How To Write The Perfect Reply Email - Part II

How To Write The Perfect Reply Email - Part II

Last month we talked about the importance of a good email "subject" title and how to make sure to keep updating the email subject line; as the content changes. We also discussed that every email from a company should use the company URL, and NOT the employees Hotmail or Yahoo or Gmail accounts.

We also mentioned that due to the thousands of dollars of potential for each customer, it is worth the time and effort to create a perfect reply email.

This month we will continue with the components to creating a perfect reply email. We also discussed UCLA basketball coach John Wooden sitting down with his players on the first day of practice and saying, "Today we are going to learn how to put our socks on correctly." In this way, no one misses practice due to blisters.

The Reply - HTML or Plain Text

The topic of whether to reply in HTML with graphics, special fonts, columns and other features available in HTML; versus using plain text, is a bit tougher decision. HTML email has many advantages over plain text email, especially in professional appearance. However, HTML emails can carry worms and viruses so some people prefer plain text email. Additionally, if you send an HTML email, and if your recipient's system is set up for plain text, then usually the recipient will see the email as an attachment or it will show all the HTML coding surrounding the words in the email, making it nearly impossible to read.

According to operators of newsletters, about 85% of subscribers select HTML over plain text. (I use HTML for my email, but I usually subscribe as text because I like to see the actual URL in a newsletter rather than "click here"). Other online sources indicate that over 90% of email readers use HTML. If your reply is more effective by using HTML, I would suggest that route.

The Reply - Trimming

Sometimes you may receive a long email or an email that has been forwarded to you from another employee at your mortgage company. Be sure to delete the unnecessary parts of the email when you reply so you don't clog up your response. So it doesn't show a graveyard of email addresses and irrelevant headers like a joke that has been forwarded 40 times to large groups of people. Be sure to retain enough of the original email so that the context can be easily understood if that email is reviewed a month from now.

The Reply - The Greeting & Tone

It is usually safer to address someone as Ms. Johnson or Mr. Brown; rather than assume a Robert probably wants a Bob; and a Katherine prefers Kathy. You can often get an indication of how people sign their emails as to what they prefer (Robert "Sparky" Brown), but if you have err, do so on the side of caution.

Try to make the letter as personal as possible, using words like "I", "You," and "Us" when possible. "Dear valued customer" is essentially like saying "Dear valued ex-customer."

Be careful about what you write about. Not everyone wants to know about your take on Desperate Housewives, the Soprano's ending or that political debate last night. Nor is everyone a fan of the Yankees, Bears or your daughter's soccer team.

The Reply - Content

Brevity, but completeness, should be the rule. "Brevity is the soul of wit" but also remember the adage, "A job worth doing is worth doing right." A reply should be thorough and must not only answer the customer's questions, it should answer them first. Most people prefer short emails, but some want all the details. By putting the answer first, then supplying more information, you can satisfy both parties.

Keep the first sentence and first paragraphs brief. No one wants to have to digest a massive passage of text, until they are ready.

If you are replying to a mortgage lead and the recipient doesn't know who you are, be sure to let them know you received their name from a mortgage leads company.

The first paragraph should focus on the benefits to your viewer. The way to get their attention is finding out what's in it for them. Point out how the features of your programs that will specifically benefit the reader. Don't expect the reader to figure out the benefits for themselves.

If you're replying to a number of questions, be sure to answer all of them. The questions may seem simple or easy to you, but if someone asks, you need to answer rather than leaving it unaddressed for people to figure out on their own.

If there is something to act on, be sure to put that item near the top of your email, so that the reader won't have an excuse to misread you. Use bullets if you have a list of items so that your requests are clear. If you have a main point; it is better to show it at the top of your email.

The Reply - Layout

Your job, especially when communicating via email, is to make it easy for your client to comprehend and understand. Here are a few ways to make your email easier to comprehend:

* Fonts: Don't use multi-varied fonts or sentences with multiple colors or a colored background. All of this makes the email hard to read. On rare occasion, you may need to ALL CAPS something or put a phrase in red for added emphasis, which is appropriate.
* Headings: With long emails, it's useful to include headings to break up sections.
* Bullets: Use bullets and numbering to help the reader to identify specific points. With plain text email, to ensure that the reader sees what you sent, insert bullets (use the asterisk character) and numbers manually, rather than relying on the formatting options in the email editor.
* Spacing: Double space between paragraphs.

