13 Golden Rules of Email Prospecting

© RAIN Group 13 Golden Rules for Email Prospecting
13 Golden
Rules of Email
Prospecting
don’t delete
don’t delete
don’t delete

© RAIN Group
Buyers Want to Hear From You
Many sellers assume buyers don’t want or need to talk to them early in
the buying process.
This simply isn’t the case.
In fact, research from the RAIN Group Center for Sales Research shows:1
� 71% of buyers want to hear from sellers when they’re looking for new
ideas and possibilities to drive stronger results.
� 62% of buyers want to hear from sellers when they’re actively looking
for a solution or to solve a problem.
And guess what? They want to hear from you via email.
It’s up to you to research, develop messaging, and customize your
outreach to attract buyers at the right time.
1
Benchmark Report on Top Performance in Sales Prospecting. RAIN Group.
of buyers prefer to be
contacted by email
80%
13 Golden Rules for Email Prospecting

To: Erik@company.com
Cc: CFO@company.com, COO@company.com
Subject: Ideas to Streamline R&D Processes for Erik
Erik,
Andrea Jones mentioned to me you’ve been looking
for ways to streamline R&D processes, so I’m reaching
out. Are you looking into any of the following areas?

ƒ Doubling efficiency by having a paperless lab environment

ƒ Detecting and resolving potential devitations in real-time (no more
waiting for data review)

ƒ Cutting down admin time by up to 30% through centralizing assays
and extractions
I can walk you through how we do this before our presentation at the
Roma Life Sciences Summit next month —any good
times to connect this week?
CC stakeholders
Say their name
Lead with referrals
Be buyer centric
Ask questions
Use bullets
The rule of 3
Use numerals
Don’t be a robot
Keep it short
Keep it simple
Give them a choice
Clarify your CTA
Sample
Email
13
Golden
Rules

1. Lead with Referrals
84% of B2B buyers start the purchasing process with
a referral.2
Seek out referrals from your contacts.
Create referrals as you sell to reach a decision maker.
Mention referrals right away in your touch sequence.
Examples:
� Jon Snow recommended we get in touch.
� Paola Moreno said you’d be the best person for
me to talk to about your distribution challenges.
� George Smith told me he’s interested in training
for the marketing team.
2
How B2B Sales Can Benefit from Social Selling. Harvard Business Review.
84%
of B2B buyers start the purchase
process with a referral
Tip: Ask your referral sources to make the
introduction. They may say no, but if they
say yes, you’ll get a huge response boost.

© RAIN Group
2. Don’t Be a Robot
� Customize: Write something that proves
the email wasn’t automatically generated.
� Have a voice: Emails that use emotion
words (e.g., wonderful, hate, delighted,
furious) get 10-15% more responses than
emails that are neutral.3
� Be action-oriented: Use an active voice
(“reduce downtime by 20%”) instead
of a passive voice (“downtime can be
reduced by 20%”).
� Be a human: Share personal details.
Inject humor. Avoid phrasing that looks
cookie-cutter or copy and pasted from a
template.
3
7 Tips for Getting More Responses to Your Emails (With Data!). Boomerang.
Joe,
You don’t know me, so I won’t pretend you
do. (Though I see from LinkedIn we have 31
shared connections and you’re a fellow lacrosse
aficionado.)
You probably know that response time is a huge
driver of customer satisfaction when it comes to
support tickets.
[Prospect company]’s team has average response
time down to 48 hours (great!) according to our
test. But what if you could get it in the magic 24-
hour window?
We helped [competitor X] cut their response times
in half. Are you interested in a 10-minute demo of
how our platform could do the same for you?

3. Be Buyer Centric
Focus on buyer impact over your features and having
a compelling value proposition.
Lead with “you” instead of “I.” Here’s how:
Tip: Try the 3-second test. Does
the email focus on the prospect
within the first 3 seconds?
Not This
I’ve been thinking...
I’m also a member of [LinkedIn
Group]...
I’ve worked with multiple people in
your position...

Say This
Your post on [subject] got me
thinking...
Your question on [LinkedIn Group]...
VPs of Marketing often find that
meeting and exceeding inbound
lead targets is a huge challenge.
Several VPs have told me that...


