How many times has it been that the proposal that you emailed to your prospective client failed to generate the desired interest and enthusiasm? Of course, there can be a number of reasons that can cause a client to reject a proposal. And believe it or not, a badly written mail may well be one of the causes.
While working for a company, you can’t depend on the corporate communications department to guide you through little details and proof read all your mails. There are some things you just have to learn to deal with by your self, one of the most important of which is learning the right way of corresponding with your clients via emails.
Here are a few important guidelines as to how mature professionals are expected to send business emails to their clients, customers and colleagues, thereby not ruining a fledgling business relationship even before it takes off!
Read the Email Several Times before Sending
Never press the send button on your mail, unless and until you have read through your mail at least thrice. Make sure that you haven’t missed out words and punctuations or carelessly used SMS lingo in your mail.
Contact Information
Your company’s name, mail id, phone and fax number must be attached at the end of every business mail. This will make it so much easier for your clients as they won’t have to hunt through piles of mails to locate the one in which you mailed them your contact information. Plus, new referrals will automatically be passed on with the help of your company contact details.
Don’t Approach With an ‘I know It All’ Attitude
Please don’t be arrogant and assume that the information you provide is already known by the recipient. So, the words with which you begin your mail should be confident but sprinkled with humility. Especially if you are writing a promotional mail, it would be a good idea to start your mail with something like, “Maybe you already know this but…” or “Have you ever tried this?” Your prospects will definitely appreciate this subtle and humble approach and they may even write back to thank you for it.
Notify When You’ve Received an Important Mail
We often receive official emails that we feel we aren’t qualified to reply. Perhaps the information or the explanation sought is just not available with us, or perhaps we are feeling too lazy to pick our brains and write an intelligible response. In such cases, it’s always better to immediately respond to that mail and acknowledge that you have indeed received it and will write soon back with the desired information. This will make the person patiently wait for your response instead of becoming agitated, thinking that you are trying to avoid him for some reason.
Attach the Original Copy Along With the Mail
Don’t we all become agitated when we receive a mail from an unknown ID, stating they are still waiting for their delivery? But you have no idea who the hell this person is and which delivery or consignment is he talking about?
Don’t let others feel the same way about you. Always send an attachment of the original copy for reference so that the person receiving it is able to get all the necessary information and easily recall why you two had corresponded in the first place.
Make good use of the Subject Line
The Subject line acts as a useful reference, mainly if you are forwarding a number of draft copies. To avoid confusion number them as draft copy 1, draft copy 2, etc. in the main subject line heading. This will avoid a lot of confusion later on, if the recipient needs to search his mail for a copy which he needs.
Ending the Conversation
You should always know when to cut short the email conversation and not bombard your customer’s mail box with never-ending mails. If you’ve exchanged five to six mails and the conversation has come down to just a ‘Thanks’, then realize that it’s a prompt from the client that he’s satisfied with the information you have provided, and intends to end the correspondence for the moment. Don’t drag it further. When they have thanked you, take the hint, don’t reply again.
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