Social Selling: 3 Emails that Work

Email isn't going anywhere anytime soon, despite those on the "cold calling is dead" wagon, so you'd do yourself a solid to be good at it. Here's a quick recap of  my last post "Social Selling in 5 Minutes:"

• Social selling is finding actionable information related to a prospect/company that is relevant to your value proposition, and most importantly, initiates and/or accelerates engagement and rapport building.
• The three best social selling tools are LinkedIn, Twitter, and relative online articles, in my opinion.
• End goals for social selling "touches" are (1) set a new meeting, (2) get a referral to the person you wish to contact, or (3) build credibility — in no particular order.

In response, below I've compiled three authentic, successful sales messages that have sparked responses. I've included the sales messaging, client response, and solid dose of details to help give context and empower you to replicate successful break-in emails for your own needs.

(Note: All names have been changed to maintain privacy. All sellers are pitching a company named, CloudTech. Prospects are employees at John Daily Corp)

Example #1 – The Trifecta 

Social Selling Technology: LinkedIn + Twitter + online news article

Goal: Referral to the Head of Demand Generation

Company: Customer Engagement Software; $180M in annual revenue

Prospect: VP, Field Marketing

Subject Line: Demand Gen meets Money Ball

Hi Brock,

I was researching John Daily Corp and came across your LinkedIn and Twitter profiles, seeing your share of Daniel Wong’s quote in “5 Tips To Make your Customer Experience Millennial Friendly.” This, along with your track record in demand generation while leveraging applications like SFDC and Marketo, prompted me to reach out, as we both value understanding where engagement data meets SQLs. Even you’re A’s love some good analytics (or at least Billy Beane did, via “MoneyBall”).

More specifically, and why I was on your social media profiles in the first place, I want to open a conversation with you in regards to how CloudTech can impact your digital strategy via demand gen webinars. In short, we’re designed for demand generation, branding / corp awareness, and customer engagement via our webinar platform (think content delivery, if unfamiliar with ‘webinar’). Our technology is being leveraged by LinkedIn, Twitter and other engagement-focused software companies, so I’m confident we can deliver John Daily Corp similar results.

Are you the best person to speak to about a lead generation program at John Daily Corp?

Response: 

Hi.  Sadly, we’re hitched to WebEx and changing that is not a battle I can fight.

Dead end here, Helped that you mentioned the A’s :)

Why it's a win: I didn't need the referral because Brock was the best person, but even his hands were tied, declaring this account will need to change from within and on their own timeline – no point in dwelling here for a lost cause. In regards to tying in social selling, I saw Brock was a huge A's fan, as he posted a picture of himself and his wife at the season opener. I looped his love for engagement data (role related) and the A's/MoneyBall (personal intel) with my product's analytic value and produced a crafty read that's harder to ignore than respond to.

Example #2 – Twitter isn't just for kids

Social Selling Technology: LinkedIn and Twitter

Goal: Set a first meeting with a new prospect company

Company: Property Management Software; ~$100M in annual revenue

Prospect: Director, Marketing

Subject line: I follow you on Twitter..

Hi Beth,

I’m emailing you as Director of Marketing (aka the CRO – nice touch) to introduce myself to you. As I was researching John Daily Corp I came across your profile, and seeing your emphatic value and focus on revenue prompted me to reach out.

Given you’re track record of engaging new audiences and converting into new business, you’ll see the value proposition of CoudTech's platform, designed specifically with marketers in mind. As a full circle demand generation technology, we’ve helped other tech companies from Linkedin to VMware to increase lead flow and pipeline generation through their webinar programs. We cover all the current buzz phrases from “increased customer engagement” to “in-depth analytics,” which are all good and important, but I’d much prefer hearing about your current demand gen process first-hand and then assess how CloudTech can deliver tangible revenue.

Are you available over the next few days to connect?

Response:

Hi Devin,

I appreciate the outreach. Have we spoken before? I believe I've talked to someone in your organization. I do like the platform and have used it in previous positions. I would be interested in learning more to see if we can justify moving away from our current provider. I'm pretty swamped this week, but the end of next week is fairly open. Thanks,

Why it's a win: First, I got the meeting, and the meeting lead to a qualified pipeline opportunity. I was successful because I scanned her Twitter and LinkedIn profiles and saw Beth is the peer-acclaimed "CRO" and all her focus in marketing ties to revenue via her posts. I took that knowledge and tied it to the value-add of my product and made it a fun "reed." Twitter strikes again.

Example #3 – Never Give Up

Social Selling Outlet: LinkedIn + Twitter + relevant news article

Goal: Schedule a first meeting

Company: Information Technology; $13M in annual revenue

Prospect: CEO

Subject Line: @HenryLSchuck: Above-the-line engagement

Henry,

I noticed you tweeted today about how John Daily Corp is helping your [own] customers increase the effectiveness of their inside sales teams. 

"Having as many direct dials as possible enables an inside sales team of 15 to be as effective as 45." - Matt Wheeler, senior manager of sales development, ForeScout Technologies

CloudTech has also proven to make sales teams more effective.  Business leaders across the technology spectrum have their sellers using CloudTech to increase revenue output per rep.  We do this by enabling reps to better understand and act upon their prospects needs and interest, from first impression to close. 

I agree that The Cold Call is Still King, and know it takes a savvy business leader to recognize an legitimate partnership opportunity through a cold email. 

Can we carve out 15 minutes next week for a call? Confident you'll see immediate value in the impact we can have on your sales efforts. 

Thanks, Will

Email #2

Henry,

Bubbling this up to the top of your inbox.  Really value your input as a thought leader on inside sales strategies.

Thanks, Will-

Email #3

Another great tweet this week: The cold, hard reality of startup sales and marketing to the enterprise

My approach is to engage above the line whenever possible, and our technology allows me to do just that in a some unique and powerful ways.   As an example of that, take a look at the link above. 

When can we connect to discuss how we can make your sales team more effective?

-Will

Response:

Dude, this is by far the best prospecting pitch I’ve ever seen. Your first message a week ago was great, the second message was even better, and this last message just takes the F#(#@*@ cake. Tell someone to give you a raise – or you probably have so much commission pouring in you don’t need one.

I’ll take the meeting. Let me get through the quarter and we can do it April 3rd – send me an invite for Noon.

-Henry

Why it's a win: Do I really need to explain? The answer alone, especially from the organization's leader, says it all. Not only did Will get the meeting, but he got a huge shout out for his sales approach. Later, our featured CEO introduced Will to his entire sales team and presented his email thread  to showcase the type of messaging that's both professional and well-informed.

He put pen to paper, too.

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In short, it comes down to doing your research and adding your own unique flavor to the mix. Remember, the average business person receives 120+ emails per day, so it's up to you to break through that noise.

What do you think? Do my best practices align with yours? If you have superior tactics, quit being selfish and share. Should you take my word as Truth, give these strategies a try and share your results.

-Devin