You may not think much about dashing off a quick email to a client or colleague, but your message matters. If you write a simple, clear note, the recipients are more likely to understand what you’re communicating and take action, whether you want them to accept a meeting request or send a document you’re waiting on. On the other hand, if you send a note that’s too long or riddled with typos, it can send the wrong signal to the other person. You may come across as careless, clueless or simply unprofessional.

Karin Hurt, an experienced speaker, writer and executive, has narrowed down some of the biggest mistakes that can derail email communication. Keep reading this issue of Promotional Consultant Today, where we outline Hurt’s reminders on email mistakes to watch for along with best practices to make your messages better.

Mistake 1: Using a mysterious subject line. Hurt says this is one of the biggest frustrations she hears from nearly every team she works with. People don’t like guessing what an email is about. They want to know immediately whether they should bother reading the email or delete it on the spot. The subject line is how you pull people in. She suggests creating a subject line protocol that ensures you tell your reader exactly what contents they’ll find in your communication.

Mistake 2: Overdoing it. Another common email mistake is sending emails rapid-fire. Hurt recalls a time early in her career when she was preparing a senior leader for an impromptu meeting regarding a quickly evolving situation. Hurt thought it would be best to send the leader all relevant information one email at a time. Needless to say, the executive did not appreciate getting a barrage of emails. So, she asked Hurt to send her one communication with concise bullets summing up all the other emails. How can you apply this lesson in your life? Remember that when it comes to email, less is more, Hurt says. Summarize, synthesize and use bullets.

Mistake 3: Emailing when a call is better. In some situations, a phone call is a much more efficient way to communicate. It can save a substantial amount of back and forth and misunderstanding. Hurt says that email can feel easy and less disruptive than a phone call, but it can waste time and drain energy. Her top piece of advice? Pick up the phone or schedule a call if the topic is complex or emotional.

Mistake 4: Getting sloppy. You don’t need to aim for beautifully written prose, but your emails should at least be clean and grammatically correct. For example, if you use “there” instead of “their” or “to” when you meant “too,” you just might turn off potential buyers. Hurt says it’s a always a good idea to slow down and read what you have written. Being busy is no excuse for sending poorly written communications.

Watch for the common blunders above, and you can come across as polished and professional in your emails. By crafting better emails, you also set the tone for your team. Your approach can inspire your colleagues to write more succinctly and effectively, which in turn, can benefit your entire organization.

Source: Karin Hurt is the chief executive officer for Let’s Grow Leaders. She’s an experienced executive, speaker, writer and a former Fortune 15 executive.
Compiled by Audrey Sellers

Working in sales requires an ability to influence others. Clients and prospects must be able to trust what you’re saying and believe in the solutions you present them. Influence also extends to colleagues, team members and bosses. Leaders with influence can inspire their team to work toward a common vision and employees with influence can encourage more buy-in to their ideas.

There are many different types of influence, including telling, selling, consulting and collaborating, according to writer, Blair Glaser. In this issue of Promotional Consultant Today, we discuss Glaser’s thoughts on these four types of influence.

1. Telling. Glaser says that this type of influence is the quickest way to wield influence. As such, it’s best suited for emergencies and regulations, like when organizations shifted to remote work at the beginning of the pandemic. However, while telling gets the job done, it’s surprisingly ineffective, she adds. This is because people don’t like to be ordered around. Receiving marching orders can make people feel powerless. If you want to have a more meaningful impact, try a different type of influence: selling.

2. Selling. This is a way to get buy-in and support for a new idea or culture shift, Glaser says. Selling someone on the benefits of a product, service or idea will hopefully get them excited about it. It’s different from telling someone what they need to do or buy. This type of influence can also happen laterally or from the top down or bottom down, Glaser adds.

3. Consulting. This influence involves discussion. When others feel like they are part of a conversation and the final decision, they are more likely to be happy with the choice. Consulting is an effective type of influence, according to Glaser, because it creates a sense of partnership and teamwork. One person is in charge of the decision, but everyone involved has a chance to weigh in with their thoughts and be heard.

4. Collaborating. Strong collaboration comes from a position of influence and not authority. When different team members and departments can come together and share their frustrations, concerns and ideas, companies can begin to operate more effectively. Glaser says that when an old problem persists, a curveball gets thrown your way or your team is facing a big challenge, it’s a good time to collaborate. Different team members can bring their unique viewpoints to the situation.

Your ability to influence others impacts your success. You don’t have to work in a leadership role to influence your colleagues or clients — you simply need to understand the different kinds of influence and when to use them.

Compiled by Audrey Sellers

Source: Blair Glaser is a writer, storyteller and an executive leadership consultant who helps leaders and teams learn the skills they need to communicate and collaborate effectively.

