We did some research and took some of the best examples and practices in sending the first message on Sortlist. We can tell you exactly how to craft the perfect message that will greatly increase your chances of getting hired by a client.
Here are five tactics you can use.
1. Be conversational. Avoid the monolog.
Treating new business opportunities as "tickets" is wrong.
Your message should be personal.
To achieve that, your potential customers should never feel like they're just another number in a long list. None of us enjoy being treated that way.
Instead, you want every customer to feel like they're involved in a one-on-one conversation.
This means customizing your message for each customer, making it unique, as well as responding quickly, personally, and pro-actively.
2. Call the customer by his / her name
Your message should include the name of the potential customer.
Studies provided evidence that hearing one’s own name causes unique brain activation, specific to one’s name in relation to the names of others (source).
In other words: humans enjoy hearing their own name and being called by their own name.
You can use this pattern to make your first message more impactful.
3. Refer to specific details from the briefing
Tailor your message to suit their specific needs. Bonus points if you can relate to a detail from their Briefing. This shows the customer you understand their needs.
Talk about their project and your excitement to help.
For example:
"I’d love to help get your Social Media campaign. We have many experts on our team that did many similar projects in the past..."
4. Explain why your agency stands out
Potential customers want to know why they should hire you, so use this opportunity to tell them what makes you great. Talk about your relevant experience.
For example:
"Based on the short briefing you gave on Sortlist, we are convinced that we quite perfectly fit the agency you are looking for as [your agency name] is an agency specialised in web development and other forms of online communication like Search Engine Optimization, Search Engine Advertising, Social Media Advertising, sending newsletters,..."
Just make sure you don’t copy and paste from your profile. Or copy and paste the exact same message to every single customer. That’s spam. And it’s obvious.
Remember, you could be competing with up to four other agencies on Sortlist, so talk about how you’re different.
It doesn’t matter what service you provide, there’s always something that makes your agency stand out from others. Talk about how you’re the exception. This makes you seem self-aware and easy to work with.
5. Highlight the next steps
Explain what next steps the customer should take to get this project started. You’d be surprised by how many customers don’t know how to move forward.
Actually, your closing rate can decrease by 71% if you don’t mention what the next steps are in your message.
Therefore, end your message by encouraging them to respond in order to schedule a meeting. Even asking a simple question to keep the conversation going makes customers more likely to respond to you and not someone else.
Would such meeting suit you next week somewhere? Could you please suggest 2 dates and hours (not before 10.30 am please) on which such meeting would be possible for you?
I would be glad to come over to your office to discuss your project. Thank you. Kind Regards,
[Signature] (name, job position, phone, email address)
And that's it! Using these 5 strategies, you'll make sure to dramatically increase the quality of the first message you'll send to a new prospect.