What does personalization mean in sales?
Showing the email was written for this person, with a real detail tied to their priorities.
What it means
Personalization means writing so the reader can tell the email was meant for them. In sales it usually means a researched detail about the person or their company, such as a hiring push, a launch, or a change in their team.
A first name or a company name dropped into a template is not personalization. It is a mail merge.
What it means for a sales email
The detail should connect to a problem or priority. RAIN Group found that buyers rate a researched, one-to-one email above a mail merge. Gong's research adds that the right detail depends on the reader: senior buyers need to see a company priority, while a hobby or a name with no business challenge is not enough.
A good test: could this email be sent to anyone else by changing one word? If yes, it is not personalized yet.
Personalization can also go too far. A detail about someone's family or weekend plans can feel intrusive and does little on its own. Keep it to their work.
Research mentioned above: RAIN Group, 2017Gong Labs, 2023
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