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Business
E-Etiquette: How to Use Electronic Communication to Turn Prospects
into Clients
by Dana May Casperson
In
today's ever-increasing virtual business world, more and more
prospects are making the initial contact with you by e-mail communication.
While this may be a big time-saver when it comes to returning
phone calls and sending information packets, it does pose some
challenges for turning those prospects into paying clients. The
secret is knowing how to use every e-mail correspondence you
send effectively to convert them into your best customers and
referral sources.
The reasons why many
prospects favor e-mail correspondence these days are plentiful.
First, they don't have to talk to a live person on the initial
query. This makes them more relaxed and eager to find out information
about you and your company. Also, they can request the information
they need any time of day, not just during your business hours.
This is especially appealing to those prospects in different
time zones and countries. Finally, when prospects receive your
reply via e-mail, they get the instant attention they desire
without the interruptions that come with phone calls.
Unfortunately, despite
all these advantages to the prospects, you as the business professional
need some special skills to effectively work with this kind of
communication. The good news is that with proper e-etiquette,
you can easily turn e-mail correspondences into one of your most
profitable client sources.
The Rules
of E-Etiquette
The
most recent findings show that the average businessperson sends
and receives a total of about ninety e-mail messages a day. While
these e-business correspondences are done at an incredible pace,
you need to remember that the same rules of traditional correspondence
etiquette apply. Your prospects choose to use e-mail because
they are busy people who do not wish to have intrusions, who
may not have time for idle chitchat, but who still need to know
about your products and/or services. In order to turn these prospects
into clients, follow these guidelines for effective e-mail communication.
1. Reply to your
prospects as soon as possible. The very nature of e-mail
is instant communication. Your prospects want to know what you
can offer them right now. While you may not be able to respond
to their inquiries the moment you receive them, you do need to
respond in a timely manner. The same day is bestbut definitely
within 24 hours. When your prospects see that you're able to
respond quickly with the information they need, it plants the
seed for future speedy service and makes them more apt to do
business with you.
2. Always reference
your prospects' original message. More than likely, your
prospects send multiple messages a day to various businesses.
In order to make it easier for them to determine which request
you are responding to, be sure to reference the original message
in your reply. This can be done in a simple sentence stating,
"Thank you for requesting information about (your company/product
name)." Or, depending on your e-mail program, it may automatically
reference the message you are replying to. (Check with your companies
IT Director to find out if yours does.) By making it as simple
as possible for your prospects to know what your message is in
reference to, you eliminate the possibility of them inadvertently
pressing the delete key before reading your message.
3. Be as brief but
detailed as possible. Your prospects want information, but
they don't want to be bogged down with pages and pages of text.
Your replies to them need to be brief yet filled with just enough
information to help them make a buying decision. Before sending
your reply to your prospects, send it to yourself to see how
it looks on the screen. Are there pages and pages of text that
will intimidate your prospects? Are the paragraphs overwhelming?
Does the formatting look awkward on the screen? Since this correspondence
will be the prospects' first impression of you, be sure you're
not conveying a negative or overbearing impression by bombarding
your prospects with too much information. Say what you need to
say, and then stop. You can supply additional information in
your follow-up.
4. Always include
additional contact information. Even though your prospects
are contacting you via e-mail, you still need to give them other
options for reaching you for further information. Always include
your phone, fax and/or cell phone numbers, as well as mailing
information in every correspondence. Most business people prefer
to do this in their signature, which can be programmed to be
automatically inserted at the end of every e-mail message. To
be effective, keep your signature short, use your business slogan
and keep the line length to sixty or seventy characters. Your
prospects will appreciate knowing they can reach you by other
means if necessary.
5. Be courteous
with file attachments. Depending on the information your
prospects want, there may be times when you need to send a file
attachment. While these are big time-savers for information requests
(no need to re-key informationjust attach a file and send), you
need to send your attachments judiciously. Never send more than
two attachments at a time. Attached files take longer for your
prospects to receive and download, and they may not appreciate
the increased time on-line. Additionally, some prospects are
leery of attached files because of possible viruses. If the information
is not long, you may want to consider including it directly in
the e-mail message by using a "cut and paste" method.
Another option is to have the information posted online at your
web site. This way you can simply direct your prospects to a
web link and have them view exactly what they need.
6. Use good grammar.
If your prospects can't read or understand your message, there's
a slim chance they'll become clients. That's why you need to
develop a strong vocabulary and proper grammar skills. You need
to know how to construct a sentence to accurately convey your
message. Because e-mail communication in not in person and because
it is fast and informal, it lacks the common communication cues
that come from voice inflection, facial expression and body language.
Your choice of words, therefore, becomes an even more critical
part of your communicating. Before sending your e-mail to your
prospects, read it over to be sure you got your point across.
After all, this may be your only chance to communicate with your
prospects. You need to be sure your message clearly answers your
prospects' questions and gives them a reason to want to do business
with you.
Build Your
Client List with E-Etiquette
Make
no doubt about ite-mail communication is the way of the future.
Those business people who have the e-etiquette skills to communicate
with prospects effectively will be the ones who reap the most
rewards.
Most important, always
remember that no matter how your prospects contact you, the goal
is to turn them into paying clients. Your e-mail correspondence
prospects are no different. Instead of defeating your chances
of converting these prime prospects by displaying sloppy e-etiquette
skills, you need to do everything you can to convince them that
your company is ahead of the times and can deliver the necessary
products and/or services. By using these e-etiquette tips and
some common sense, you'll turn more prospects into clients and
gain more referrals in the process.
Editor's Note: Manners
maven, Dana May Casperson specializes in etiquette consulting
for businesses, associations, and sports teams. Corporations
including Pacific Bell and The Ritz-Carlton hotels have been
inspired by her practical and powerful advice to improve their
business relationships and boost their bottom line. Known as
"Ms. Etiquette," Casperson has become famous for her
knowledge about cultural protocol and etiquette worldwide. She
can be reached at (707) 579-4367.
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