Five Secrets To Effective E-Mail

Years ago voicemail was all the rage. There was no e-mail, so people tended to honor and even return their voicemail messages. It was a good time — but that’s history now.

E-mail has changed everything, and people now hit the delete button on their voicemail messages the instant they hear something they don’t like — which is usually when it’s a message from an unknown sales rep.

What To Do?  The good news is people still respect e-mail, and it is still the primary mode of communication between business people. Following are five secrets that will set your e-mails apart from the thousands of others your prospects get.

E-mail Secret No. 1

Use the prospect’s first name in the subject line. Putting your prospect’s name in the subject line (first name) will automatically distinguish your e-mail from the hundreds of others in his or her inbox. In addition, we’re all partial to our own name, and this will draw your prospect’s eyes like a magnet.   

E-mail Secret No. 2

Customize the first few lines of your e-mail as much as possible. Many people preview e-mail by reading the first paragraph in Outlook. The beginning better be short and provide immediate value to your prospects. 

For example: “Hi Barbara, Mike Brooks here with HMS software. I’ve got some ideas about your networking issues for your new office that’s opening in Houston next month.  We’ve helped a lot of companies in this area, and I think you’ll find it useful if we talk.” 

E-mail Secret No. 3

Keep your e-mail short and easy to read. Nothing will turn off prospects more than long, information packed paragraphs. Break up sentences into paragraphs – no more than three sentence paragraphs 

E-mail Secret No. 4

Ask for a return response — whether they are interested or not.  This is a great way to end your e-mail and a good way to get a response. Simply thank them in advance for their consideration and that you’re looking forward to their response. 

E-mail Secret No. 5

Promise to follow-up by phone if you don’t get a response.  Let them know that you understand they are busy, and that out of consideration if you don’t hear from them you’ll follow-up with a call in a day or two. This increases your response rate.

Bonus

Be happy when you get a “I’m not interested” response. These prospects just disqualified themselves and saved you a lot of time and energy. On the other hand, there will be others who don’t respond and they become your follow-up leads.

Take a few minutes right now to script out the outline for your e-mails and then fill in the details as you need for each prospect. And then watch your contact, response and success rate skyrocket.

Source: Promotional Consultant & Mike Brooks is a motivational speaker who has more than 20 years experience in the sales industry. He is the author of The Real Secrets of the Top 20 Percent: How To Double Your Income Selling Over The Phone. His proven techniques and strategies are used successfully by a number of companies.

Administrative Professionals Day is Wedn

Administrative Professionals Day is Wednesday – BE SURE TO THANK THE ADMIN IN YOUR OFFICE!

Community editors of local newspapers are always looking for interesting stories.

In some cases, free publicity may come in the form of humbly-bragging. I realize that is a bit of an oxymoron, but its true. Editors of your local newspapers, trade magazines etc. are always looking for viable filler for their respective pages.  If you have hired someone, hit a milestone, achieved success or helped a client with the same tout it!

During my career I have developed a habit of letting editors know what’s going on in my business regularly; it has catapulted my career in various areas:

• They often see me as an expert
   
• Editors will often call me for interviews    and | or opinions on various subjects
   
• It keeps clients aware of what’s going on
   
• Establishes a foothold that we are doing things and not just stagnant

All of this increases your exposure and credibility. So the next time something interesting happens at your place of business or there is a notable accomplishment Write it Up while there are no guarantees it will get published do it anyway persistence is the key you never know!

~Cliff Quicksell