Email: Your Secret Sales Weapon

1. Email: Your Secret Sales Weapon Michael Regina Funeral Decisions Co.

2. 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.

3. What Adults Do Online* This Gap Represents Over 42 Million Adults *Pew Internet Research

4. Today The “Good Old” Days Mr. Robert Smith 123 Main St. Somewhere, ST 12345 (555) 555-5555 Bob bob192@gmail.com

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

6. Example Email* What Not To Send Subject: RE: Sales Lead Body: Mr. Smith, Please give me a call and we can discuss your options. Michael Example Funeral Home *Actual email sent by a funeral director

7. Example Email The Usual Email 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. Michael XYZ Funeral Home

9. What Not To Send • 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

10. Responding To Consumer Inquiries

11. Steps For Effective Emails • Get It Opened!

12. 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

13. Steps For Effective Emails • Get It Opened! • Get A Response! • Provide USEFUL Information • Build Trust • Show Social Proof • Ask Questions • Next Steps

14. 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!

15. 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

16. 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

17. Email Secret Weapons • Pre-Written Templates • Save Time • Won’t Miss Important Information • Ability to Assess Email’s Effectiveness

18. 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)

19. 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

21. 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

23. 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

24. 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

26. 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

27. 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

28. 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