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.
YOUR EMAILS – THE IMPRESSION YOU MAKE - To learn more about this author, visit Linda Richardson's Website.
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Linda Richardson
(Visit Linda's Website)
Linda Richardson is the Founder and
Executive Chairwoman of Richardso
n, a global sales training company. As
a recognized leader in the industry, she
has won the coveted Stevie Award for
Lifetime Achievement in Sales Excellence
and she was identified by Training
Industry, Inc. as one of the “Top 20 Most
Influential Training Professionals.”
Ms. Richardson is credited with the
movement to Consultative Selling and is
the author of ten books on selling and
sales management, including Sales Coaching
— Making the Great Leap from Sales Manager
to Sales Coach, and Stop Telling, Start
Selling. She teaches sales and management
at the Wharton Graduate School of the
University of Pennsylvania and the Wharton
Executive Development Center. Linda is a
frequent speaker at industry and client
conferences, has been published
extensively in industry and training
journals, and has been featured in
numerous publications, including The Wall
Street Journal, Forbes, Nation’s Business,
Selling Power, Success, and The Conference
Board Magazine.
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