Receiving fast email response with clients and co-workers is always an area of focus for our sales training partners. Every Salesperson would love to see their buyers react to their emails quickly. An unanswered email internally can hold back necessary actions that directly involve buyers. However, we all suffer from the frustration of stalled emails. So, what can we do to speed up the process and likelihood of a quick response? Read on to learn 3 ways that will fast track the process for you.
A great Mentor shared a thought with me one day that has stuck with me for years:
The priority that you have for your clients is not the same priority that they have for you.
This is so simple it should be obvious, yet it answers so many questions we have when waiting for an email response from a buyer or colleague in our office. Remember and repeat it next time you throw your hands in the air. It’s all about priorities, workload and what people must deal with during their day which is always more than time permits. That means your email may get pushed to the side for something that is deemed to be more important at that time.
However, there are things that we can do to make it easier to convince the recipient to respond quickly. Here are 3 great ones courtesy of Bob Villeneuve – a Sales Manager from Shalit Foods – one of our Toronto-based sales training clients. Thanks for the insight and permission to use your suggestions, Bob!
Imagine a worst-case scenario where you accidentally share confidential internal information with a buyer. We’ve all experienced our own personal what-was-I-thinking email when we tried to accomplish too much with too many people. It’s also acceptable to break up a thread in your reply as opposed to reply-all when you think someone in the original list of recipients simply doesn’t need to be involved.
Bob goes further to share with his Sales Team this – if the above suggestions seem overwhelming or too time consuming, it’s a sign that your focus is spread too thin. Keep working a manageable list of customers and sales opportunities so that you can work them both professionally and thoroughly.
The key is to think about the goal of the email. Focus on simplicity and fight the urge to copy extra people. When we get copied on an email with a multitude of other people, we seem to unconsciously think that our personal responsibility and accountability is diluted.
Let me add my own thoughts. Read the email several times before you hit send and think of each recipient. We’ve all read an email from our sent items and done the head shake in regret.
Here are some of the dangerous questions email recipients may ask themselves:
What is this email really about?
What’s my role or required action?
Who is supposed do what?
When is this due?
Will delaying my reaction be the wrong decision?
Don’t give your primary recipient a reason to pass over your email for the next one that seems far easier to act on and remove from their Inbox.
If we tell our clients that we’re customer-focused it should be apparent in our communication with them.
What do you think? Do you have any great suggestions with emails you’d like to share? I’d love to see your comments below or email me at [email protected].
Thanks!
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