Customer experience (CX) is everything when it comes to your company’s overall success. If your clients have a great experience working with you and they get the results they desire, they’re more likely to stay loyal. The opposite is also true. Research shows that as much as 90% of buyers may leave after just one bad experience.

While there are shelves and shelves of books and hundreds of podcast episodes dedicated to helping businesses improving CX, Vala Afshar, chief digital evangelist at Salesforce, says most of this wisdom can be distilled into two main points. We discuss his thoughts in this issue of Promotional Consultant Today.

Foundation No. 1: A customer-first mindset. Afshar says it’s vital to put the customer at the heart of your business, from the first outreach to post-sales follow-ups. You can begin to do this by talking more about CX in planning meetings, pipeline reviews, brainstorming sessions and more. Talk about CX so much that it becomes the top focus at your organization.

Foundation No. 2: Automation and artificial intelligence (AI). AI can help you improve your customer experience by helping you better segment your audience. When you have a deeper understanding of a potential buyer’s needs and motivations, you can create the kind of messaging that will keep them moving through the pipeline.

Afshar recommends outlining the specific business challenges or problems you want automation and AI to solve. Then, you can consider how current workflows would be impacted and which team members may need to be reskilled. He adds that customers are only becoming more open to companies using AI to improve their experience. Whether that looks like voice analytics or chatbots, AI can help you deliver the outstanding experience your customers expect. Companies that use AI well will be rewarded with customer loyalty and repeat business, Afshar says.

How To Create A Remarkable Customer Experience 

An excellent CX begins with a customer-first mindset and a willingness to embrace automation and AI. But what next? According to Afshar, businesses should set the bar high. They must provide a personalized experience every time and tailor every engagement to the customer’s unique needs. Remember that buyers expect the brands they love to understand their wants and needs in context. Businesses that fall short may end up alienating customers.

Afshar points out Salesforce research that shows that 85 percent of customers expect consistent interactions across departments when they engage with a company. When consistency lapses across touchpoints, 55 percent of customers lose trust in companies. As a result, these customers often look elsewhere.

When thinking about improving CX within your organization, consider how you can foster greater engagement. This may mean rolling out a more intuitive website design, being transparent about your pricing or making it easier for prospects to access helpful resources.

Whatever you decide to tackle first, approach it with a customer-focused mindset. Because at the end of the day, it’s about creating incredible experiences and happy customers.

With inbound sales, your prospects are already at least somewhat familiar with your company. They may have filled out a form on your website or messaged you on social media. Outbound sales differ in that the communication begins with you—the sales rep. Instead of the prospective buyer reaching out to you, you are the one making the first contact.

It can feel a bit intimidating trying to create an effective outbound sales strategy. But there are some tried-and-true methods that can help you boost your success, according to Travis Tyler, a marketing content specialist at PandaDoc. In this issue of Promotional Consultant Today, we discuss Tyler’s four best practices to improve your outbound sales.

1. Actively participate in social selling. Tyler says that social selling leverages social networks like LinkedIn and Instagram to connect with potential customers outside of more traditional forms of contact. Social channels can be great tools to get more leads and accelerate your sales cycle. Just remember to be social — not overly salesy. Aim to create and share content that addresses your target audience’s biggest pain points. Focus on building relationships, and those connections could eventually lead to a sales call and a closed deal, Tyler says.

2. Embrace the power of email. Even with all the many social media channels, email remains a powerful way to connect and engage with prospective buyers. People tend to keep (and use) their email address for years, while they may go back and forth on various social platforms. To boost your outbound sales efforts, use email to create personalized outreach for different marketing segments.

3. Be smart about automating. No matter what outbound sales campaign you decide to run, automation is crucial to reaching out to as many people as possible, Tyler says. However, it requires a balance. If you rely too heavily on things like form emails or templated responses, you risk coming off as impersonal. You don’t want an automated system that runs itself. Instead, strive to automate workflows and menial tasks. This can give you more time to add a personal touch and connect in more meaningful ways with prospects.

4. Soften your approach. Tyler says that faceless and impersonal tactics do not belong in a modern outbound sales strategy. This means avoiding spammy emails and cold calls and being upfront about why you’re contacting a prospect at a specific time. If done incorrectly, this can come across as spammy or creepy. Customers don’t necessarily want to be contacted just because your software tools tracked their IP address when they visited your website, Tyler says. However, if customers are openly voicing concerns or you have a solid, logical argument for getting in touch, then your team can leverage those buying signals to convert deals in real-time.

Succeeding at outbound sales may feel complicated, but the right strategies can be extremely helpful. You can keep your approach authentic and effective by considering the points above.

Compiled by Audrey Sellers

Source: Travis Tyler is a marketing content specialist at PandaDoc, an SaaS software company.