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Posts Tagged ‘email productivity’
How do you create a message that gets read? Be being strategic.
Understand readers go through 3 quick decisions when deciding how much time to allot to your message:
1. The subject line has to be meaningful to them. Keep it truthful and relevant to their needs.
2. The first line has to be meaningful to them. Write about them, not how proud, pleased or pithy you are. Tell your truth and make it about them. Answer the question they’re (silently) asking: Will reading this profit me any way?
3. “Above the fold” has to be meaningful to them. Above the fold is what they see on their screen without scrolling. Most messages should be completed by this point.
Then,
4. Have a clear, easy next step. Quickly explain to the reader why she should take it or accept it. Make it meaningful from their perspective.
5. Use your inside voice. Shouting about what you have to offer even the benefits, is old school. Don’t hype. Tell stories. Use testimonials. Link to comment sites.
6. Don’t fall in love with your words. KISS: Keep it simple and sweet is still great advice. Maybe even more important today than before.
7. Use common courtesy. Saying hi, hello or good morning is more pleasing than just starting with their name. Include a closing too. Yes, it matters.
8. If you’ve left a voice message or sent a previous email and they haven’t responded, consider not mentioning it. You’ll just remind them they’ve already blown you off. On the other hand, if you said in your voice message, I’ll follow up with an email, you have every right to show your follow-through by writing, “Hi Sophie, As promised, here is the ….”
9. End with something meaningful to them. Something meaningful to them usually isn’t something that is procedural for you. It’s poor form to write: I’ll call you Friday to see discuss the next step. It’s much better to say: I’ll call you Friday to talk about additional ideas to make your next event memorable and fun.
Try these ideas and tell me how they work for you!
What are the most obnoxious things co-workers do when they email? Are you the one they talk about in the break room? Here are some pet peeves and what you can do to avoid annoying the world:
1. Thoughtless responses
If, for instance, a co-worker asks if April 1 at 1p is a convenient time to meet, please (please, please) don’t email back: No. Offer an alternative time. Be kind to them. Save yourself the back-forth that wastes time and elevates blood pressure!
If you don’t understand what they want (even if it’s because they wrote a poor email), please don’t punish them and yourself, by responding: don’t know what you want. Instead, choose an option likely to improve your relationship and your reputation. Help them. Write back something like: “Sophie, Can you clarify what you mean by “……”? Thanks!” Alternately, just pick up the phone to find out.
2. Hitting reply to all
You receive an email and you’re on a list with a million (or five) others. Don’t hit reply to all. Consider if everyone really needs to know what you think. If you’re adding substantial information – really important stuff that will save the earth or their day – go for it. Otherwise, please, be kind. Pick and choose who you’ll reply to. Yes, it takes you a second more. So what?
3. Being too brief
Brief is great goal. Just be sure you’re conveying both the intent and the content your reader needs to give you good result. When brief writing borders on blunt, be smart. Add more information to help your reader want to read and respond to you.
A way too casual message like “Here you go” when attached to a proposal is blunt (and poor selling).
A short response like “Do it” from a department manager to a staff member who wrote a very long, very detailed email asking for assistance with a business issue she was struggling with, isn’t just blunt, it’s unkind.
A brief response like “Whichever” to a co-worker’s recommendation and request for your opinion isn’t going to win friends and influence people.
You get it. In each case, productivity is harmed (particularly ironic because some people claim to keep email short to boost it). When writing in a blunt fashion, your reader wastes time trying to figure out what was intended and loses more time following-up for clarification. And if poor productivity isn’t bad enough, when email writers don’t care enough to send their very best, profits and morale also plummet.
Bottom line. Save time, increase productivity and be perceived as the professional you are by writing to show respect for your reader.
You open an email and form an opinion of the writer. Bam! It takes what… maybe a nanosecond. Whether it’s a co-worker, colleague in another division or a vendor prospecting for your business, all of us make immediate judgment calls about people – about their credibility and the value of the emessage – by the tone of the email and the way it’s written.
Email, when used right, builds relationships and expands networks. When used thoughtlessly, it can pretty much ruin a business reputation. A poorly written email doesn’t just get deleted, it can diminish productivity, destroy sales and decimate morale.
Think of it this way: Do you really want to look your worst in front of the people who matter? Even if they love you enough to overlook your lack of attention to detail (like a Sunday morning at my house), or your less-than-friendly tone, what if they forward your message to someone who doesn’t feel the love? If you aren’t going to care enough to pay attention to the details, someone else will.
Will you actually ruin your business rep if you send an email with typos? Maybe. A Nov 2009 survey of HR managers, found 57% of HR managers consider simple typos or grammatical errors “deal breakers” when hiring. Another 41% of those responding to that Society of Human Resource Managers study said typos were seen as “somewhat of a problem.” People think less of you when you don’t care if you’re sending your very worst.
