Over two-thirds of Americans own a smartphone, and our constant reliance on them provides various ways— beyond just talking—to connect with the world around us.

In fact, one of the smartphone's most basic components, its text messaging capabilities, can be key to connecting with your prospects.

And, these days, with less than one-third of smartphone usage actually involving talking on the phone, there's no better time to brush up on why you should text your prospects—and how to do it.

Unlike driving while texting or walking while texting, texting while selling is not dangerous; to the contrary, it can be invaluable in helping sales teams meet their numbers. By texting prospects during your sales process, you're 40% more likely to convert them into clients.

Here are a few of the reasons why.

• The ability to personalize your interactions: Impersonal mass emails or cold phone calls tend to make prospects feel like just another number or a target for meeting a sales quota. SMS has the potential to be much more personal, enabling you to build a bridge of camaraderie and familiarity with your prospects. The more casual, conversational tone of text messages makes it much easier to build relationships.
• Making your point immediately: The average human attention span is eight seconds, and the fact that we're busier than ever with more content channels to distract us doesn't help. If you are looking to convert prospects into clients, keep your message short and simple. Long messages laden with fluff are a surefire way to lose a prospect's attention. SMS messages help convey your point quickly, without bogging down your prospect.
• The ubiquity of mobile devices: Today, Gen-X and Millennials together make up nearly 70% of the working population. These generations are accustomed to quick dialogue and easy access to whatever they need at the tap of a finger. For them, texting is a natural means of communication, and chances are they'll be much more comfortable talking with a salesperson via SMS than by telephone. However, Gen-X and Millennials aren't the only generations who live on their mobile devices: Mobile messaging is one of the top mediums across all demographics, with 97% of Americans texting on their phones at least once per day.

But before you get out there and fire off text messages to all your leads, it's important to understand the appropriate timing and frequency for this sales tactic.