The Reply - Structure

Many people consider email to be informal. But if it originates from your mortgage office, it needs to be professional. Poor writing makes a bad impression. Here are some items to watch for:

* Grammar: Watch for common mistakes like its versus it's.
* Spelling: Frequent errors include principle versus principal, their versus there, and be sure to spell their name correctly.
* Technical Terms: Just because you know what a Form CA-106 is, doesn't mean the recipient does, be sure to spell out and explain any terms as needed.
* Vocabulary. Even if you can complete the NY Times crossword puzzle in minutes, don't use obscure words for the sake of it. Short and common words help to make the email easy to understand.
* Internet Slang: IMHO (in my humble opinion) don't use Internet slang or abbreviations such as OMG (oh, my God) I have great news. Don't end your emails in TTYL (talk to you later) or BFN (bye for now) I know that for some it is a VBG (very big grin) but if you are not careful that customer could end up like the BSOD (blue screen of death).

Also, as a side note, if you use Microsoft Outlook, don't use Word as your email editor. If your recipient doesn't also use Word, then all the formatting will be lost or the email will be riddled with Microsoft Word HTML-like tags and the email will look terrible.

The Reply - Template

The best way to handle this is to have templates created for most situations, i.e., "I have bad credit, can you help me?" Your response should start out with the answer to the bad credit question. The same logic applies to questions like, "I am consigning for my daughter," or "I want to do a land lot split then get a loan."

By refining your templates, you can create responses that are friendly, helpful, thorough and appear to be custom crafted just for the viewer. A great way to test your template is send it to yourself, then send it to your parent, spouse or friend and see how they respond. Your mail must look worth the time and effort for the recipient to read it.

The Signature

You should always include a signature in your business emails. The components to ALWAYS include are:
* your full name
* your phone number
* your URL
* your address

Consider provide other links, if necessary, that make it easy for your recipient to visit specific portions of your site.

Additionally, as a service to your recipient, include contact details for other third parties (escrow, etc.), unless you know for sure that the recipient has this information.

Now you are not only ready to put on your internet socks, but also your the socks of your customer. A great business email reply will help you to provide the information your customer wants, which will lead to more closed loans, and thousands of dollars of extra business.

How To Write The Perfect Reply Email - Part I

How To Write The Perfect Reply Email - Part I

A NAMB reader wrote us and said, "I am responding to all my online inquiries but not receiving many sales via email. What can I do?" Assuming it is not the interest rate you are offering; let's focus on how to reply to a business email inquiry.

An Email Is Worth A Thousand Dollars

A picture may be worth a thousand words; but an email can be worth a thousand dollars because any given email to a customer can result in a loan closing for your mortgage company. Due to the high value potential, it is worth the time and effort to create a perfect reply email.

Email is Easy - If Done Right

You do it maybe hundreds of times a day - to friends, to co-workers, to customers. You respond to email requests. You think it is simple, and it is, if it is performed correctly.

There is a famous example of legendary UCLA basketball coach John Wooden sitting down with his players on the first day of practice and saying, "Today we are going to learn how to put our socks on correctly." The players all laugh and find it hard to believe, but he explains, by doing this simple task properly, they won't get blisters from their socks, and thus won't miss practice.

An Ounce of Prevention...

In this article we are going to discuss how to reply to a customer request by email. We will discuss what to say and what not to say or do. Of course there are a few famous examples of "what not to say" in emails:

Michael Brown (FEMA): right after Hurricane Katrina, when he should have been doing everything he could for the Gulf states, he emailed his staff asking if anyone knew a "good dog-sitter" for his dog.

Enron: Former Enron executives Kenneth Lay and Andrew Fastow claimed not to know about the company's illegal accounting practices. During the trial it was shown that not only was Enron aware of the practices, but that Enron used its email system to send Social Security numbers, wage packages, performance evaluations and also sent revealing messages about office romances, affairs and other personal content.

Martha Stewart: In 2004, the Martha Stewart trial reveals how even a single email message can influence a verdict. In an email from Stewart's investment broker, he informed Stewart that he had sold some of Stewart's stocks to offset capital gains taxes. Three days later, Bacanvoic sold Stewart's disputed ImClone stock, refuting his own testimony that the ImClone stocks, which were actually sold at a gain, had also been sold for tax purposes. This single email message resulted in a six month prison sentence for Stewart.

