In today’s convenience-focused world, it doesn’t get much better than texting. Nearly everyone has a cell phone; I'll bet your smartphone is within arms reach right now. And unlike an email inbox, which is likely filled with dozens of long, unopened emails, text messages are nearly always opened and read. In fact, according to reports from Mobile Marketing Watch, emails have a mere 22% open rate whereas text messages have an off-the-charts open rate of 98%. According to another study, an astounding 90% of all text messages are read within 3 minutes of being received. If you're not texting leads, you're likely missing out on sales opportunities.
With that being said, let’s talk about the 5 best practices to implement when texting leads.
But before we jump into those best practices, here are a few essential benefits of texting leads:
- The message is likely to be read quickly but also because it is a more concise option.
- Communication tends to be brief, casual, and direct.
- Available whether you are sitting at your computer or away from your desk.
For those reasons and more, texting is a win-win communication strategy for all. Now let's look into how you can do it most effectively.
1. Focus on Speed
When is the best time to respond to a customer? Immediately! You are 100x more likely to convert a lead if you communicate within 5 minutes of their inquiry. A huge advantage of text message marketing is its ability to make your team hyper-efficient through an automated response function.
Want to improve speed even further? Explore automated text messaging.
2. Be Friendly yet Professional
Though texting is a less formal channel of communication, do not use it as an excuse to be casual in your connection. The last thing you want to do is spoil your relationship - as well as the sale - by seeming unprofessional. Every interaction a lead (or customer) has with your company is all part of their brand experience. Other key components include:
- Be brief. Brevity is always important when communicating with prospects. Long texts fill up their screen and appear overwhelming. Correspond using simple, concise messages that can be read within seconds.
- Avoid abbreviations and all caps. Even though you are texting, things like emojis, acronyms, sloppy or extreme punctuation (one exclamation point is enough!), and ALL CAPITALIZATION are still inappropriate.
- Keep things friendly, not pushy. Friendliness can go a long way in creating a more personal and inviting interaction.
3. Make it Easy to Start a Conversation
Sometimes, an automated conversation needs to be able to convert to a live phone call or text message conversation. When texting leads, you need to create a way to do this seamlessly. If automation is being used, it is important to move to a human-to-human conversation as quickly as possible to let your customer know there is a real person on the other end trying to meet their needs.
It is important to note that both automated and manual lead texting play important yet distinct roles in communication with leads. Automated texts are great for quick follow-ups like responding to an inquiry, confirming an appointment, asking for a review, or sending a thank-you note. Manual texts are more personal and best for live sales and service conversations.
4. Use Consistent Phone Numbers
Many lead texting technologies will allow you to use a custom number with an area code that is easily recognized by the lead. This can help signal to them that they are in the right place. You can even take it a step further by allowing your prospects to text your landline with Calldrip!
Also, always use a business number when interacting with prospects and customers. This is not only good for employee accountability and data records, but can also protect the business in the event of employee turnover.
5. Leverage a Shared Inbox
By using a shared inbox, you ensure that no conversation slips through the crack. Here's why:
- You can tag, assign, and chat with team members in order to reach zero inbox faster and without duplicate replies, thus boosting productivity.
- There is also an added layer of collaboration and accountability between team members because everyone is able to see who is in charge of which conversation as well as what has already been said.
- If a team member is unavailable to respond, it allows for another team member to easily pitch in.
- Sharing an inbox also provides transparency for management or sales coaching opportunities.
With Calldrip's business text messaging software, a shared inbox is built-in! Even better, Calldrip recently released an Apple and Android app that allows you to assign text conversations and communicate on the go.
When done correctly, text messaging is a convenient and powerful tool that more sales development representatives should take advantage of. It is a convenient way for customers to ask questions and get fast responses.
With Calldrip, you can start texting leads quickly and easily! Our rapid lead response software enables your team to cultivate high-quality conversations with leads, prospects, and customers via call and text.
With options such as lead to call or text functionality, web chat to text or call functionality, AI-powered sales assistants, and the ability to text a landline, Calldrip is the perfect option to jumpstart texting your leads now. Plus, we just released our new app! We'll even do most of the heavy lifting to ensure your system is set up to reflect your sales processes.
If you'd like to learn how Calldrip can help your sales team convert more leads with text messaging, click here for a demo.
