Sending emails is a many-times-each-day thing for a loan originator. Whether it’s connecting with prospects, clients, or referral partners, much of our communication happens over email. But, even with the experience we gain by sending emails all the time, that doesn’t guarantee that we’re doing it as effectively as we could be. You want your messages to be heard clearly in the way we intended, and you want the recipient to respond promptly and take whatever action you’re looking for. This week I wanted to explore some key strategies that can make your emails more effective. Let’s dive in:
Define Your Goal
This is so simple that you may not give it much thought — I mean, nobody sends an email without some goal in mind. It’s still worth covering, though. Before getting started on an email, take a beat to define your goal. Getting clear on what the desired outcome of your message is will help you compose an email that supports that goal in the best possible way. It will also help you say more in less time (more on that in a bit).
Make Your Subject Line Strong
This is an issue with many of the emails I receive. A strong subject line makes a big difference. It only takes a few additional seconds of your time to come up with something better than ‘Just Following Up’, or any of the other overused subjects that make me lose interest in whatever is in the message. An effective subject line communicates both the urgency of the message, and the intention. You don’t need to obsess over finding the perfect line, just take a moment to be sure that you’re doing all you can with the subject before continuing on to composing your message.
Keep it Lean
As a busy professional, your email inbox probably fills up very quickly. The same is true for just about everyone you’re emailing. You want to be respectful of your recipients’ time, and you also want to make sure your message gets read. Keeping it succinct and only covering what needs to be covered, will help in both of those areas. After you’ve written your message, give it another read-through to trim the excess — anything that doesn’t have to be there. The longer the email, the better the probability that it gets saved to read later at a more opportune time, or it doesn’t get read at all. A lean message is much more likely to be read the moment it is received.
Be Direct
Being direct about what you want in your message also makes it easier for your recipient to act. If you want a client to visit your website, leave you a review (more on why client reviews are important, here), or refer you to the people they know, you need to be clear, and make it as easy as possible. Include direct links when you can, and offer step-by-step instructions to avoid any confusion.
When can always make improvements, even with things like email that we’ve been using every day for years. Check-in from time to time to see if there’s anything you can be doing to make your emails more effective.
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