Campaigns we like: Plan to Engage

I have often wished that sales people would get some basic email marketing training. That’s probably not on the list of priorities for most sales organisations, but there are some simple learnings that would help sales people create a much better first impression in their emails and more interest from their prospects in what they have to say. I'm scanning my inbox now:

Hi Fiona,
I am sorry to bother you… (not a promising start)

Dear Fiona,
I recently sent through an email about UK energy prices and wondered whether you have had a chance to take a look at it? (Umm, no – it was about 4 pages long)

Dear Fiona,
Just a quick mail to follow up and to see if you have had a chance to review my previous email… (Er, no actually, I can’t even remember what it was about)

We’ve all experienced this kind of dreadful drip-fed tosh and maybe, we’ve missed out on genuinely innovative solutions to build our business, that we just couldn’t face reading about.

So, taking lessons from email marketers, if sales people were to focus more on the value proposition of their emails, demonstrate a little knowledge of the recipient, and thought more about the subject lines they used to help engage, then I’d like to think the (working) world would be a much better place.

And this is why I loved the email I received last week, from Tamara at Plan to Engage, which I think is a great example of a B2B campaign.

• First of all it is brief and very clearly set out. It’s quick to skim read and to get the gist of the message. I’d say the perfect length for a B2B email


• The subject line “Have you got a minute?” was personal in tone, which gave the email a more human touch, and didn’t sound like it was going to be too onerous. I was intrigued to see what the email was about! (FYI, the minute exactly corresponded to what they asked of me – see the time of my reply!)


• There is immediate value for the reader in this email – even if you only read the first sentence, you will learn some best practice – that email campaigns can be segmented on behaviour. And at the same time, it’s a great way for Plan to Engage to demonstrate its expertise, without being overbearing or self-promotional


• And then the killer personal touch – it seems that I fall into the category of people who haven’t clicked on their emails. (Sorry guys!). Sharing this information with me, and why I was receiving this email achieved a direct connection, which is valuable, even if I still don’t then click through. What a great re-engagement tactic!


• The email then clearly sets out the benefits of their services (the training seminar) where all the bullet points are totally focused on me, the customer, and what I would gain from attending. It’s not 4 pages long, and it’s not about them


• And then lastly there’s a very clear call to action, which is based on signing up for the event to get some free advice, which will help me to improve what I do

B2B lists are typically much smaller than B2C, which makes personalising your emails even easier, and just by taking the time to do something a bit different like this you can have a surprising amount of impact.

The email also sells more effectively, by demonstrating knowledge and expertise rather than just telling me that the course is going to take place and how great it will be. No doubt there will be great uptake for future courses, and hopefully also a rush from sales teams to get that edge for their own email prospecting.

Fiona Robson, Managing Director, Rocketseed