There are few more frustrating and menial tasks in modern life than sorting through the endless pile of promotional emails that clog up our inboxes. It seems they never stop coming — standard, cookie-cutter templates stacked a mile high, sent out en masse with little human oversight.
Except, of course, on those occasions when an email with a personal touch finds its way through
Personalization has always been a challenge in sales, but it’s become more so as companies increasingly switch to automation. HubSpot’s 2021 State of Marketing Report found that 76 percent of companies were using automated processes to reach current and potential customers, including 45 percent of sales teams and 79 percent of marketing teams. Of the companies who did not yet use automation, 26 percent said they planned on adopting it in the next year. But with such an influx of automated communication, how can companies break through this wall of templates to actually reach their customers?
“Our most successful expansion opportunities are always with accounts where we have relationships that exist outside of the world of email,” explained Lisa McEachern, senior director of account management at Automox. “The key to email automation is to ensure the message is relevant to the audience and drives an action.”
Melissa Raber, senior director of inside sales at Workiva, agreed. “By applying personalization and consistency to all forms of outreach and messaging, companies will help shape their brand and gain greater value from a prospect’s engagement. If companies don’t put in the necessary time up front, they won’t get the results in the end.”
Despite the continued growth in automation, it’s clear that there is a distinct call to build up personalized sales tactics — particularly from customers who spend hours each day clearing up their inboxes. To learn more, Built In Colorado spoke to Raber and McEachern about how their companies have found the delicate balance between automation and personalization.
What have your most successful prospecting strategies been over the last few months?
Quite honestly, our most successful strategy remains a mixture of all the good old fashioned tactics like email, phone, LinkedIn and research, but the key is consistency and preparation. By applying personalization and consistency to all forms of outreach and messaging, companies will help shape their brand and gain greater value from a prospect’s engagement. Teams will get a response and have further conversation. If companies don’t put in the necessary time up front, they won’t get the results in the end.
If companies don’t put in the necessary time up front, they won’t get the results in the end.”
How much of a role should email automation play in a sales rep’s prospecting process and what are the potential side effects of an overreliance on automated email?
I believe that 90 percent of emails should be automated to some degree. Automation helps SDRs with efficiency, but it’s important to note that the level of automation and messaging is based on a variety of factors, including persona, lead source, lead score and campaign. There are times when the messaging can remain more generic and fully automated, like during awareness marketing or a drip campaign. At other times, like hot leads, key accounts and specific targeting, automation is necessary to stay on task, but customizing those emails is imperative.
As automated email campaigns lose their potency, what skills should successful reps brush up on to continue to thrive?
Curiosity, consistency and confidence are essential skills for successful reps. Regardless of what tactic is used to get the initial engagement with a prospect, a conversation still needs to be had. Reps need to be prepared and do their research ahead of time to maximize each and every conversation and gain a positive outcome.
What have your most successful prospecting strategies been over the last few months?
The account management team at Automox is responsible for the retention and growth of our existing customers. Our most successful prospecting strategy from the last few months was to pursue a customer’s white space by reviewing their usage and determining where we are not covering their endpoints. In addition, we considered how long the account had been a customer, how often they interacted with Automox, their health score and when they were due to renew. We then developed an email and phone cadence to engage the customer in a discussion regarding their planned growth.
In the short term, the team was most successful expanding customers with whom they had existing relationships. Our account research and reach-out process opened the door to new relationships to cultivate and we continue to see the benefits of that work. Our most successful expansion opportunities are always with accounts where we have relationships that exist outside of the world of email.
Our account research and reach-out process opened the door to new relationships to cultivate and we continue to see the benefits of that work.”
How much of a role should email automation play in a sales rep’s prospecting process and what are the potential side effects of an overreliance on automated email?
I’m the first person to delete an email with an alias that I don’t recognize or a passive aggressive and overly presumptive subject line. Even though email has its place in prospecting and will continue to, customers are more responsive when the conversation shifts to the phone. There have been times when I have forgotten how beneficial picking up the phone and simply calling someone can be. That being said, email automation enables a seller to reach hundreds or thousands of potential and existing customers in seconds.
The key to email automation is to ensure the message is relevant to the audience and drives an action. That action should foster and progress the engagement between the seller and the buyer, whether it’s a swag offer, informational webinar or the carrot of your choice.
As automated email campaigns lose their potency, what skills should successful reps brush up on to continue to thrive?
Successful reps should brush up on their interpersonal skills and consider improving how they engage with customers via phone and email once they move past the automation phase. My most successful reps have no qualms picking up the phone and they are not afraid to hear “no” in any iteration. I look for account managers who have a background in hospitality, retail or food and beverage — they have first-hand experience with objection handling and upselling in person, even if it was when they were in college or high school.
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