Selling

Text Me

John Bradley "JJ" Jackson

20 Sep 2011 • 1 min read

Texting is no longer a “rising trend” in sales. It’s the way customers prefer to communicate. Recent studies show that 84% of U.S. consumers have opted in to receive texts from businesses, and more than 80% read a new message within five minutes. Compare that to email, where the average response rate is just 6%, versus 45% for SMS. It’s clear: texting delivers speed and attention that other channels can’t match.

For salespeople, this shift changes the playbook. Phone calls are screened, voicemails ignored, and emails often buried in overflowing inboxes. Customers simply don’t have time for long conversations or idle banter — they want quick, useful updates that fit into their busy day. A short, relevant text is more likely to get noticed and answered than another voicemail or email follow-up.

But there’s a catch: texting only works if you do it right. Customers expect permission-based communication, messages that are timely and relevant, and fast responses when they reply. Over half of consumers say businesses don’t even answer their texts which is a missed opportunity for building trust.

The takeaway? Stop chasing callbacks that never come. Meet customers where they are: on their phones, reading their texts. A thoughtful, well-timed message might be the difference between being ignored and closing the deal.