It Starts With a Subject

In five seconds or less, you have to have your informative and powerful subject line persuade your prospect to open your email and to keep reading. Your subject should be informative, personal and brief. I will discuss a few do's and do not's.

Here are a few examples of bad email subjects:

* The information you requested. (A common ploy by Spammers to get you to open their email)
* URGENT!!! THE INFORMATION YOU REQUESTED!!! (Using urgent or ALL CAPS usually means a Spammer)
* Your new home loan. (Not personalized at all, could be a Spammer)
* Re: Online submission form. (Often a potential customer uses a form submission and the mortgage company representative just hits reply - even if it is a bad subject line)
* "Hi!" or "Wazzup?" or worse, a blank subject line will kill your email. People love mysteries, just not in their in-box.

Remember, you only have a few words to grab your prospects attention, so choose them wisely. Here are a few examples of good email subjects:

* Robert Smith: your home loan inquiry from Texas Loan Company.
* Robert Smith: your 125 Apple Lane home loan inquiry.
* San Diego Mortgage proposal for Robert Smith of 125 Apple Lane.

Subject - Updating & Deadlines

As you progress through a series of emails with a client, the focus often changes and the subject that originally was "Robert Smith: your 125 Apple Lane home loan inquiry," may now need to be updated to read, "Robert, you sign your loan documents Monday at 4 pm." By staying current on the subject it makes it easier to search emails.

Also, when having multiple emails back and forth with you and a customer, be sure to trim the "Re: Re: Re: Re: Re:" out.

Email Address Poor "From" Email Settings

Often replies from mortgage companies to their clients have the "From" address constructed in a manner that appears Spammish. That is, the return address might read "Sales" or "Info" at your company name. Because many Spammers use "Sales" or "Info", you should avoid this. My sister recently sent me an email and my filters put it in the Spam folder. She had recently "updated" her email to read from, "Info" Info@HerCompany.com. The use of the word "Info" triggered a possible Spam alert.

Here is what we suggest as your return address: Full name, URL and case corrected email address, i.e., "Rob Smith - HisMortgageCompany.com" Rob@HisMortgageCompany.com

By showing his full name, and adding his web site address (URL), coupled with the easy to read case of his email address (i.e. not the hard to read, all lower case rob@hismortgagecompany.com), this makes it more probable that his email will not get pick off by a filter and will be easy to decipher by the recipient.

Unmatched Return Email Address

Some mortgage companies allow their staff to use whatever email address the representative wants. In example someone at our company should be using Kenzie@YourMortgageCompany.com, but she might use her personal email such as FishingIsMuchBetterThanWork@hotmail.com.

Any business correspondence from your company to a customer should always match the URL of your company. Two major problems occur when you fail to monitor return email addresses. The first problem is that your email may get filtered out as Spam, or it may not get read by the recipient as they were expecting an email from YourMortgageCompany.com, but not from FishingIsMuchBetterThanWork@hotmail.com.

The second problem is that you lose control of your customers. If Kenzie ever leaves the company, her leads will follow her as they have the email FishingIsMuchBetterThanWork@hotmail.com, not Kenzie@YourMortgageCompany.com. You can easily redirect her old company email address to her replacement. If you don't, the result is you lose business.

Email Address - To

If other recipients (escrow, loan officer, administrative assistant) need to be included in an email response, use the CC (carbon copy) feature in an email. This allows the customer to know everyone that is involved in their loan.

The Reply - Timeliness

The more prompt your reply, the more likely you are to get business. This is especially true when you are buying mortgage leads. Conversely, if you take more than 48 hours to reply, you can probably anticipate losing that person as a customer.

Attachments

Try not to include attachments. Many people won't open them fearing they are a virus. Others can't open them if you send a PDF file and they don't have Adobe reader installed. One work-around for this is to have the document they need online so they can click to the document and if it is a PDF file, there can be a link to download the Adobe program.

Other considerations include that your recipient may use a dial-up connection which makes large attachments painfully slow or they have email accounts that either 1) limit the amount of storage space or 2) refuse attachments over a certain size.

Next month we will discuss in Part II what to include in your content, whether to use HTML or plain text, which layout to use and how to structure your content for business reply emails.