Tools Of The Trade

It seems like email has been around since the dawn of time, and in the social media era, it may not be the first thing solution providers think of while searching for the best way to close recurring revenue deals, cross-sell and up-sell customers. But while email is an older tool, it's still the best way to reach customers you'd like to keep and renew, and make those deals more lucrative. It's also clear to the folks at Carlsbad, Calif.-based MaintenanceNet that not every company really has the hang of using email to boost sales. The problem, MaintenanceNet's Kelly Crothers and Matt Clymer say, is rooted in many solution providers' inability or unwillingness to gather, organize and analyze customer data. We'll dive into the finer points of data and customer lifecycle management in a separate post. For now, there are a few things companies can do to make their sales teams' emails more effective and successful. They're taken from a recently released MaintenanceNet e-book called "The Modern Sales Manager's Guide To Crushing Quota With A Recurring Revenue Model."