Posted by Ben Kniffen in B2B Lead Generation & Sales Development
#3 on our list of top priorities for 2018, is automating where possible, but keeping it personal. (if you missed the last week’s post, click here)
On the surface, “automating” but still “keeping it personal” seems like a tall order.
How can you automate processes, while also keeping a personal touch?
It might seem like a daunting task, but it’s actually very doable.
Let’s talk basics.
[thrive_leads id=’10191′]Why automate?
Well that’s simple, it saves time, which in turn WILL save money. And it will allow you to grow past the constraints of 1-on-1.
It could allow for more time to focus on your biggest priorities; and to really develop them into those “high-ticket” and long-term clients you want.
Bottom line… we all would LOVE to automate, if we could be assured that the results and quality would not suffer.
What to automate?
Let’s start with Email.
If our messaging comes across as impersonal, like the majority of automated email campaigns out there, we’ll be lucky to get our message opened. That is, if we haven’t already been sent to the dreaded SPAM or “promotions” folder.
But who’s got time to send out hundreds (maybe thousands) of unique emails manually every day?!
We’ve developed a process that delivers the best of both world, while still allowing your message to feel personal and therefore get opened and engaged with. But more on that as part of our 4-Part Workshop coming in February. Click below to pre-register for our exclusive content.
During the workshop, we’ll also be sharing best practices for automating your social media campaigns, with an emphasis on LinkedIn.
How do we accomplish this?
The first step is key to personal email automation… Know our prospect.
It’s incredible how few people take the time to research and list out the key facts about their prospects, like:
- Who are they?
- What job title do they have?
- What do they want?
- What problem are they trying to solve?
These are just a few of the items you should be able to rattle off the top of your head about your prospects. And the effectiveness of your messaging is DIRECTLY linked to your knowledge of the people you are connecting with.
The second step is writing personally.
But how can you write PERSONALLY if you’re sending the same message to hundreds of prospects?
Nothing feels more impersonal than a robotic sounding email or LinkedIn message.
Have you ever received a message along these lines, “Dear Mr. Turner, I would like to introduce you to our services. We specialize in X, Y, Z. Would you have a project that you would like to start with?…”
Who writes to their personal contacts like that? Would you send a message like that to a friend?
It feels like something taken from ‘A Robot’s Guide to Marketing That Doesn’t Work’.
Copywriter John Carlton says that before you start writing, imagine you’re sitting at a bar talking to a close friend about something exciting… then a stranger taps you on the shoulder saying he couldn’t help overhearing you, and could you tell him about it.
So you turn to this stranger, and you just tell him about it.
And whatever it is that we’d say to that interested stranger at the bar, well, that’s exactly how we write our copy.
Obviously we need to adjust our tone for our audience or industry… but we don’t fall into the trap of thinking that our audience/industry is all about formal communication.
Overly formal communication can destroy the personal feel of our message.
Again, if it was a lawyer, banker or doctor sitting at that bar with us, we’d probably talk to them the same way we’d talk to a plumber, teacher or surfer.
When your messaging is informal, like you’d send to a friend, then you can replicate messages and use automation with great results.
The third step is choosing our automation tool, and choosing it wisely.
The key is placing a premium on tools that allow us to scale our time and effort, but also allow for personalization. Nobody wants to engage with a robot.
If you’re serious about getting a system in place to consistently generate high-ticket sales opportunities, WITHOUT having to do all the legwork… then it’s critical that you find the right solution to balance automation with personal touch.
We’ll be getting deeper into this process, and sharing with you the tools that we’ve developed, in our 4-Part Workshop coming in February. Register here so you don’t miss anything!