26
© RAIN Group
4. Keep It Short
Shorter emails have quicker response times.4
55% of emails are read on mobile devices.
Cut fluff and generic phrases.
Tip: Draft your email on your
phone to have a realistic idea
of how prospects will read it.
4
55% of Business Emails Read on Mobile Phones. The Drum.

5. Keep It Simple
A 3rd
grade reading level gives a 36% increase
in response rate over emails written at a college
reading level.5
Use simple words. Keep your
sentences short.
5
Not This
Our platform features an innovative
process for listing new openings
across job boards and tagging,
searching, and organizing job
applications and resumes by utilizing
cloud computing and decentralized
information management...

Say This
You can post to 100+ job boards
with one click and view all your best
candidates in one place.
We make it easy for you to screen
and rate them so you can make the
right hiring decisions—fast!

Tip: Run your email through
https://readable.com/text to
check grade-reading level.

© RAIN Group
6. Use Bullets
6
How People Read on the Web: The Eyetracking Evidence. Nielsen Norman Group.
People look at lists with bullets
more often than lists without.6
70%
55%
Not This
Small business owners see their top
challenges as managing employee
healthcare, dealing with government
regulations, and diversifying their client base.

Say This
Small business owners see their top
challenges as:
� Managing employee healthcare
� Dealing with government regulations
� Diversifying their client base


7. Use the Rule of 3
Give people 3 bullets, 3 choices, 3 adjectives describing your impact, etc.
Clustering in groups of 3 makes ideas stick.7
More than 3 choices can confuse
people, cause them to tune out, and lead to decision paralysis.
7
How to Use the ‘Rule of Three’ to Create Engaging Content. Copyblogger.
The top 3 areas we help with are:
Designing and implementing
assessment programs that fuel
process change
Improving food safety,
operational excellence, and
workplace safety
Developing brand-wide and
location-level growth strategies
Does 11am, 1:30pm, or 4pm work
for you?
You must also uncover buyer wants,
desires, and aspirations to provide
maximum value.
1
1
1
2
2
2
3
3
3

8. Use Numerals
Digits stop and fixate eyes when
people scan text.8
8
Show Numbers as Numerals When Writing for Online Readers. Nielsen Norman Group.
Hi Jan,
If you want to generate the best
opportunities and set yourself up for
success in 2021 , you need to prepare.
And there’s no better way to prepare than
by using data-backed findings on what’s
working (or not!) for the most successful
sellers.
In this deck, we share 21 ideas, tips, and
resources to help you prepare so you can
create your own luck this year.
PS. 80% of buyers prefer to be contacted
via ________. Check out tip #3 to find out
what it is!
This is a real deck! Click to view it.

9. Ask Questions
Emails that ask 1-3 questions are 50% more likely to get a response.9
9
Not This
Let me know if any of those times
work for you.
Look forward to hearing your
thoughts on this research.
Our platform can help you improve
[related business value].

Say This
Is 9:30am or 1:30pm a better time
to speak?
Do you think the results on [research
topic] will change your approach to
[challenge]? Have you tried any of
these strategies in the past?
Are you currently working on
improving [related business value]?


10. Give Them a Choice
10
These 4 Words Can Double Your Chances of Getting What You Want. Curiosity.
Give recipients an out! Remind them it’s ultimately their
choice whether they respond or not. This compliance-gaining
technique doubles the chance someone will say yes.10
Examples:

ƒ If you’d rather not, I understand. I appreciate you reading
this far.

ƒ Are you able to take this 5-minute survey? Completely
up to you, but it would be really valuable for us, and we’ll
share the results with you soon.

ƒ Your feedback on this research would be extremely
helpful, but you’re free to just share it with your team.

11. Say Their Name
People’s eyes are automatically drawn to their
names in print. Put the recipient’s name in the
subject line or use the recipient’s name more
than once in the body. Emails with personalized
subject lines are 26% more likely to be opened.11
11
The New Rules of Email Marketing. Campaign Monitor.
To: Erik@company.com
Subject: Erik: Streamline R&D Processes
Hi Erik,
Andrea Jones mentioned to me you’ve been
looking for ways to streamline R&D processes. Are
you looking into any of the following areas?