Take extra effort to create a positive impression every time you write. Consider you’re applying for a job with each email. Just because you have a relationship (co-worker, boss, customer) doesn’t mean it’s okay to ignore details like grammar and spelling. (And, really, is there anything more annoying than the colleague who bolds every message, responds in all caps, or emails back “no” to your request?)
Thoughtlessly written email costs plenty. Improve your business reputation and write right!
What bothers you the most about emails you get from colleagues, co-workers and management? Tell me!
If you’re using email to prospect (and who isn’t these days?) or just to connect, consider if you’re (inadvertently) forcing them to reject your offer. Okay. Forcing may be too strong a word, but the way you communicate with them, specifically, the way you write, will either be a turn off or not. Here are 4 must-apply ideas to improve your email:
1. Plan your message. Think of it as a grocery checklist. I use an iPhone app called ShopShop to do my list. When you write, use this one:
- What do I want to accomplish with this email?
- Why am I really writing (to get them excited, give them info, motivate them to click on your website)?
- What do I want the next step to be and why they should take/accept it?
2. Write your message. Think of this as putting all the groceries (from your checklist) into your cart. Just get your message out of you, keeping in mind the goals you have.
3. Check. Reread your checklist. Did you get everything on it? Make the corrections now so that you don’t have to get home and drive back to the store (or apologize for email, send a follow-up, or lose the sale). Make sure everything is correct, before sending.
4. Apply rules of email etiquette.
•Basics: No shouting, proper punctuation to make your ideas easy to follow, correct spelling so the incorrectly spelled word doesn’t become a distraction for the reader, all questions answered so they don’t have to write you again, no BCC (you can use BCC unless the intention is to be sneaky), no needless CC or RTA, all terms defined (RTA: Reply to all)
•Advanced stuff like: Am I writing to prove them wrong? (DELETE and yes, I shouted that!), Am I being disrespectful of their time by including everything I want them to know when I don’t even know what they need to know?, Am I being too pushy appearing like I care more about the deal than about them?, Have I said stuff just once?, Have I made links easy to use and given them information they can easily access, or have I hidden my phone number (etc) in my sig line?, Have I used a 12 mile long sig line which includes my personal philosophy of life, the environment and accolades from 1999?
You want to attract more customers? Honor them. Love them. And write good email.
What am I missing? Your thoughts?
Proverbs are cool. No matter how cheesy they are, how can you argue with stuff like:
What soberness conceals, drunkeness reveals.
Every path has its puddle.
It is often the last key on the ring which opens the door.
So, as a leading authority on email etiquette and productivity (Power Sales Writing – McGraw Hill; How to Say It To Sell It! – Prentice Hall), I think it’s time to apply a couple to your inbox:
1. Practice what you preach.
I received an email from a client marked !!. To me, !! indicates the message is urgent to the writer and I tend to take those !! seriously. So, a few minutes after receiving !!, I wrote back asking for one more important detail (what time I’m speaking) so I could respond to her !! message. It’s now many hours later, and I’ve received no response.
Admittedly, I could pick up the phone to see if she is in her office and if I thought the question she asked was !!, I would. My goal is to be the easiest speaker to work with. But this is a test. (Only a test…had it been an actual emergency…) Is the message truly !! to her? Does she really need my answer by the end of the day? Will she even check her email to see if I responded? Does she routinely send !! messages, expecting that others will take her !! to heart, drop what they’re doing and give her !! priority? And if she does, does she offer the same type of responsiveness that she requests from others?
Ask yourself: Am I as responsive as I’d like others to be?
2. What we give out, we get back.
Are your emails friendly and respectful?
A friend received this email from her manager:
I need X by Friday.
Really? And I need a lube and oil. Just because you can, doesn’t mean you should. I wonder what type of response the manager is wants. Probably he just wants what he wants. It makes sense though Treating her with a bit more respect, for instance, just adding, I appreciate your help, would make all the difference. Or, how about giving a reason for the request like: I need X by Friday. I’m compiling the results, Saturday. Or, maybe he could have combined a bit of politeness with a request: Please confirm that you can do X by Friday. I know it’s short notice and I appreciate your help.
Ask yourself: Would I be motivated by my email to give me the best outcome?
What are your favorite proverbs? How do they apply?
A total of eight years of studying French; three years in high school, three years in public school (which sounds ooh, la, la, but wasn’t; the grade school teacher rolled the TV into the classroom for 15 minutes, three times a week and we’d learn French via our local PBS station), and seventh and eighth grade French classes equaled another year of high school French. Eight years and mostly I just remember how to curse. In French.
