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Business Success at your Fingertips:
E-Mail is your Sales Staff
by: Patrick Wagner
I’m sure you have found yourself intrigued by something
in a shop window. You have ventured into the shop to see
if the item was all it appeared to be. You had questions,
especially if it cost a bit of money. You hovered around
the area of the item for a minute or two. No one approached
you. You finally asked someone who appeared to work there
if he could help you. He told you he’d be right back
and left you. You waited again. When the salesperson finally
returned to you, clearly, his mind was elsewhere; he seemed
more interested in watching the door or another customer
than in helping you.
When you asked anything more than a superficial question,
the seemingly irritated salesperson had you wait -- yet
again -- while he went to find someone who might
know the answer for you. You waited again. When he returned,
again it was clear that whomever he asked knew only slightly
more than he did.
You left.
Nobody won. Everyone’s time was wasted; you were
frustrated that you didn’t acquire anything new (material
or information) and the store lost a sale, while
the salesperson -- who could have been kept busy
providing yet another customer with poor service
-- lost his commission. It’s also safe to say that
you won’t be going back. The store lost you as a future
customer.
Isn’t it interesting how this entire exchange (and
subsequent loss of sale) had nothing whatsoever
to do with the quality or price of the merchandise? The
item in question was never mentioned because it is irrelevant.
**************
If your web site is the face you show the world to invite
prospective clients into your "store",
then e-mail represents the quality of staff you have to
service those customers once they’ve decided to step
inside. Any successful shopkeeper knows that even the most
attractive, well-stocked and arranged commercial arena is
a waste of money and energy without courteous, knowledgeable
sales people who can answer clients’ questions, direct
them effectively, see that they leave with everything they
need, and that they feel welcome to return.
When you run a business on the Internet, your e-mail is
your front line customer service staff. If you don’t
manage your e-mail well, then the time, energy and expense
you have put into setting up your web site so meticulously
have been a waste.
It’s quite likely that the vast majority of your
customers and prospective clients will have contact with
you exclusively by e-mail. Most Internet business can be
completely conducted without ever having a live conversation
or meeting. People tend to prefer this medium for the very
reason that attracted them to the Internet in the first
place: they choose the time; they can focus and communicate
at a time that’s convenient for them.
You need to be sure you’re never in the position
of the shop owner with the poor sales staff, or the flustered,
rude, unknowledgeable sales person.
You need to become an expert in e-mail customer
service.
Remember that your intelligence, your personality and your
credibility will all be judged by how you conduct your e-mail!
Every person who e-mails you will judge you (and
whether he or she wants to do business with you)
perhaps exclusively based on your written communication
ability and etiquette.
If this sounds like a big deal, it is.
If this sounds like a lot of pressure, it is.
Your e-mail will make or break your business. Be sure that
whomever is charged with this tremendous responsibility
knows this, and knows what s/he is doing.
If your business thrives, you’re going to get a lot
of e-mail. Ergo, you want e-mail. Tons of it. E-mail is
good. The more you get, the better your business should
do (if you know what you’re doing once you
get it). Instead of constantly scrambling and seeing
it as a necessary evil, approach it like this:
1. ATTITUDE SPEAKS LOUDLY.
You can never harbour the attitude (even quietly)
of an incompetent sales person; we have all, at one time
or another, felt like we were inconveniencing the person
supposedly waiting on us in a store. This attitude comes
through just as clearly on e-mail.
You must see high volume e-mail for what it is -- potential
sales for you. If you approach the task with the
respect and focus that implies, that too, will come through
clearly in your communication with your customers and prospective
clients. Without you saying the words "I respect
your business and I want to help you in any way I can"
this message will in fact, be conveyed -- or not
-- in your e-mail. You must appreciate the fact that, just
as in face to face communication, a great deal of your written
communication is non-literal. This is called "tone"
and it comes through -- loud and clear --
in everything you write.
2. TIMING IS EVERYTHING.
I’m currently doing some renovations on my house.
I called three contractors and left messages asking them
to get back to me and say when they could come by to give
me a quote. Two of the three had come and gone within 24
hours. The third called me back -- I’m not
kidding -- 10 days after I left the message. I
literally asked, "Who?" when he said who
was calling. By the time he called, I’d had three
meetings with the contractor I’d chosen. I’d
selected my tiles and fixtures, agreed on a work schedule
and he was due to begin work the day Unlucky Number Three
called me back. I simply said that I no longer needed estimates.
Contractor Number Three wasn’t unlucky; he was either
a very busy person (in which case the loss of my puny fifteen
thousand dollar job won’t bother him at all) or his
poor business practices explain why he isn’t nearly
busy enough. Not only didn’t he have a chance on this
job, but I’d never consider calling him again.
You can’t be Contractor Number Three. It should be
your practice from the outset to check your e-mail several
times a day, and not just to check the numbers, but when
you make some time to sit and actually attend to it. Answer
inquiries regarding your products and services. If, for
some unknown reason, you need to check or verify something,
take a moment to e-mail the person and inform him that you’re
working on his request and will forward the clarification
within a certain amount of time. And be sure you meet that
time limit. You’ll be sending the message, "I
mean what I say," which goes to your credibility,
which goes to your products’ credibility.
Think of the "ball is in your court" cliche.
Whenever e-mail comes in, answer it. It should go out fast.
No matter what the nature of the message to you, a sender
should receive a "Hi, I received your message/request/order/whatever
and here is what I’m doing about it. You’ll
hear from me by such and such a date or time."
