5 Reasons to Sell a Service via SMS Texting-Featured.jpg

5 Reasons to Sell a Service via SMS Texting

Anyone in sales or support at a SaaS (Software as a Service) platform knows the importance of improving your conversion rate and decreasing churn. On a basic level, what this means is simple: obtain as many clients and lose as few as possible.

In most software sales positions, you can accomplish these goals by staying organized, learning the product inside and out, listening, treating clients fairly, staying driven and being honest. But the rules of the game change when you're just getting started, as any entrepreneur or new small business owner will tell you. And being able to adapt and analyze these new rules can help accelerate business growth at every level.

After my days running the channel sales at BigCommerce, where there was no shortage of leads, I came on over to launch SpaceCraft, the foundation for Websites 360®.

After just a few weeks, it dawned on me: through all my years in sales, specifically software sales, I never TRULY had to get creative with my sales approach. But it’s not easy building a brand, even one as great as SpaceCraft.

Until you get established, you will have to fight tooth and nail to win every deal and then fight again not to lose it. Again, this is the case across the board in any start-up or newly launched business. As I began to realize this, I discovered a key to winning deals and maintaining customer loyalty: text message marketing.

After extensive personal experimentation, I have come to believe that sales and support via text message can drastically improve conversion rate and decrease your platform's churn. Here are five reasons SMS marketing is an incredibly effective sales and support tool for SaaS or any small business.

1. It establishes a connection

One tactic good sales people employ is to make themselves readily available. We have all heard the slogans, “money never sleeps” or “always be closing.” But this can only go so far if a client is hard to get hold of or is unresponsive. If it's difficult to schedule that next call with a potential client, why not say, “As soon as you get a second, shoot me a text, and I’ll give you a call no matter the time”?

That may just be the extra step that finally gets a response.

Conversely, think about texting as a support tool. How can you possibly show more love to a disgruntled client than by saying, “No matter what time, feel free to text me”? Establishing that personal connection can mean the difference between keeping or losing a client.

2. It builds a lasting relationship

In my experience, most people subconsciously want to be able to say, “I have a guy for that.” We all prefer to put our money where we already have some kind of relationship.

Making yourself available to your existing clients keeps you at the forefront of their minds so when they need to make that recommendation to a friend, you're the most accessible, dependable option. And what better way to become that guy (or girl) than engage in short, diligent conversations via text?

3. It gets real-time answers

SMS is immediate. Busy clients on the go might feel bothered by an unexpected call or forget about your email, but using SMS texting they can quickly send a short answer even if it's just “I’m busy.”

Being able to send a note and know the client immediately saw the message is a powerful selling tool.

4. It makes it easy

Corresponding with your target using text message marketing instantly lowers the barrier to entry.

People across various demographics, from your grandma to middle-schoolers, now consider texting to be the easiest way to communicate.

For one thing, you don't have to be "on your game" as much as you do on a phone call, and you can be more informal in your writing style than proper email etiquette demands.

5. It qualifies leads

In sales, time is literally money. Using text messaging as a qualifier can save a ton of time and energy when done correctly.

Every salesperson has had a sales call that seemed too good to be true — and was. These types of leads start strong and fizzle out, wasting your time and wearing you down unless you can begin consistently qualifying if a potential client is serious.

What I propose is that if you can get someone to say the words, “text me” or “send me your cell number and I'll text you,” there is a good chance they are a good use of your time.

I have found that 80% of potential clients that ask you to shoot them a text end up buying and staying on as faithful clients who will tell their friends. Texting is an effective method for sales and support that any small business can easily implement. Give it a shot and please let us know how it goes!

Originally published 7/9/13 and written by Eric Tarlo