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Do you find yourself targeting the same companies as everyone else in your cold email prospecting?
Prospecting is already challenging, so don't make it harder by focusing on overly saturated markets. Instead, here’s a tip that could transform your prospecting success.
We spoke with Sean from our Selling Local Community, and he shared his cold email strategy that helped him close a $2000 deal.
The key? Targeting cities with smaller populations (those around half a million people) where the competition is less intense.
As Mark Twain once said:
“When you find yourself on the side of the majority, it’s time to pause and reflect.”
Outline:
Here’s Sean’s exact words on how he does this:
“I created a list of cities that were somewhere between 500,000 and a million in population, because if I'm only going after like Chicago's and New York and all the big, big towns then there's a lot more competition there.
But if I can get those secondary cities, then it's more likely that I'll be able to find some traction.
So I was looking at who else I have in my arsenal of clients that we've been able to do good things for and worked well with and chiropractors kind of came to the top of the list.
And so I started in Charlotte and so I modified the email that you gave- modified that including a quote from the chiropractor we had worked with and sent it out.
And really up until today, I hadn't seen a whole lot come back from that. And then this morning I got a response and an hour or two ago had a phone call and they've got to read our contract over, but they're signing on for $2000 a month.”
Watch the full video here!
You can use Resquared to easily identify how many businesses are in a particular town or city, ensuring that you're targeting areas small enough to avoid overwhelming competition but large enough to avoid ghost towns.
For more tips on improving your cold email prospecting and selling locally, join Sean and the rest of the Selling Local Community.
What do we mean? Get clear and curious.
Clear – Who do you serve? Who is a good fit? Who is NOT a good fit? If you think you can help everyone, you really can help no one. Some ways to refine your ICP (Ideal Customer Profile, aka your best target customer):
What is the problem you solve?
What can you determine about a company BEFORE talking to them that indicates they will or will not have that problem?
EXAMPLE: Let’s say you run an insurance company that works with businesses in Florida. It’s pretty obvious that companies in Georgia or New York City are NOT good fits.
Once you've narrowed this down, the next step is to get clear on what question to ask (remember, be curious) to determine if they are a good fit.
Next level deeper – Maybe you only cover workers' compensation and commercial liability insurance. If the business has mostly 1099 (non-full-time) employees, you cannot serve them. Ask, "Do you currently provide insurance for your employees, or are they all 1099 contractors?"
Get excited and curious because if they answer "No, we don’t provide insurance," you just saved yourself and the business owner from wasting time.
If they DO provide insurance, get excited because you believe in your product or service and may be able to help!
Don’t take it personally if someone is rude to you. Kill them with kindness.
One of the greatest lessons my mom taught me as a kid – and it turned out to be a super tip for business – is that the kid in class who is being a bully or a jerk probably has some bad stuff happening at home or in their life that they are projecting onto you.
The same applies to business. If someone is rude, it is likely not about you. Perhaps they are struggling to pay their rent or their team, or something is happening in their life!
Examples:
You are a business broker who helps people sell their business. You can create "5 Things Every HVAC Owner Must Consider Before Selling Their Business" and turn it into a PDF or blog.
Then, when you ask the curious question, "Have you thought about selling your business?" you can follow up with, "Let me know, and I can share the '5 Things Every HVAC Owner Must Consider Before Selling Their Business".
You could offer to do a free valuation of their business so they know what their company is worth in the market.
The CTA (call to action) might be, "Have you thought about selling your HVAC business? Let me know, and I’d be happy to do a free valuation for you so you can get a sense of what the market is for your business".
Lastly, share what you’ve done for others and what they can learn.
For example, "Have you thought about selling your HVAC business? Let me know, and I can share a case study on how I helped Johnny from Pensacola sell his HVAC business and the lessons he learned from the experience".
