Clicks 'n Conversions Blog

This article was first published  November 4, 2008 on the Tatum Marketing blog

This is the first of a two-part series where I’ll dissect an actual e-mail solicitation crafted by a corporate-VP-turned-entrepreneur. Only the names have been changed. This e-mail I believe is highly representative: i.e. it’s a plain vanilla marketing message that falls flat in its attempt to land an introductory meeting with a busy IT executive. Watch for the second of this two-parter which I’ll  post on Nov. 18th.

When Joe Entrepreneur founded his IT services business, he brought with him strong technical skills, high ambition, but little-to-no marketing expertise.

To uncover opportunities for new business, he networked with friends and business associates, building an entirely new list of contacts: friends’ friends who may have a need for his services.

What seemed like an easy next step proved harder than he ever imagined: writing that first letter of introduction. Joe and his tech-focused partner labored over the content below. As you read it, ask yourself: ‘How much time would I invest in this e-mail if it landed in my mailbox?’

What’s the overall problem with this e-mail?

It does nothing to make Joe’s company stand out from the crowd.

To compete with the likes of IBM and Accenture, Joe needs to connect with his reader, establish credibility, and measure response to his solicitation. Here’s seven simple tips to accomplish these three goals.

Mining for New Business Tip #1: Be Specific About your Relationship to the Recipient

After first recommending that Joe become well-versed with the FTC’s CAN-SPAM Act (a whopping 109 pages long!), the first recommendation to Joe is “Don’t look like spam!”

An obvious statement, but how do you do it? By being very specific about the connection you have with your reader.

In this particular case, Joe and Sally share a mutual acquaintance, and it was this person who recommended that they meet.

By leaving out this very important detail, Joe’s message looks and smells like spam, giving Sally every reason to send his e-mail to the trash.

Mining for New Business Tip #2: Don’t Make your E-Mail Sound like a Corporate Marketing Message

Yes, e-mail has evolved to become an extremely effective vehicle for marketing, but when you get down to it, e-mails are still a form of personalized communication: one sender, one receiver.

A “mining for new business” e-mail will be more effective if it sounds like it’s coming from a real person, rather than from a corporate marcom group inside a faceless corporation.

My advice?

Don’t jump right into your sales pitch, and avoid the proverbial “we” language. Instead establish a rapport with the reader through a conversational tone and direct (“I” and “you”) communication style.

Mining for New Business Tip #3: Raise your Level of Credibility by Letting Them Know it’s about Them, not You

More importantly, all that “we, we, we” language makes Joe sound self-absorbed and boorish.

When Joe’s e-mail hits Sally’s inbox, she’ll be juggling a slew of requirements from competing business units, urgent IT problems, and a laundry list of ongoing maintenance activities. Sally has no time for Joe (nor does she care) because frankly, she’s got her own problems to worry about.

So how do you attract the attention of an overworked IT executive?
Approach your e-mail like you would any first date. Talk about the reader, their business, and their acute pains; not you.

Joe has one big advantage: he lived and breathed the corporate IT world for 20+ years. By relating to Sally’s pains, Joe will effectively demonstrate that he’s not just another schmuck trying to sell Sally a product he knows nothing about.

This alternate approach can reap two huge benefits: 1) it earns you credibility points with your reader, and 2) it starts a conversation which (hopefully) will continue during a subsequent face-to-face meeting.

Sue Anderson
Marketing Lure, Inc.