You may already know that email is your best means to get through to your ideal leads. What you may not know is how beneficial it is to automate this process. Sending out thousands of emails in less time helps you cast a wider net and increase your chances of getting more responses—but how many responses will you get, how soon will you get them, and how many leads will they turn into?
How many leads should you expect?
The short answer to each of these questions is the same—it depends. New business development for your company can be surprisingly different than at others, based primarily on:
- Your sales cycle. Depending on what you offer and who you’re targeting, it can take longer for your leads to agree to have a conversation because the need simply isn’t there. For example, ERP software isn’t purchased as frequently as customer service training.
- The price and complexity of your products and services. The more expensive and complex they are, the longer leads will need to weigh their options and include you in their budget.
- Whether you’re asking for a conversation or a demo. To some leads, the idea of being pitched on a product right off the bat isn’t appealing. Conversely, others may appreciate a more direct approach. Your sales staff should already have an idea which of these works more often, but you can also test them through email and analyze which one generates greater electronic activity: opens, clicks, and webpage visits.
- How active you are in your database. Automation can grab the attention of your leads faster because you aren’t having to send them one message at a time, but it’s still up to you to follow up with those leads once they’ve expressed interest in order to get them on the phone.
These factors may not be able to give you definitive numbers on how many deals you’ll close or how much money you can expect to make, but there is one aspect to prospecting that we’ve seen ring true on a consistent basis: when you make it a point to build relationships through email, you’ll have a better time nurturing more leads toward those initial new business conversations. And prospecting automation can get you there.