In a lot of ways, technology has made it easier to reach potential customers. Automated email marketing allows you to speak to an entire database of contacts with just the touch of a button. And while email has proven to be significantly more efficient at converting customers than social media, your potential customers’ inboxes are getting fuller every day. 

We’ve reached the point where most consumers can smell a sales email a mile away and will delete it within seconds. They expect that if they open it, they’ll be subjected to blanket messaging, “talking at you” verbiage, and generic content. Usually, they’re right. One-size-fits-all emails are not helping your business, and they may actually be hurting it. 

As a salesperson, you understand that getting to know your customers and building relationships with them is still the best way to close a deal. While more and more relationships are being forged from behind a screen, the need to create a connection is more important than ever. The question becomes, how can you leverage the power of technology and build a relationship with your customer?

Adding a personal touch to your emails will set you apart from your competitors and help you stand out in a sea of sameness. A few minutes of research and personalization can create an entirely new playing field for you. There are a number of ways to achieve this with your sales emails, but before we discuss those, let’s get into some of the benefits of adding a personal touch.

Benefits of Personalization

Imagine if you walked into a car dealership and were greeted by a robot who referred to you as “Dear Customer” and determined which car was best for you (and everyone else) before asking you what you were looking for. You’d probably run — not walk — out of that dealership. 

Yet, we do that every day with generic sales emails. 

Adding a personal touch to your emails will help you:

Build Rapport

Personalized emails allow you to connect with your potential customers and see them as actual people. That connection will encourage them to do business with you and stay loyal to you. 

Build Trust 

Consumers want to feel like you understand their pain. A generic email blast, sent out to hundreds or thousands of people, doesn’t target their individual struggles. However, seeing a personalized email that addresses their specific challenges and offers hope of a solution builds their trust in your brand. 

Make Customers Feel Like You’re Speaking to Them

Every industry has its own lingo for the problems they solve. Unfortunately, this isn’t necessarily the verbiage that will resonate with a potential customer. Getting to know your consumers better and then using personalization helps you speak directly to them. 

Keep Customers Happy

By and large, customers are less receptive to and flat-out irritated by emails that aren’t personalized — and the last thing you want to do in a sales email is irritate your audience. Providing customization and personalization makes consumers happy, so always try to find ways to incorporate those kinds of elements. 

Improve Open, Sales, and Conversion Rates

When consumers know that you understand their problems and reliably send relevant content, they come to feel personally connected to your company — a feeling that makes them more inclined to open your emails and, in turn, do business with you. 

Ideas for Personalization

There are a number of different approaches when it comes to adding a personal touch to your sales emails. Here are some of the most effective ones. 

1. Start with a strong template. 

It may sound counterintuitive, but beginning with a template will free up your time to do your research on your potential customers. Remember, this is just a starting point. You’ll be customizing sections and altering words to fit your audience. You can find a variety of sales email templates from Hubspot to help you get started.

2. Send them content they actually want.

Sending your potential (and existing) customers content is an excellent way to stay top-of-mind and establish yourself as a thought leader in your space. However, no one wants to be inundated with information that they don’t find necessary or applicable. Base the content you send off what your customers actually want. 

Icebreaker by UpContent is an integration application that allows you to re-engage your prospects when the conversation has died down. By sending them third-party content that has already been curated by your team, you can jumpstart the conversation and continue the relationship. This content is relevant to your organization and to your customer and already approved for distribution. 

3. Personalize offers and product recommendations.

It might go without saying, but every customer is unique, and their problems require at least somewhat individualized solutions. As you learn more about your customers, use this information to make personalized recommendations that fit their needs rather than yours. 

4. Show appreciation. 

Sales emails shouldn’t just be about sales. Once you’ve established a relationship with a customer, you need to cultivate it. Send them a welcome email when they become a customer, celebrate milestones in their life and in your relationship, and wish them a happy birthday. These emails keep you fresh in their minds without being intrusive or annoying. 

5. Put an end to cold calling.

There are very few salespeople in the world that actually enjoy making a cold call. Those that do know that you need to create a connection early on by starting a conversation about something other than the product you’re selling. 

The same goes for emails. Reaching out to people in your database — even if they’ve signed up for a free offer — is pretty much still cold calling. Co-Pilot is an app that integrates conversation starters such as local weather, local news, and upcoming local holidays into your contact records. This provides you with a starting point to break the ice and personalize your emails to create a better connection. 

Whether you utilize the technology available to you or not, real human connection will always be the best sales tactic. Connecting with potential and existing customers will allow you to build rapport, build trust, and make your customers feel appreciated so they keep coming back. Adding a personal touch to your sales emails is easy and essential to creating loyal, happy customers.