SMS texting sometimes can be thought of as an informal method of communication. You can use it to chat with colleagues or remind someone to pick something up from the store.
As more people become proficient at SMS, innovative salespeople are learning that texting can be a handy tool to help with the selling process and even assist in closing a deal or two.
No matter what form of communication you use, there’s still no replacement for good people skills and familiarity with your product or services. However, providing your sales team with the ability to text can help nudge a client in a positive direction. More and more people are starting to send a text message more often to interact. As a result, they check their mobile devices regularly, sometimes more than 100 times a day. A text can be a perfect way to contact someone busy and get their attention. In contrast, an email or a voicemail may take hours or even days for someone to notice, let alone respond to.
For those seeking useful ways to use texting in selling solutions, consider a new mobile communications strategy:
- The Follow-Up.
You may not necessarily want to approach a prospect with a text first, but sending an sms notification or a series of texts after you’ve already made contact can be a good way to remind them of who you are and what you have to offer. Without pushing them hard, your texts can reinforce what you have already discussed. If you previously gave your prospect something to read, such as paperwork, emails or links, you can easily send them a text to check if they have any questions. One study showed that leads who received text messages during the sales process converted 40 percent more than leads that didn’t receive texts. You also can put together a simple scheduling campaign of texting for a specific client or offer. You can set a workflow with different details and a timeline designed to make sure your clients have everything they need to understand your products and services.
- Stay in touch
Not everyone likes to call these days, especially if they’ve discovered how easy texting is. People can send a quick question and receive an answer in response. This makes it easier on your clients so that they do not have to chat, go through different transfers or leave a voicemail if someone happened to step away from their desk. They can get the answers they need in a simple text! A salesperson can encourage open communication with phrasing such as “call or text with questions.”
The ability to text can also remove possible frustration from people waiting on hold, (86 percent of most callers), or too busy to wait on hold so they hang up (1/3 of callers.)
- Send reminders
Mistakes happen. Clients forget appointments. You sometimes forget appointments that were not entered in your calendar correctly. A great way to minimize the frequency of these mistakes is to send a couple texts confirming details of a meeting. In addition, a couple of emails wouldn’t hurt either. More than half (53 percent) of adults check their phones right when they wake up, and many others do so right before they go to bed.
Even if you’re planning to be at a meeting along with the client, consider sending texts to co-workers also on your attendance list.
- Confirm delivery
A common assumption is that people receive everything you email or snail mail them. This isn’t always the case, and one party may be waiting to read and acknowledge a final document, while the other party is wondering why things are taking so long. If you’re sending someone something, ask them to text to confirm that they’ve received it. A “check-in” text can also show that you want to make sure the recipient has all the info they need and isn’t missing anything or blaming you for not providing correct info.
- Answer questions.
Besides being a quick way to contact someone wanting specific help, texting can also be used to reach people anywhere. In the past, people had to sit by the phone, especially as a deal was in the final stages of closing. Texting makes it easy to multi-task and also lets people solve a problem quickly. Users can also tackle multiple questions from different clients rather than taking one call at a time.
Overall, texting can be essential to help keep a possible transaction in motion and keep client frustration level low. For other suggestions on making this tool work for your sales efforts, try Trumpia Connect today!
