Email is a sales tool. Are you doing all you can do to get your emails read and useful for selling? Here’s what you can do.
Be strategic with subject lines.
Make it easier for other people to read your emails when you write them. Here’s what you can do. Write a better subject line so it’s clear what you want. You can take a page out of the military. Here’s what they do. Their subject lines use keywords in all caps to note the email’s purpose. Here are examples.
• INFO – For informational purposes only
• REQUEST – Seeks permission or approval by the recipient
• ACTION – The recipient must take some action
Do you notice how the email stands out because of the all caps? Your email recipient can clearly see what is asked of him and what he needs to do. You don’t want your action request buried in someone’s email. With an all caps ACTION it is clear what the reader needs to do. He’s more likely to notice it and because of that actually take action. Now be sure to follow the all caps with a clear description of what the email is about. An example might be ACTION: Approve proposal.
Avoid writing them, but keep them short if you do.
Do everything you can to keep the emails that you write short. You can do this by focusing on the very first sentence as an email summary. Then what follows in the email gives the details. Your objective is to try to keep the email length to be within one computer pane so the reader doesn’t have to scroll down. That saves him time and makes it easier to read.
The shortest email you’ll write is the one you never write. That’s when you realize that it’s better to get on the phone and actually speak in real time to the recipient. You get to address what you need to right then and there without the back and forth that some emails cause.
Avoid wasting your time.
Begin to categorize your appointments in terms of value. You’ve got to consider the cost to get there whether it’s driving or flying. Then factor in your time allotted. You might be able to fill in some appointments driving to a customer or prospect. You might not be able to fill in any appointments while you’re flying to some remote location. That makes the sales call more expensive because of your time investment.
Send an email a few days before your appointment to confirm the appointment. Use the recommended subject line keyword ACTION to indicate that you need and want a reply. Too many salespeople think that if they contact a customer to confirm the appointment that their customer will cancel the appointment. Well, wouldn’t you like to know in advance so you could schedule someone else with your valuable time instead of wasting it?
Email can deliver better sales results for you when you know how to use it as an effective selling tool.