The #1 Business Mistake You’re Making

September 29, 2016

Even if you think you’re doing everything right to grow your business, there’s one mistake most businesses make and don’t even think about it. They don’t return emails. Whether they’re unsolicited emails or offers you’re not interested in, ignoring emails can make you seem less than professional. Plus, you’ll miss out on potential opportunities.


Why We Ignore Emails


As business owners, you get so many emails it’s hard to manage them all. In some cases, you may get hundreds of emails. Many business owners only respond to emails they feel are urgent or from contacts they already have. Others intend to respond to an email, only to forget about it.


Consequences of Ignoring Emails


When you don’t respond to an email, there are several things that might happen unintentionally. First, you overlook the amount of time the sender took to write that email to you. Maybe they want to buy your product or service, or would, if you responded. Maybe they could solve an issue you’ve been dealing with for awhile.


If someone came to your business’s door, you’d talk to them and not completely ignore them. You never know where you’ll see the person again. Maybe Jose Smith emails you and you ignore it. When you need something from Jose Smith’s company, he might ignore you or fail to give you a great deal.


Your New Email Policy


You want to preserve possible business relationships into the future, so it’s critical you don’t outright ignore emails. You want to be professional. Here is a new email policy worth considering:


Don’t:



  • Respond to newsletters or automated campaigns that have an “Unsubscribe” button.
  • Lash out at unsolicited emails. Don’t let your negativity be in writing.

Do:



  • Respond to emails that don’t have an “Unsubscribe” button, even if you’re not interested.
  • Create a template to quickly respond to these emails to express that you’re not interested, politely.
  • Use the opportunity to market your business. You never know who might need your services and when. They started the conversation, so it’s not unsolicited.

Here’s a version of our template we use to take advantage of the contact opportunity:



Hi there,


Thanks for taking the opportunity to contact the Triassic Media Group, where businesses get the professional copywriting and marketing services they need at a fair and flat price.


While I appreciate your reaching out, I don’t think your proposal is a great fit for our company at this time. I’ll definitely keep your information on file in case I ever need this or someone needs a referral to a company like yours. I’d love to send relevant work your way. We’re all in this together, right?


If you or someone you know ever needs copywriting services, have them check out our website at: http://www.triassicmedia.com. We’d love to help.


I hope you have a great day.


Thanks!


The Writing and Editing Team at Triassic Media

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