by Chris Taylor 
Email is the main communication channel for many people. However, a lot of time is wasted when sending sales emails as it is easy for things to get lost in translation, delays in responses, or just repeating yourself, ultimately killing the productivity of sales teams.
So, how can Salesforce help? Email Productivity (formally Salesforce Inbox) brings tools to sales teams to help them master the art of email communication.
Simplify arranging meetings!
We have all been there at some point. You are trying to book a meeting with somebody, you email them your availability, and by the time they reply, they either can’t do the suggested times or you are no longer available. This type of communication can be frustrating, wastes a lot of time and can delay deals.
Surely, there must be a better way. Did you know Salesforce allows you to insert your availability directly into emails based on your calendar? You can select the time you prefer from your diary or let Salesforce pick the next 3 times you are available slots from your calendar. And the best part? If something goes into your diary and a slot is unavailable, Salesforce will not let the recipient book it.
You can do this from within Gmail or Outlook from the side panel or when sending emails directly from the activity timeline in Salesforce. Not only is it simple to set up, but you will also instantly see an increase in productivity.
Decide when people receive your sales emails
A combination of more businesses offering flexible working and an increase in working internationally means that you might be sending or replying to emails outside of your recipient’s regular working hours. The send later functionality allows you to write your email and select a time you want Salesforce to send this. You can also view the scheduled emails directly in Salesforce, ensuring you don’t forget them.
But why bother? The email will be sitting in their inboxes, waiting for when the recipient is ready. Well, there are a few things:
- You are more likely to get a response if the email hits at the right time. Marketers look at patterns when people open their emails and target these times. So why not do the same with your sales emails?
- You could unintentionally pressure somebody to respond to the email you sent out of hours, and they may feel they are expected to reply immediately.
- You are messaging somebody in a different time zone, so although it is daytime for you, it could be the middle of the night for them.
- In certain situations, replying immediately might make you seem too eager or pushy.
Chris TaylorPrincipal Consultant
Looking for help with Sales Cloud?
Chris Taylor
Principal Consultant
Looking for help with Sales Cloud?
Is it too soon to follow up on that email you sent?
In the age of instant messaging apps, people expect to see when someone has read their message. However, this is a fundamental flaw with email. Marketers have been using email tracking for years to understand who is opening their emails or clicking links. So why should marketing get all the fun?
When sending sales emails, you can set it to be tracked and, using the side panel in Gmail/Outlook, even set up notifications of when these events happen. This lets you understand when people have opened your emails but not replied. You can then use this information to your advantage by following up with a phone call to follow up, knowing the person understands the context of why you are calling. However, with this great power comes a great responsibility. When utilising this feature, think about how you would react if you opened an email and shortly after received a call saying, ‘I know you have read my email’. It can come off as creepy. So, use this tool as it was intended and get a better understanding of who is opening your emails or not.
Stop repeating yourself, Stop repeating yourself …
When you start thinking about the sales emails you send, you will likely notice a pattern, and there are phrases or sentences you use multiple times per week. Well, did you know Salesforce can save these messages that can be quickly inserted into your email and save yourself some time? No more typing ‘I tried to reach you on the phone, could you call me back on XXX’ when you can use Text Shortcuts. This can also be useful when, for compliance reasons, there are specific sentences/paragraphs that you need to include. Get it right the first time without all the hassle.
So, are you ready to increase your productivity?
Many of these features from Salesforce allow sales teams to learn a page from the marketer’s playbook. If you are looking for ways to increase productivity and truly align communications from your sales and marketing teams, get in touch today.