This is true regardless of the nature of the correspondence
to you!!! Your credibility will build quickly if you treat
all incoming e-mail the same: answer it. Now. Inquiries,
orders, complaints, whatever. Treat each as requiring immediate
attention from you and your clients will appreciate it.
Simply send a note acknowledging that you have received
their order and credit card info, their question, or their
concern. Then get on it. No one is more impressed than when
an answer comes into their e-mail box before they have even
left their computer after sending off their message. You
love to be acknowledged. I love to be acknowledged. When
I enter a store and the only salesperson on the floor is
being run off her feet, I love when she cheerfully says,
"Hi! I’ll be with you in two minutes, right
after I ring up this sale and find this gentleman his size.
My partner is out of the store for just a moment."
Everyone loves to be acknowledged. You’re working
hard to satisfy your customer’s request; tell her
that! Such information should be shared.
3. EXPLAIN THE OBVIOUS
You will find yourself frustrated by the frequency with
which you need to answer the same question(s) on-line. What’s
obvious to you is not immediately clear to a prospective
client, and each and every person needs to know the basics
before he can continue. Remember that what is obvious to
you is news to your 700th customer.
This is where high volume E-mail becomes especially frustrating,
but you can’t let that tone slip into your answer.
If you feel frustrated, imagine the outcome if you cause
your prospect to feel stupid or like his inquiry is a bother
to you. Each person making an inquiry deserves to be treated
as the first and only client your business will ever serve.
If the volume of e-mail that fits this description becomes
unmanageable, consider adding a FAQ’s (Frequently
Asked Questions) section to your web site so your
prospects can get by the basics on their own. Then the questions
that they e-mail to you will be of a more sophisticated,
individualized nature. Another alternative is to create
a text document, or series of documents, which you can simply
attach to your outgoing e-mail with a quick, personalized
note: "Dear Fred; Thanks for your interest in the
Walawala Hoop. I’ve enclosed the information you requested
and hope you find it useful. Please let me know if there
is anything else I can help you with."
Or, you can create an autoresponder which bypasses you
and allows information to be forwarded from the autoresponder
directly to the inquirer’s e-mail box. This is good
news and bad news: the good news is that you don’t
get bogged down with repetitive e-mail; the bad news is
you don’t get bogged down with repetitive e-mail (meaning
you get less e-mail since the prospective client has no
need to contact you directly). You lose your ability
to follow up.
This is a great option for any business that has a very
high "weed-out" factor; that is, a very
high volume of prospects who need to read preliminary material
before a reduced percentage proceed to the next level --
dealing with you directly.
4. FOLLOW-UP.
It’s an important habit to routinely follow up when
you send information via e-mail. Many users get high volume
e-mail and yours might be lost, reshuffled, whatever. A
quick note asking if your prospective client received what
you sent and whether s/he has any questions shows that you
are interested and happy to work for him. This gives him
a boost of self-importance and you a leg up on the credibility
ladder. Don’t be afraid to do this as many as three
times within a few days of your answering a request.
5. SIGN YOUR CORRESPONDENCE
You must have a signature block (or signature file)
on every piece of correspondence that leaves your computer.
This "stamp" can be automatically added
to the end of any and all outgoing messages. When you do
this, you’re providing every recipient with your name,
company’s name, web site address and phone and fax
numbers. Correspondence without this information has a "plain
brown envelope" quality about it, that is, less
credibility. Your "signature" tells a reader
you’re legitimate while it plugs your name or logo.
Make it easier for people to return to you.
6. LET YOUR CORRESPONDENTS DO YOUR MARKET RESEARCH
Provide a Guest Book type of form where a visitor can sign
in and give information about himself and his comments.
This is invaluable information for you regarding your clients’
demographics and changing needs. You can learn how visitors
came to access your site, what their interests are, whether
they would like to be kept updated on your products and
services, etc. This builds your client base and allows you
to refine your products and services, as well as providing
you with an inventory of potential future customers. When
you get to the point where you circulate your own newsletter
or e-zine, you’ll have an electronic Rolodex ready
to go.
7. NO HOW TO RIGHT GOOD
If you weren’t the stellar grammar student, but you’re
a smart business owner, be intelligent enough to have someone
with good -- no, great -- writing skills
handle your correspondence. Remember you (your company,
your products and services) will be judged by every
aspect of your written customer service. Granted, some of
your prospects may not know the difference, but a great
number of them do. Many sufers looking for products and
services on the web are quite literate, and will associate
the quality of your product or service with your writing
ability. You may think twice about purchasing a major appliance
from a salesman who says, "So, you’s are lookin’
for a dishwasher that runs good?" The dishwasher
might be great, but its credibility would be harmed by the
quality of the communication of the sales staff. Similarly,
poor writing style and glaring errors always make me think
twice about the writer, and therefore his wares. I find
myself wondering how smart a person can be if he doesn’t
know basic grammar and sentence structure. This is not snobbery;
it’s free-association.
**********************
E-mail will be the life-blood of your on line business.
Treat it as such, and entrust it to a sales person who is
well versed in e-mail customer service and etiquette; consider
this the next time you walk into a store and get lousy service
-- and you take your business elsewhere.
Be sure your e-mail correspondences says: "Hello, I’m
pleased you chose to visit here; I won’t waste your
time; I’m intelligent; your needs are my main priority;
I’m listening to you and I’ll give you whatever
attention it takes to satisfy you. I want you to be happy
you chose to visit and I want you to return. Happy."
And they will.
Sincerely,
Patrick Wagner
Webmaster - http://www.ezinelisting.com
mailto:webmaster@ezinelisting.com
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