Should You Be Using Text In Sales?
Text in sales may not be the most popular communication method out there, especially for B2B sales, but its power and presence is hard to ignore. In this episode of Sales Secrets, I share why it’s worth looking into including texting in your sales strategy and how to do it successfully, so read on to find out more.
RELATED: Email Prospecting vs Cold Calling: What’s Best?
In this article:
- Does Cold Texting Work?
- Should You Send a Cold Text to Prospects?
- How Often Should You Text a Prospecting Customer?
- Best Ways for Using Text in Sales
- When Should I Text My Prospect?
- Biggest Texting Mistakes in Sales
- Should I Worry About Sending Texts in Marketing and Sales Communication?
Why Use Use Text in Sales
Does Cold Texting Work?
Texting is practically nonexistent in the B2B sales world. It’s the lowest adopted technology by sales reps, who reported only 0.7 SMS messages sent per cadence.
This is the lowest rate for every communication method we studied. This doesn’t mean, however, that you should ignore sending text messages.
Why is that?
- Using text messaging at work has increased by 62%, from 26% to 42%, since 2014.
- At a 58% increase, 61% of people recommend they be contacted through text messaging at work.
- 95% of text messages are read within three minutes.
- The average response time for a single text is 90 seconds.
When it comes to building your pipeline, different can be good. Texting can be a powerful tool to fill up your sales funnel.
Here are some common questions sales managers may have if you want to start using text in sales.
Should You Send a Cold Text to Prospects?
The short answer is no. Wading through your contact list and cold texting prospects isn’t the way to go. Sending text messages to a sales prospect prior to other means of contact, such as phone or email, reduces the likelihood of overall contact by 39%.
On the flipside, texting after prior contact increases conversion rates (or the rate of transformation from prospect to paying customer) by up to 100%.
How Often Should You Text a Prospecting Customer?
The bottom line is to start moving the conversation with your prospective customer to text messages as soon as you can. The beauty of text messages is that you can send them any time and they will immediately receive it.
Try to move away from calls and emails as much as you can (except for communication that needs to be done formally). You want to be where they are.
Did you know that sending three or more purposeful texts after making prior contact increase conversion rate to 328%? A significant jump!
Best Ways for Using Text in Sales
It’s a little awkward to text someone you don’t know, and even if you know the person very well, things can still backfire. Here are ways you can text someone to sell more:
The Reach Out
If you want to reach out to someone you’re not already actively talking to, be careful, and make sure you have a good reason for doing so.
Here’s an example of how to do this:
- You sent a gift to your prospect the week before.
- Text them to ask them if they received it, and maybe schedule a quick chat to explain why you did just that.
The Big News
This is especially effective for people you’ve been in contact with at some point since texting is very personal and informal compared to other communication methods. Text them personal information like articles they’d love, relevant company news, big promotions, and any other events relevant to both you and your sales prospect.
Appointment Reminders
This is one of the most common use cases for sending texts to someone.
For this to work, you can send an invite via email, then text your sales prospect afterward. Ask them if they want text reminders when it gets closer to the agreed-upon day.
Follow-Up Reminders
After the appointment, it’s a good idea to send a follow-up message to your prospect. Make sure you have a good call to action with next steps clearly lined up to make your communication more effective.
You can also send a sales document about your product, or a meeting invitation via email and text the other person a reminder that you did just that.
The Break-Up Text
This strategy works well with a prospect who tapered off their communication with you at one point. A quick message asking how things are and scheduling a quick catch-up to discuss the next steps will work wonders here.
RELATED: Cold Calling Still Works – If You Do It Right
When Should I Text My Prospect?
Be a little more careful during the start since texting is quite personal. As the relationship progresses, text more often during business hours, then start pushing boundaries (but only a little bit) once you’ve established the foundation of your relationship.
Biggest Texting Mistakes in Sales
Texting isn’t a foolproof method. Some of the most common mistakes when sending text messages include:
- Inappropriate timing (too early or too late in the game)
- Using abbreviations and jargon
- Going for the GIFs and emojis too soon
- Using too many characters (Aim for 160 characters or less. The shorter, the better.)
How to Use Text
Texting is best used in combination with other communication tools like ZANT’ sales engagement platform Playbooks. Not only can you send and receive text messages, but you can even have things recorded so you don’t miss any communication with prospects or customers.
Should I Worry About Sending Texts in Marketing and Sales Communication?
Texting can be more worrisome than calls and emails due to the many laws and restrictions that surround it. It’s in your best interest to consult your legal team before pursuing text-based sales and marketing strategies.
Just because you, as a salesperson, don’t use text in sales often doesn’t mean you have to completely avoid it. We challenge you to find a way to use this communication tool in your sales and marketing campaign to see your conversion rates soar.
Have you tried using text in sales? If not, what’s holding you back? Let us know in the comments section below.
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