1. Henry Schuck
Co-Founder & CEO
@HenryLSchuck
Getting Into The IT
Decision Maker’s Inbox
DiscoverOrg
www.discoverorg.com
2011, 2012, 2013
2. 60% report that a Cold Call or
Email has bumped a new
vendor into consideration
75% of IT Execs have taken an
appointment from a cold call or
email
DiscoverOrg Study Jan. 2013 of 1,000 F5000 IT Mgrs, Dir, VPs
3. Using the Power of Email
Objectives of the presentation:
Helpful tips on escaping filters and navigating gatekeepers
Crafting the most effective Subject Line
Compelling Email Body
Being CAN-SPAM Compliant
www.discoverorg.com
4. Goals of a Lead Generation Piece
Recipient makes a decision about deleting your email in 2.7 seconds, plan
wisely!
Start a dialogue
Could be other interests, familiarity with product, etc.
Thought provoking questions to generate responses
Encourage a response
Get acceptance for offer
BIGGEST MISTAKE: Focusing on your product or service instead of the
offer
www.discoverorg.com
5. Getting Stuck?
Remove these items to stay out of the spam filter
Graphically rich
Complex HTML Message
CAPITAL LETTERS
Promotional word(s) such as “free”
Symbols (!)
Attachments
Run your email through a SPAM Score
www.discoverorg.com
Pro Tip: Run Your Email Through a SPAM Score
7. Common Themes in Deleted Emails
Sending emails around long weekends
“Salesy” sounding emails
Generic “firebomb” content
www.discoverorg.com
8. Now’s Your Chance!
Key Readability Tips:
Use Arial 10pt - most readable size and font across Outlook and
mobile devices.
This is important considering 36% of DiscoverOrg emails
are opened on mobile devices.
Best Times to send email
Most emails are read between 8 and 9 am and 3 to 4 pm on
Tuesdays and Thursdays.
Prospects will be most engaged during these hours as well.
www.discoverorg.com
10. Crafting Your Subject Line
This is the most important part of your email!
People are busy but they are drawn by the subject line. You want to
make sure to cover these areas:
Create curiosity
Provide Utility
Subject Line Goals:
Tell prospect why you chose them.
Request for a specific action
Relevant to prospects wants and needs
How product can benefit them (mention pain-points)
Never more than 50 characters, not words.
Only 27 characters display on an iPhone Subject Line
www.discoverorg.com
11. Successful Subject Lines
“Can we talk March 12th?”
“Connect with key IT Decision Makers”
“<Company Name> <Person’s Title or area> Information Security”
“Should we talk?” or “Can we set up a call?”
“<John> - Can I get 15 mins?”
“Following Up”
For emails after the initial email
“Widget Corp.”
Good since Widget Corp. is a competitor or the recipient or a
company that would otherwise be familiar to the person.
“John Smith”
If John Smith is a mutual contact or internal referral, or if it is
someone at the organization you’ve spoken to previously.
www.discoverorg.com
12. The Body: The “Meat” of your Email
Show you’ve done your homework.
First Name (informal salutation)
Bold relevant content
Tell why you chose them
Give them Value.
Highlight Sphere of Influence
Express gratitude – A little thanks goes a long way.
www.discoverorg.com
14. The Email Structure: The “Bones”
Informal Salutation
Short Sentences
Multiple Breaks
Bullet/key points
175 words or less.
Keep it above the fold.
www.discoverorg.com
15. The Action: “Next Course”
Encourage
Action!
Create
Sense of
Urgency
Give
Offer
Concrete
Response
Request
www.discoverorg.com
17. Concrete Response
Don’t leave it up to the recipient to make the next step
Sense of Urgency:
“I will call you tomorrow at 3pm, let me know if that
works..”
The Close:
“I look forward to your reply (name)”
“I’ll give you a call on…(day)”
“I will be in your area on Friday…
www.discoverorg.com
18. Mail Merge – Big Picture
• Linking Fields in Excel to Emails
www.discoverorg.com
19. Target Your Audience, Tailor your Message
with DiscoverOrg
www.discoverorg.com
Pro Tip: Watch a full-length tutorial on creating a mail merge
using Word 2007 and DiscoverOrg here
20. The Follow-Up
What happens after sending? Wait it out?
NO! Execute the dynamic duo of Email and
Voicemail.
Email again
Track your responses
Average of 300% increase on responses when
sending follow up emails.
Get an internal referral
• “John – Thanks for the response. Do you know who would be
charge of Storage at XYZ Corp.?”
www.discoverorg.com
21. Internal Referral
“Don’t sell to the CIO or VP level? Send them an email
asking for a referral” – Aaron Ross – Predictable Revenue
Subject: Can you point me in the right direction?
Email Body:
[First Name],
I'm sorry to trouble you. I know you’re the <Title> at <Company> and
was hoping you would be so kind as to tell me who is responsible for
[insert your biggest pain point here that resonates with your ideal
customer; OR insert function such as “Networking” or “Information
Security”] and how I might get in touch with them?
Thank You,
Henry
www.discoverorg.com
22. CAN-SPAM
CAN-SPAM does not prohibit the sending of unsolicited email for
commercial purposes – what it does require is that companies stop
sending emails to recipients who have indicated they want to “Opt-out.”
Be compliant
Don’t use false or misleading header information
Don’t use deceptive subject lines
Give your location to recipients
Give clear instructions on how to OPT-out, and honor requests promptly.
Pro Tip: Read the complete compliance standards CAN-SPAM
www.discoverorg.com
