Email: Your Secret Sales Weapon

Michael ReginaFuneral Decisions Co.

About Me

I grew up in the cemetery business and saw firsthand how far behind other industries we were when it came to leveraging the web for sales and marketing. In 2008 I started Funeral Decisions as a way to help fellow cemetery and funeral home owners use technology connect with more families, increase sales and market more effectively.

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78% 78

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What Adults Do Online*

This Gap Represents Over 42 Million Adults

*Pew Internet Research

Mr. Robert Smith123 Main St.Somewhere, ST12345(555) 555-5555

Bobbob192@gmail.com

The “Good Old” Days Today

Email Leads Convert at Approximately Same Rate As Phone/Address Leads

Subject: RE: Sales Lead

Body:Mr. Smith,Please give me a call and we can discuss your options.

MichaelExample Funeral Home

Example Email*

What Not To Send

*Actual email sent by a funeral director

Subject: RE: Your Web Request

Body:Mr. Smith,We have many options available here at XYZ Funeral Home for every budget. I’d be happy to go through all of our services with you. Feel free to give me a call at your convenience.

MichaelXYZ Funeral Home

Example EmailThe Usual Email

• Non-Descript/Non-Personalized Subject Line– Your Internet Request– Re: Web Form Submission

• Unknown Sender– Randy Johnson– Bob Smith

• Inadequate Information– A note telling consumer to call– No cost information or anything remotely useful

What Not To Send

Responding To Consumer Inquiries

Steps For Effective Emails

1. Get It Opened!

Getting Your Emails Opened

• Subject Line– Do Not Be Generic Or “Spammy”– Make Sure The Consumer Knows You Are

Responding To Their Request!• Bob Smith Funeral Home Information Request• Requested Funeral Information From Bob Smith FH

• From:– Consider Using Name Of Funeral Home/Cemetery• If not, definitely use name in Subject Line

Steps For Effective Emails

1. Get It Opened!2. Get A Response!

a) Provide USEFUL Informationb) Build Trustc) Show Social Proofd) Ask Questionse) Next Steps

Getting A Response• Useful Information (MOST IMPORTANT)

– Provide information about services/property they think they’re interested in

– Provide information about services/property they could be interested in

– Provide Price “Ideas”• Price ranges for your overall local market• Provide high end offerings of your competitors ("other cemeteries in

the area can charge up to $8,000 for the type of burials you are interested in, however we can work within your budget to give your family..........")

• Provide low end of what you offer/let them know you can work with their exact budget ("we have beautiful burial options that include a wide variety of customization that can fit into any budget....")

– Pictures of property, services, etc…– Does NOT include a link to your general website!

Getting A Response

• Build Trust– Include pictures of yourself– Links to personal Facebook page– Testimonial about you specifically– Teach Something

• Show Social Proof– How many families have you or the establishment

served– How long has it been in business– Testimonials– Links to online testimonial

Getting A Response

• Ask Questions– What has your family traditionally done?– Why are you specifically looking at direct

cremation?• Next Steps– Outline the rest of the process so that the

consumer knows what to expect and what they should do

• Pre-Written Templates– Save Time– Won’t Miss Important Information– Ability to Assess Email’s Effectiveness

Email Secret Weapons

Using Email To Close More Leads (…Old Ones You Haven’t Heard From In A While)

10% Or Greater Increase in Revenue(Source: Gartner Research)

Using Email To Close More Leads

• Segment Leads– Split leads into different “personas”– Example: Individuals who requested information

on cremation who came in via a seminar

Using Email To Close More Leads

• Segment Leads– Split leads into different “personas”– Example: Individuals who requested information on

cremation who came in via a seminar• Create Multi-Part Email Communication– Create a series of 4 – 12 messages (with 3 – 6 weeks

between each), with each building on the previous – Use your current follow-up process as a guide– Use mail merge to create semi-customized messages

Using Email To Close More Leads

• Segment Leads– Split leads into different “personas”– Example: Individuals who requested information on

cremation who came in via a seminar• Create Multi-Part Email Communication– Create a series of 4 – 12 messages (with 3 – 6 weeks

between each), with each building on the previous – Use your current follow-up process as a guide– Use mail merge to create semi-customized messages

• Offer Something Of Value– Each email should offer something of value or an action

step

Using Email To Close More Leads

• Segment Leads– Split leads into different “personas”– Example: Individuals who requested information on cremation

who came in via a seminar• Create Multi-Part Email Communication

– Use mail merge to create semi-customized messages– Use your current follow-up process as a guide

• Offer Something Of Value– Each email should offer something of value or an action step

• Automate– Allow your system to handle sending the emails

Email Secret Weapons

• Pre-Written Templates– Save Time– Won’t Miss Important Information– Ability to Assess Email’s Effectiveness

• Autoresponder– Automatically send emails out at predetermined

times– Allows follow up with hundreds of cold leads

simultaneously– Remember to space out properly…3-6 weeks

Email Recap

• Clear, Non-Generic, Non-Spammy Subject Line

• Useful Information• Add A Personal Touch and Build Trust• Social Proof• Ask Questions• Call To Action

Tools & Resources

• FuneralDecisionsCRM: http://www.funeraldecisions.com/crm

• MailChimp.com• ConstantContact.com• Tips For Writing Emails:

http://thinksimplenow.com/productivity/15-tips-for-writing-effective-email/

• Thunderbird Email Client(Great for templates): https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/thunderbird/

• GetNotfiy.com: Allows you to see if someone opened your email