Building Business via E-mail

	ESSENTIAL SALES SKILLS Building Business via E-mail by Karen Stowe, MBA

How Do I Get Started? How Much Will This Cost? Make E-mail a Valuable Tool Dos & Don'ts Communicating directly with customers is critical in today’s market. But finding an effective, easy, and inexpensive way to do this can be challenging. Utilizing e-mail may be your answer. Five years ago, only 10% of us used e-mail and the Internet. Today over 70% use these tools on a regular basis. Using e-mail to support the development of your employer and physician relationships can result in bigger profits and better market share. How Do I Get Started? A well thought out plan is #1. Determine what you want to achieve. Is it better customer service, a growth in new business, or improved upselling? What response or call to action do you want? How frequently do you want to contact your target audience? Do you have e-mail addresses for the recipients or do you need to find a way to collect addresses? How Much Will This Cost? The cost of your e-mail campaign can be minimal if you automate the process. If you currently utilize sales management software such as ACT2000 or Goldmine, you can use this software to not only automate the e-mail campaign, but also track its success. If you do not use this kind of software, you can use an electronic messaging software such as Microsoft Outlook Express or Netscape Communicator. Automating the project allows you to be more cost effective. For example, a recently conducted e-mail campaign was sent to 1,588 recipients at a cost of only $0.285 each. That’s far less than the cost of a stamp. [top] Make E-mail a Valuable Tool E-mail is the ultimate one-to-one marketing tool to supplement face-to-face time with your clients and prospects. In today’s competitive market, keeping in touch impacts loyalty. E-communications give you a competitive edge while supporting your growth strategy. Dos & Don'ts Do keep the message brief—The more you say, the less people hear. Do measure your efforts and track the results. This allows you to determine what works and what does not. And you can pass on your success story to others within your organization. Do deliver value and needed information. Serve as an educator or consultant. Inform recipients of changes in government regulations, reimbursement rates, and hospital services. Do carve out the appropriate audience for your subject and send your personalized e-mail message to only this audience. Don’t bury your clients and prospects with e-mail. Don’t put someone on your e-mailing list whom you don’t know or who has never made contact with you. Chances are, s/he will only delete your message. Don’t use visuals, logos, and graphics in the e-mail. They take too much time to download and many recipients will not wait while they do. People don’t care about you—they care about themselves. So don’t talk about yourself. Talk about what the prospect or client wants or needs. Don’t include an attachment. Recipients will not take the time needed to open files, and most fear "catching" a virus if they do. Don’t let e-mail take the place of the telephone or in-person contact. Clients and prospects still need to hear your voice and see your face, so use a mix of communication methods. [top]

About the author: KAREN STOWE, MBA, has over 20 years of healthcare experience in developing and implementing occupational health provider networks and service line strategies along with creating sales and marketing efforts. Her specialty is in employer strategies, strategic planning, sales, and benchmarking. Ms. Stowe may be reached at 614.818.0715, or visit www.WingspanConsulting.com.