Want prospects to respond with lightning speed? It’s time to activate the triple touch sales tactic.
What is the Triple Touch in Sales?
The triple touch is a tactic that salespeople use to engage prospects. The ‘touches’ include contacting the prospect three different ways, each time building trust, getting on their radar, and moving them further into the sales funnel.
Here’s the thing, if you’re in sales, you know that getting B2B prospects’ attention is tough. You’re also under pressure to accelerate the sales process and close more deals.
However, arming yourself with a simple triple-touch strategy will take the guesswork out of your sales cadence.
This takes us to today’s post.
Read on to get a straight-forward prospecting approach that focuses on authenticity, personalization, and efficiency. Give it a try for your next account pursuit and compare your results.
TOUCH 1 – Build Valuable Connections on LinkedIn
With around 722 million members, LinkedIn is a gold mine for your sales prospecting strategy. The business-focused social platform allows you to connect with professional people who need your product or service.
For this touch, the goal is to build connections. Access the prospect’s profile information and gather some qualifying information (like the problem your product can fix, the company’s budget-potential, and possible decision-makers).
If they’re a good fit, ask them to connect.
At this point, you’re building trust. Therefore, it’s critical to personalize your connection request.
If you send a canned LinkedIn request or an impersonal cut-and-paste message, chances are they’ll hit ignore, along with all the other meaningless messages.
Instead, add a personal touch to your request. That might include mentioning a mutual contact or group, a professional achievement, or an industry comment.
The options for writing the message are endless. Use this list to guide your talking points (for any of the touches):
Personal: Referrals, personal blogs, and articles, Tweets, alumni
Professional: Title, duty, empathy on shared pains, competitors, best practices
Company: Press releases, news, 10-K (annual report)
Industry: Trends, best practices, thought leadership
Here’s a LinkedIn connection request example. Adapt it to your talking points.
Hi [prospect’s name], I see we’re in the X group. I’d love to connect and follow your thoughts on [a topic that aligns with your prospect’s role and your product]. Thanks, [your name].
[Read More] How to Use Sales Multi-Threading
TOUCH 2 – Send a Personalized Warm Email
Your email is the foundational step of your sales cadence. Most of your communication and follow-up will revolve around this email.
The goal is to personalize it, make it relevant, and keep it short.
Here are some specific tips for crafting an effective prospecting email:
Subject line: Your subject line has one critical goal: to get your prospect to open your message. Like the rest of your email, your subject line must be personalized, relevant, and short.
Even ‘Hi, [prospect’s name]’ can entice someone to click on your email.
First (short) sentence: You’ve earned the prospects ‘open.’ Now, state the reason for your message.
Lead with, “I’m reaching out because…” and get right to the point. Use your research to align the prospect’s role and responsibilities with the problem you can help them solve.
Transition: Lead into the body of the email with a brief transition sentence: “If you aren’t familiar with [your company name], here’s what we can bring to your team:”
Body: Use bullet points, as this allows the prospect to scan for relevant information. What are their pain points? What are the benefits that your product offers?
Make each bullet about your prospect and how your product will solve their business problem.
Call to action: Wrap up the email by applying the slightest of pressure. “[prospect’s first name], given your [role and responsibility], I thought it made sense to connect.”
TOUCH 3 – Follow up Your Email with a Call or Voicemail
By this touchpoint, your call will feel ‘warm.’ Call with the expectation of a live conversation but have a voicemail script ready to go.
By laying the groundwork with the initial communications, you can now reinforce your message over the phone.
If you get your prospect’s voicemail, try something like this:
“Hi [first name] – This is [your name] from [company]. I’m calling because I sent you an email earlier about [the prospect’s problem you can solve]. Give me a call back at [your number]. Again, this is [your name] from [company] – [your number]. Thanks!”
Also, think beyond the office phone and call your prospect’s mobile number.
Make Your Triple Touch Strategy Irresistible
The triple touch approach to prospecting creates opportunities for you to connect with prospects and start building relationships.
This stealth approach to prospecting also keeps you on an organized, sustainable cadence — the perfect combo for getting fast responses from potential customers.