ƒ Doubling efficiency by having a paperless lab
environment

ƒ Detecting and resolving potential deviations
in real-time (no more waiting for data review)

ƒ Cutting down admin time by up to 30%
through centralizing assays and extractions
I can walk you through this before our presentation
at the Roma Life Sciences Summit next month,
Erik. Any good times to connect this week?
26% lift in open rates!
Tip: Double check for nicknames.
LinkedIn can help. Is it Michael or
Mike? Margaret or Maggie? Use their
preferred name. Don’t use Mr. or Mrs.

12. CC Stakeholders
“CC-ing” stakeholders improves both open and reply
rates by as much as 12%.12
12
You Could Increase Your Email Reply Rate 12% By Doing This One Simple Thing. Bernie Reeder.
Reply Rate Comparison
1 Recipient
2 Recipients
3 Recipients
54.9%
62.6%
Tip: Get in the habit of asking
prospects, “Is there anyone else
I should copy on the email?”
35.9%

13. Clarify Your CTA
Make what you’re asking for (your call-to-action) clear.
Don’t ask prospects to let you know what they thought of the video you
linked, and to find a time to speak about your latest research, and to schedule
a demo, and to introduce you to their colleague in IT.
Keep it to one ask per email.

© RAIN Group
Nothing has changed more in sales in the last decade than prospecting. It’s more difficult than
ever to get through and set meetings with your buyers. If you want your team to achieve top
performance in sales prospecting, this is the program for you.
RAIN Sales Prospecting training is unlike any other educational experience. Participants will:

ƒ Apply learning in real-time to connect with prospects and set meetings

ƒ Use multi-touch, multi-modal messaging that we work with you to develop for phone,
mail, email, and social media

ƒ Learn to stay focused on and obsessed with prospecting results using our Extreme
Productivity approach

ƒ Have access to cases, examples, and exercises tailored to your industry and your buyer
profiles

ƒ Continue to learn long after the training is over: RAIN Group’s world-class reinforcement
includes custom emails, online lessons, and coaching to ensure learning sticks and
transfers on-the-job
BOSTON | BOGOTÁ | GENEVA | JOHANNESBURG | LONDON | MEXICO CITY | MUMBAI | SEOUL | SYDNEY | TORONTO
raingroup.com | info@raingroup.com | 1-508-405-0438
COMPONENTS
Live Prospecting: Sellers apply
what they learn in real time to
reach real prospects.
Prospecting Messaging: We
work with you to develop the
key messaging most likely to
resonate with your buyers.
Attraction Campaigns: We
work with you to develop and
write multi-touch, multi-modal
Attraction Campaigns for phone,
mail, email, and social media.
Execution Assurance
Coaching: Ensure sellers are
held accountable and change
happens with our 90-day
execution assurance process.
RAIN Sales Prospecting: Create Conversations with Ideas and Insights

© RAIN Group
RAIN Group helps organizations:

ƒ Develop and improve sales strategy, process, messaging, and talent

ƒ Enhance sales capability with award-winning sales training

ƒ Design and execute strategic account management initiatives

ƒ Increase effectiveness of sales management and coaching
Best IP: We study buying and selling relentlessly through the RAIN Group Center
for Sales Research. Our research and field work allows us to create industry-leading
intellectual property to help our clients achieve the greatest success.
Best Education System: We use the most effective education approaches, methods,
and technologies to make training work, stick, and transfer to the job.
Best Results: We make it our mission to drive value and achieve the highest client
satisfaction through excellence in quality and producing transformational results for
our clients.
RAIN Group unleashes sales potential by
delivering transformational experiences.
BOSTON | BOGOTÁ | GENEVA | JOHANNESBURG | LONDON | MEXICO CITY | MUMBAI | SEOUL | SYDNEY | TORONTO
raingroup.com | info@raingroup.com | 1-508-405-0438
9
Worldwide locations
2002
Founded
75
Countries where we’ve
delivered training
4.8
Out of 5 average
facilitator quality score
Top 20
Sales Training Company
as recognized by Selling
Power and Training Industry

13 Golden Rules of Email Prospecting

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