and keep them warm.
How much of a role should email automation play in a sales rep’s prospecting process, and what are its potential side effects?
The role email automation plays depends on the product and stage of the company. For instance, Tonic sells a product that benefits technical teams spanning a broad range of industries, from large financial institutions to sports leagues and startups. Given our product and growth stage, targeted email campaigns driven by automation are the best way to drive that initial conversation.
The role email automation plays depends on the product and stage of the company.”
As automated email campaigns lose their potency, what specific skills should successful reps focus on refining?
Beyond email campaigns, Tonic’s sales reps utilize both cold calling and social media to interact with prospects. In addition to directly messaging prospects on LinkedIn, I’ll also send text messages if I’ve actively engaged with them. Direct mail and gift campaigns have become popular, but email campaigns, cold calling and social media direct messages are my preferred outreach methods.
