Ilex Insights

Why Your B2B Sales Team Should Be Using Email Sequences

Written by Ilex Community Manager | 04-May-2021 10:00:00

Email sequences are an essential part of your sales development strategy. An email sequence is a series of emails automatically sent to your contacts by your sales team. They allow you to improve productivity, generate new relationships with prospects, build brand awareness, and drive sales at every point in the chain of communication.

 

According to Statista, in 2019, global email users amounted to 3.9 billion users. In 2023, this figure is set to grow to 4.3 billion. It is therefore vital to utilise email sequences as a key sales strategy. By automating the process of introducing your company and following up on leads, you provide peace of mind that all your prospects are being dealt with systematically.

 

But how do you know that email sequences are right for your sales team?

 

  • Are you copying and pasting the same email pitch to every lead?

 

  • Does most of your day get spent on drafting, scheduling and sending follow-up emails?

 

  • Could you be using your time more productively on other tasks?

 

If you find yourself answering yes to the above, utilising email sequences could be beneficial for your business. We’ve put together 5 different email sequences your sales team should be using to make nurturing and engaging with your customers and prospects easier and more efficient.

 

Welcome Sequences 

 

Welcome emails are a great way to engage new prospects in who you are as a business and what you can offer or help them with. According to Invespcro, the average open rate for a welcome email is 50%. That makes them 86% more effective than standard newsletters. They also help you to clarify who wants to engage with you further and could become a customer in due course.

 

Nurturing Sequences

 

Not all visitors to your website are ready to purchase immediately. In fact, according to Successwise, only 3% of your target market is ready to buy at any given moment. So, the purpose of nurturing sequences is to stay on top of prospects who showed interest from your welcome email. Nurturing sequences are a series of emails that begin to move the prospect along their customer journey, providing value and maintaining a relationship throughout the process.

 

Engagement Sequences

 

You always want your email sequences to inform and entertain. If you can demonstrrate your knowledge and offerings in a fun, engaging way then your emails will be more compelling and stand out from your competitors. For example, you could send updates, share an important announcement or provide activities that your audience can complete. They are a great way to start building relationships with prospects that could potentially become customers.

 

Conversion Sequences

 

By this stage, you should already have an established relationship with your prospects, who have now turned into leads. Your focus with conversion sequences is to get your leads to make a purchase based off of the knowledge and value you have already provided in your other email sequences. This can be done through a call-to-action such as a content offering or a ‘Book a Meeting’ link.  

 

Follow-up Sequences

 

Once your prospect has turned into a customer you still want them to remain engaged. By showing appreciation, checking in and following up it provides additional value and increases trust and loyalty from your audience. It also gives you the opportunity to share other potential offerings you think would be beneficial for their business.

 

Email sequences provide your sales team with an automated ongoing communication strategy for your leads, prospects and customers. They help you build relationships, save time, manage work efficiently, build brand awareness and drive sales.

 

If you aren’t implementing email sequences into your sales strategy, then our team at Ilex can help you. We can provide your business with email sequence templates, clearly communicate your brand to your target audience and help contact manage your prospects, leads and customers. Get in touch today.