How to Write Better Business Emails and Improve Your Sales
There may be an "Easy Button" for stationery supplies—if only there were one for selling! While no such button exists, there are some things that you can do that will make your emails and sales calls more effective. When you write effective emails, it becomes much easier to sell and your appointments will be more productive.
Get their attention.
Make it easier for prospects to read your emails by crafting subject lines that clearly state the purpose of your email. Take a page out of the military. Start your subject lines with keywords in all caps that explain 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 each subject line stands out because of the all caps? Your email recipient can clearly see what is being asked of him and what he needs to do. If you need someone to do something immediately, they are more likely to notice an all caps ACTION subject line, and because of it, actually take action. Be sure to follow "ACTION" with a clear description of what the email is about. An example might be "ACTION: Approve proposal."
Writer shorter emails.
Do everything you can to keep the emails that you write short. You can do this by summarizing the purpose of the email in your very first sentence, and then provide the details in the sentences that follow. Your objective is to keep the length of the email to fit within one computer pane so the reader doesn’t have to scroll down. This will save your reader time and makes your message easier to read.
The shortest email you will write is the one you never write. That’s when you realize that it would be better to get on the phone and actually speak in real time to the recipient. On the phone, you get to address what you need right then and there without the constant back and forth that some emails cause.
Avoid wasting your time.
I hear all too often about salespeople getting on planes to go to appointments only to find that the prospect or customer is unable to meet with them. That is unacceptable. The more expensive the appointment means you have a greater job to confirm that the appointment will actually take place.
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; however, 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. There are too many salespeople who think if they contact a customer to confirm an appointment, their customer will cancel the appointment. Well, wouldn’t you prefer to know in advance that a customer is not available so you could schedule someone else with your valuable time instead of wasting it?
You will be a more effective sales professional when you do the work to write more effective emails and meet with customers who are prepared to see you. You can’t push an easy button to make selling easier. You just have to know what to do.