But when I’m in France for a few days, I (foolishly) try to converse with my remembered basic words. After a wonderful meal, I said tres bien, feeling oh so brilliant. The French friends we were with tried to help me see my error by explaining the difference between tres bien and tres bon. To show proper delight for the meal, I should have said tres bon. The restaurant could be tres bien but the meal had to be tres bon.
These people know I can’t speak French, but the difference was important enough for them to attempt to teach me. Nuance always makes a difference.
Which got me thinking about the words we choose to use in email and the important nuances that we ignore. Nuances that help the reader to understand both our intent and our content.
Words matter. It’s a respect thing.
Happy Chanukah and Merry Christmas one and all.
Market Watch. NBC News Channel 6. Phoenix (and Boston) Business Journal.
Business to Business Holiday Email: Why Generic Is Worse Than Doing Nothing
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz., Dec 11, 2008 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ — Sending your very best is more important than ever. But reaching out and touching someone requires both creativity and meaning, or you might be better off not sending a holiday greeting at all.
“The question used to be, ‘Is it appropriate to send holiday wishes in an email?’” says Sue Hershkowitz-Coore, sales trainer and author of How to Say It To Sell It ( www.SpeakerSue.com). With the current economy, that question is moot. The issue, she says, is figuring out how to do it well.
1. Be meaningful – from their viewpoint
“The most important thing is to make the message meaningful to the other person,” suggests Hershkowitz-Coore. Sending a generic “Wishing you happy holidays from all of us at fill-in-the-blank” can actually backfire. According to Hershkowitz-Coore, “The goal is to help recipients feel good about themselves and your relationship. Mention something they’ve accomplished that you’re proud of them for, something accomplished together that impacted their company, something that reminds them that you have a successful relationship.”
2. No business
“Whatever you do, don’t be tempted to ask for future business in your holiday greeting,” says Hershkowitz-Coore. “Looking forward to our paths crossing soon,” is as close as you can get, she says.
3. Sound like yourself
Make your message heartfelt, conversational and concise. Don’t copy a message someone else wrote. If your company style is edgy, use that edginess in your holiday greeting too. No rule says you have to be serious.
4. Don’t sip and send
If you haven’t made your email holiday list, don’t start after a few glasses of eggnog. Drinking and sending email never work well together. “Being friendly and familiar are different. After a few cocktails, it’s easy to forget that customers aren’t our best friends forever.”
5. Be political
You’re likely to offend someone regardless of what you call the holiday season. “Happy Holidays” seems to be the least annoying. Be cautious of including religious quotes, too. “Keeping church (temple and mosque) separate from business is good business, even in a holiday message,” she says.
6. Consider another holiday
If you don’t like these guidelines, send your message at another time. December is the typical time to send holiday greetings and that is exactly why it may not be the best time. “To stand out, send a meaningful New Year’s greeting or a Happy February note. Sending an authentic message full of gratefulness is perfect anytime of the year.”
Sue Hershkowitz-Coore is President and CEO of High Impact Presentations, a sales training consultancy specializing in communication skills.
The other day an attendee asked if there were times when email wasn’t appropriate. Yup. Sure are, I said:
1.When talking would be more efficient.
2. When talking would be more effective.
Pretty vague, yes. But we know. We know when we’re hiding behind the distance email affords. We know when we’re saying things that we wouldn’t say to the other person F2F. We know when the situation requires a few minutes on the phone. We know.
Emails present two messages: the writer’s content and intent. Manage both. And, when you can’t, SpeakerSue says pick up the phone.
This is so good! GMail is developing a breathalyzer for email. According to this post, “when you enable Mail Goggles, it will check that you’re really sure you want to send that late night Friday email” by asking you to ” solve a few simple math problems …. to verify you’re in the right state of mind” to send your email.
The default kicks in only on weekends or late at night. You can change the default though and that is a good thing. For some people, it might be best if it kicks in after airplane flights, at conventions and conferences, and pretty much on a daily basis.
This email, sent to me by a client, says it all:
Hi Sue,
This email was sent to me by a vendor during the conference. He was out
drinking with one of my employees.
Sent: Wednesday, August 01, 2007 1:07 AM *(Note the time!)
Subject: Wit allison (Note the spelling!)
Where at the w having coctails in montreal…she is great (Hmm… note the implication)
Regards,
The email breathalyzer can’t come soon enough.
This isn’t sexy and it’s incredibly simple. You’ll thank me and pat yourself on the back for doing it. And everyone can make the decision to take this one daily action.
Before leaving the office (or going to bed), write down the one most important thing you need to get done the next day. Before checking email the next morning, get your project done.
Too simple?
Okay… do the above. Then, set a timer and allow yourself only a certain amount of time to play around checking your email. When the timer buzzes, close out of your email program and get your project done.
It’s amazing how much work we can do when we aren’t being sucked in by other people’s agendas and our own email addiction.
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