By Will Rotondi
You’ve probably heard more than once—in fact, many times—that in order for you to engage with your prospects and outshine your competition, you have to be relevant. You have to touch on a pain point, or a market trend, or a piece of material that hits home with them and makes them feel like you’re talking directly to them about their business. This is in spite of the fact that they don’t know you, and they know that you probably don’t know them—yet.
However, being relevant is about more than just getting the facts straight.
- It’s about clarity.
Use terminology that your prospects recognize. Explain things in terms that a wide range of them can understand but still find important. Write like you talk – less literary anthology style and more casual conversation.
- It’s about brevity.
Don’t give away the whole show when you write an email. Treat it like a text message (except please use proper syntax, grammar and punctuation – K thx!).
- It’s about humility.
Are you awesome? People will learn that once you talk with them on the phone. Don’t try to convey it through email. At best, you’ll sound salesy – at worst, full of yourself. Put the focus and attention on your readers.
Think of it this way: if you were meeting with your cold prospects at a social event, what would you say to them? How would you introduce yourself and get the conversation going? Take that approach to stay relevant when you’re drafting your next emails.
