You’ve Got Mail
December 7th, 2009 by Melissa Webb
Emailing is a fantastic marketing tool, and if you haven’t already hopped on board the email train, please check out Katherine’s blog on October 27th! (You can read it here) It also can be the cause of a common conundrum for agents these days: how often should you email, and how do you distinguish another ‘emailer’ from a prospect that needs a phone call?
If you’re wondering how early you should start sending emails to your prospects, let me answer your question with this question: How soon do you start calling a prospect once you receive one? Now you have your answer. Want more? Okay: as 21st century human beings we are exposed to millions of sensory sounds, smells, tastes, and images every day. We’re used to it. We’re also used to tuning out most of it. In fact, unless our brain makes a conscious effort to actually move information into our long term memory, we only retain cursory information for about 20 seconds. Then it’s gone and other images, sounds, smells, etc take its place. So, you’re not only competing against all the other noise out there to get your prospect’s attention, you’re competing for a spot in their memory. Take every chance you can to get noticed: a phone call is always a great way to sell to a lead, but an email (which you can save and resend multiple times with a few minor adjustments) will also give them something visual to remember you by. Plus, it puts all of your contact information in writing right in front of them!
I love email. I can receive and pay bills, keep in touch with friends and family, order movies, and keep up with my favorite retailers, all in the same log-in. That being said, I also am part of the technical generation – a generation which defies any age restrictions – and therefore am more comfortable navigating my inbox than my voicemail. My insurance agent’s email address is saved to my email address book, but unless his phone number is on his email signature, I have no idea what it is. So, how DO you distinguish someone that is more comfortable with making contact through email versus someone that needs a phone call? You won’t really know until you try, but if someone has extended to you an extra opportunity to contact them, why ignore it? Seize the opportunity that the prospect themselves have given you.
