— did a great study on this topic ( SalesLoft . com , “ Sales Email Personalization Research Reveals Key to 2x Reply Rates ”).
For the sake of effectiveness , sales teams must find the right balance between effort and reward . SalesLoft ’ s
20 % to
data science team found that 20 % is the optimal amount of personalization in an email to maximize performance . Outside of that 20 % personalization , the rest of the content ( template or not ) needs to be targeted to ensure relevance to the person you ’ re sending to . Sales messaging is important to get right so your team ’ s efforts aren ’ t wasted .
To develop sales-ready messaging , begin by breaking down your addressable market by the target industries . Then , section out the personas within those industries . Finally , research the top three challenges and priorities these people face in the current year .
How to Develop Sales Messaging
• Break down your addressable market by target industries .
• Section out specific personas within those industries .
• Research the current top three challenges and priorities these people face .
For example , CIOs in the health care industry have different priorities than CIOs in the manufacturing industry . Also , CIOs in the health care industry have different challenges in 2019 compared to 2018 . Only after you understand the details of each persona ’ s particular challenges and priorities can you map the specific components of your solution to each need they address . Then , you can tie in an expected result .
Most MSPs / VARs have multiple products and / or components of their solution that are valuable for customers . However , too many organizations make the mistake of combining them into one overall value prop or elevator pitch . That is the job of marketing . Sales should carve up the overarching value prop and segment it to address a prospect ’ s specific needs .
A Real-World Example
Let ’ s use my time at an MSP as an example . The typical value prop or elevator pitch is “ We provide outsourced managed IT solutions from last mile to switch .” That ’ s
is the optimal amount of personalization in an email maximize performance .
great , but what if I send that email or make that call and you don ’ t respond ? What ’ s the next thing I ’ m going to say ?
“ Hi , it ’ s me again , touching base , checking in …” “… Did you get a chance to see my first email ?” “… Bubbling this one up to the top .”
Instead , we should section out the value prop to tell a story . The story we communicate aligns different components of our solution with specific challenges and priorities a certain persona has .
The result of this process is a set of multiple messages the sales team can use to tell their story . These serve as templates for personalized and specific personas . Once the messages are constructed , split test them to determine which ones work the best . They should sound something like this :
“ CIOs in the health care industry leverage ( insert targeted solution component ) to see ( desired result ).”
Pro tip : Tie the results to a case study in a similar industry , if possible .
Here ’ s a closing thought on usage : You can have the most targeted , persona-specific , and sales-ready messaging in the world , but it won ’ t do you any good if your sales team doesn ’ t use it . Making content easily accessible across the sales organization is necessary to enable personalization at scale . n
Make It Happen !
John Barrows is a world-renowned sales training expert and CEO of JBarrows Sales Training . John has provided sales training and consulting services to some of the world ’ s leading tech companies — such as Salesforce , Slack , Box , and LinkedIn — with a focus on driving results with proven techniques that impact adoption and behavior change .
6 | MSP SUCCESS • VOLUME 1