Traveling: Using Email To Generate Leads On The Fly

Have you ever been worried that going out of town would affect your business? Time away from the office usually means putting potential new clients on hold, but it doesn’t have to be that way! In fact, quite the opposite — it could be an opportunity to tap new markets and generate new leads by the handful.

Email is an old tool, but when given a new twist, it could be as much of an asset out of the office as it is in the office. When used in a strategic way, email marketing can benefit your company and lead generation by helping you expand to different cities, states and countries while you’re traveling.

By following these three simple steps, you can turn each trip into a new way to spread your reach through something as simple as sending a quick email:

Research: Before going out of town, research different companies and businesses in your destination area. Pick and choose a handful of companies that fit your target audience. Once you’ve found your targets, find their contact information. Oftentimes, you can gain contact information by looking on the company website, checking LinkedIn, or doing a quick Google search.

Reach out: Now that you’ve compiled the list of the people you wish to contact, create a well-written email template. (An efficiency tip: Save your template as a draft, highlighting the information that gets customized for each individual — then copy and paste it for each email you compose.) This email template should include the dates when you will be in their city, what your company has to offer them, and a query asking whether they would be available to meet while you are in their area. Go through your list of new contacts, sending your well-crafted, informative email to each person.

Schedule: After you’ve sent your email, you need to monitor who is responding and who is not. You may find it’s easiest to track this in a spreadsheet, making note of whom you have emailed, when you emailed them, and when they replied. When someone responds and is interested in a meeting, it is mission critical to send a prompt response and immediately schedule a meeting. If someone doesn’t respond, wait a week and send a simple follow-up email (and make note of your follow-up in your spreadsheet).

After you’ve successfully completed these steps and have a few meetings booked on your calendar, the rest of the work falls on the sales process. When you follow through with your meetings and make a good impression, the leads could turn into great new clients. All of this while you were “out of office”!