The Effective Use of Email and Voicemail for Customer Contact |
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Posted By: Julie Shenkman In: Sales & Sales Management
Where can I find great tips on communicating and reaching my clients more effectively? Salesheads.com!
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Sales representative jobs are fully dependent upon customer contact. Maintaining an open line of communication is vital to the strength and longevity of your business relationships. These days, time has become a commodity as valuable as capital. Successful careers in sales hinge on your ability to meet the customer's needs rapidly, and a large part of that is making yourself available through various channels. The increased availability of mobile email has added new opportunities for those working direct sales jobs to communicate more frequently with their customers while in the field.
Email Basics.
- REFRAIN FROM USING ALL CAPS. This is a major no-no, as messages typed in all capital letters convey a yelling tone. This should be avoided at all costs.
- Utilize spellcheck. It's just common sense to double check your messages for spelling errors, but sometimes a quick once-over doesn't cut it. Most spell-check programs are powerless to catch the improper use of words--therefore make sure you know the difference between to, too and two.
Professional Etiquette in Email--Beyond the Basics.
- Keep it short. Nobody wants to read your life story. Cut to the chase in your email, and refrain from cluttering the message with useless information. Aim for a balance. Your email should also not contain too little information that will require a follow-up.
- Make the most of your subject line. Your customers are likely too busy to read every message in their inbox—most people scan the subject lines to weed past irrelevant messages. Use brief, descriptive subjects that'll help your customer identify the content of your email.
- Leave your calling card. An email signature is an effective method of tacking your contact information onto all your correspondences in a way that's more difficult to misplace than a business card. Email signatures that contain your name, phone number and job title for sales contact purposes are sufficient. Don't go over the top with rambling quotes or funny one-liners.
Voicemail.
Fortunately for those who still crave the personal touch, the advent of email has not completely replaced telephone contact. For that reason, keeping your phone skills sharp remains important. Keep all your voicemail messages brief and to the point, but never rushed. Economize your words in a professional tone, and always leave a callback number. Customers are much more likely to return messages that are delivered in a professional manner than those that aren't.
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