YOUR EMAILS – THE IMPRESSION YOU MAKE

Today, e-mail is probably the most common way of communicating with clients. I continue to be amazed by the e-mails that I get to see that salespeople have sent to their clients.

A professor colleague of mine made me laugh when he got an e-mail from a student that was the last straw for him. He read it to me: “when’s the test?”

That affront got him to lay down the law to his student. He wouldn’t answer any e-mails that lacked a greeting, a tone of rapport, a clear, short message, a closing request, and a signature. Immediately the quality of e-mails improved.

Clients usually won’t make such edicts. If they don’t like an e-mail they simply delete it or make a mental note. Some may not even focus on the fact that the quality of communication is poor. But clients do notice when the quality is very good.

Make sure you’re not missing opportunities to reinforce your professionalism and differentiate yourself with every e-mail you send.

Certainly, based on the relationship, you can be formal or informal. But take a few seconds to check for tone and the message you are sending, not just in terms of facts, but the positioning of the message and how you are relating to your clients.

For example, if a client requests data do you:

• Send the data (“Below are the percentages you requested …”) or position it (“Below are the percentages you requested. As you can see this supports the … The slightly lower … is a factor of …”)?
• Assume the data meets the client’s needs or check (“Please let me know if you have any questions I can answer or if you’d like to speak with our specialist in …”)?
• Start directly by providing the data (Below is the data …) or introduce it with rapport and structure. (“Thanks for the call about the data. We’ve completed research you requested and are providing the summary in three segments: …”)

Read your e-mails before you send them. If you connect with rapport, position to be persuasive and show value, and check. Use e-mail after e-mail to show you are the professional you are.

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