Web Wise
Proven Steps to Successful Email
by Stephen M. Canale, CRB, RS, GRI, RAM
The most important thing to remember about using e-mail in sales today
is that e-mail represents the future of communication, and sales are
made through communicating. If you do not have e-mail, then you will
not be able to converse efficiently with a growing segment of your
prospects, clients and customers.
That said, just having e-mail is not the same as making money and
saving time with it. Below are the 12 most important considerations
describing why and how you should be using this technology to increase
customer and client satisfaction, prospect for new business, and
function more efficiently.
The first thing that you must realize about e-mail is that like the
pager, voice mail, fax machine and the cellular phone, it is no longer
simply a status symbol. E-mail is fast becoming a standard business
communication tool. Clients are increasingly going to expect that you
will be able to communicate with them this way. If you don't have
e-mail, it's going to cost you credibility- and eventually, sales.
E-mail can be an unparalleled tool for saving time and providing first
rate customer service. Just as you may be aware of how to send a fax
to multiple numbers, you can also send one e-mail to an unlimited
number of your customers, clients or prospect at once. In fact, this
is much easier to do with e-mail than it is with a fax machine-and
faster too! Many successful salespeople are sending electronic
newsletters, interest rate updates, and other promotional or client
follow-up messages via e-mail.
Unlike sending broadcast faxes, with e-mail you can personalize each
message just as you would using mail-merge with a word processor or a
contact manager. You can easily send messages at a rate of 10 to 15
messages per minute, and all without long distance charges! A
facsimile cannot offer any of these benefits. For more information of
sending "personalized" e-mail, check out WorldMerge from my Products
page on my Web site,
www.canale.com.
Many users of e-mail are not aware of how easy it is to send computer
files as attachments to their messages. While you could send any file
on your computer via e-mail, the most common attachments would be word
processing documents like flyers and contracts, MLS data and property
photographs. Imagine sending a relocating buyer your brokerage
agreement and an MLS search complete with property photographs, within
minutes of talking with them for the first time. Some of your
competitors are already doing this!
When opening an e-mail account, it is imperative that you choose an
easily remembered address! You do not want to be Steve0498@aol.com as
neither you or your clients will be able to easily and accurately
recall this address. It's okay to be creative, just make sure it's
simple!
Once you have an e-mail address you must print it on absolutely
everything! More and more of today's technologically sophisticated
consumers will choose an agent who they feel will provide them with
convenient service, and e-mail certainly is certainly this. However,
if your e-mail address isn't on your business card, stationery,
highlight sheets and all of your advertisements, then you are
needlessly costing yourself business!
Do not dismiss the value of being able to easily store all of your
previous incoming and outgoing e-mail messages. In the last few
decades much was said about developing a paper trail in your business
dealings. Today, and into the future, e-mail allows you to
effortlessly maintain permanent and accurate records of your business
communications-without paper or file cabinets!
E-mail form letters are extremely useful for anyone in sales or
customer service. You can write a message once and then send it again
and again to various customers and clients as the need arises. For
example, you could create a closing checklist, list of preferred
lenders, phone directory of the various utility providers and a letter
explaining the typical closing costs and then send a copy of any of
these whenever a customer or client needs this information. This kind
of service is fast, efficient and impressive!
E-mail is also an unparalleled method for communicating within the
office. Memos, meeting agendas, listing status changes, price
reductions and new listings can instantaneously be communicated
throughout your company regardless of the number of agents and offices
or the size of your market place. Better yet, there is no need to
worry about when agents will come to the office to check their mail
slot!
Promote yourself and what you do by taking advantage of "signature"
files. While most e-mail software will support at least one of these
"signatures," many people never bother to set theirs! Basically, this
is simply a text file that will be added to the end of every message
you send. Make sure yours not only has your name, but your e-mail
address, the fact that you're a REALTORŪ and the city and state that
you work in. It's amazing how many business leads can be developed
simply because someone realizes that they have a friend who is moving
to your town and that you just happen to be in real estate!
Get a quality e-mail software package. If you've got Internet access
through an ISP then you ordinarily do not have to use the software
they provide. Eudora is the current market leader in e-mail software.
While it's not perfect, it does allow you to perform some extremely
useful tasks. The ability to set up logical mailing lists, (buyers in
one and sellers in another, for example) create and easily use
countless form letters and automatically use multiple "signature"
files are just a few of the reasons that spending a few dollars now
will save you hours and hours of time precious each and every month.
For all practical purposes, e-mail is the fax, voice mail, cell phone
and pager of the future, all wrapped into one. Within the coming
years, you will even negotiate contracts via e-mail, just as you now
rely on the facsimile. In short, if you don't have it, get it. If
you've got it, start using it more effectively!
For information on seminars, software or Canale's Tips & Tricks
newsletter, visit: www.canale.com
Back to Inside This
Edition
Return to On-Line
Publications
Back to Top
|
