HOW TO USE EMAIL TO MAKE YOUR BUSINESS MORE EFFICIENT AND PROFITABLE

One such technological advantage is email... and if you're not using it, you're severely handicapping yourself.

For the uninitiated, email enables you to transmit unlimited messages to unlimited recipients for just the base cost of your online provider service. These services run from a low of $9.95 a month to others which are as high as $75, or more. The difference between these services is usually how quickly you can get a line and transmit data. I used a cheap $9.95 a month service for awhile but it had two distinct problems: it was run by disorganized kids and phone lines were often busy so that I had to wait to get online to send my messages. Now I pay $29.95 a month; my connection time is faster, service personnel are definitely more professional, and I haven't had a busy signal yet.

"Send Me Your Literature."

Do people call you up regularly saying things like

"Send me your brochure."

"I need . Can you provide it?"

"What services do you offer?"

OF COURSE THEY DO!

In my business it happens not just daily, but many times in an hour. This is where email comes in.

The first thing you need to do to make email effective is think through the kinds of questions people ask you -- and then provide the information in the most client-centered fashion. Say that you're selling a home-mortgage service. Your prospects are going to want to know the different varieties of mortgage you have, today's rates, how they qualify, what information you need, when and how you schedule appointments, whether you come to them or they have to come to you, etc. Face it. Questions like these are the inevitabilities of your business. Smart businesses understand that

1. marketing is always a numbers game. The more qualified prospects you deal with the better your chances for success;
2. people don't like to wait for information. It takes you time to answer each question... and write the letter... and package the letter... and mail the letter. But prospects hate to wait! Moreover, while you're doing all this, you can't handle other prospects... and you're smart competitors have already gotten the necessary information to the prospect who has email.

Assembling Your Email Templates

• what the product/service is
• different options
• benefits and features
• what each option costs
• how the prospect can receive it
• how the prospect can pay for it, etc.

For years, pre-email, I had to think very carefully about how much information I could put in a prospect's information packet. Five pieces of paper in an envelope were an ounce... and an ounce was the weight of your standard first-class postage stamp, 32 cents today.

With email, however, the calculations all change. You're no longer being charged by the piece. You're paying a monthly set fee. Thus, if you need 8 pages of information to get your message across, provide them. Good prospects want your information. They want to know just what you do and how you do it.

Now's your chance to show them just how client-centered you are... how you do your job... and the benefits you provide. Don't stint!

Don't Hesitate To Update Your Templates As you deal with prospects, you'll hear more and more of their questions -- and want to update your templates accordingly so that ALL prospect questions get dealt with. No problem. Just keep your templates up-to-date.

How It Works In Real Life

• Your prospect calls and says, "Can you send me information about ?"
• You say, "May I have your name, address, phone, fax, and email, please?" Get all the necessary follow-up information before you advise your prospect on what you're going to do. If the prospect doesn't have email, you'll have to use the old-fashioned way you've been using for years.
• When the prospect says, "Here's my e-mail address," be sure to ask if the prospect can also access your Web site. You do have one, don't you? Email, remember, is best used along with your Web site. That site should contain all the basic information about all your products and services. Individual email transmissions should be used to provide detailed information about specific prospect requests.
• If the prospect has access to the Web, by all means provide him with your URL address. The prospect can access that site on his own time.
• Ask the prospect any questions that help you determine just what he needs, when he needs it, budget, etc.; your usual sort of prospecting questions. This information helps you send just what the prospect needs... and helps you personalize your response. Record this information in your computer so you'll have it on hand as necessary.
• If the prospect has email, let him know that he'll have the information within minutes. In my office, I let them know that I'll transmit within five minutes. That always impresses them, and I constantly get little notes of appreciation back from people who are staggered at the speed with which their requests are handled. They're right to be appreciative; in our dilatory and disorganized world, where prospect requests are regularly mishandled, such a bravura display of client-centered behavior deserves recognition.

Personalizing Your Template

Now, take the time you need to personalize this document with a special message at the top of the template. Address any of the prospect's particular concerns or his specific situation here. Don't alter the template unless that's easy to do. Instead, just include the specific information for this client at the top of the page in this way,

"Bill, good to talk with you. Trust the following informtion is helpful. Given what you told me, I'd like to point out ."

Follow Up

That's that.

However, when I'm selling a $1449 card in my quarterly Sales & Marketing Success Card Deck or my marketing consultation, why, then, I definitely follow up by phone. Here's the moment to say when. Remember, your prospect will have the information instantaneously. Your follow up should be similarly expeditious. End of day? Within 24 hours? That depends on just how much time you feel the prospect needs to review what you've sent and make a decision. Personally, I always err on the "sooner" rather than "later" side of the discussion. You should, too.

Last Words

Every technological advance forces those of us in business to make a choice... upgrade or die by inches. Now, to me that's no choice at all. That's why I'm on email at drjlant@worldprofit.com. Because I don't want anyone else to eat my lunch... I want to enjoy it, all of it, myself.

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