Your Business Quick Tip Newsletter
Vol 21 No #218 – 25th August 2022
Content
- Think of this when writing your next email subject line
- How can you be more persuasive in business?
1. Think of this when writing your next email subject line
Being busy you may write a subject line without putting too much thought or importance into it. When people look at their reams of received emails, what is the first thing they look to do?
Yes, see what they can delete! Gulp.
Subject lines are very important when it comes to getting read. Put thought into it. Here’s a few tips:
- Short – phones enable only 38 or so characters before it’s cut off
- Most important first
- If a marketing email – thought provoking. For examples using numbers or asking a question
2. How can you be more persuasive in business?
Are you trying to get something over the line? Trying to convince a new potential client? Use this strategy.
Quantify. Fluff walks. Money talks. Put a dollar value on how they will benefit. Show their rate of return.
Here’s a real-life example
I was presenting to an international group of C level executives in the consulting engineering field.
One of my main points was how to easily improve staff productivity and thus profitability.
I could have said this: “If you have staff trained on software shortcuts; they can free up at least 20 minutes a day”.
Good statement?
How does that sound to you? Is it a good statement to make? 20 minutes is a great amount of time which could be put to good use.
| It’s not good. It’s fluffy.
Instead of saying that, while clicking to this slide I said “depending on your organisations size, you can increase business income this much when you have staff taught several email shortcuts that free up 20 minutes a day. |
 |
You see I removed the fluff by quantifying what 20 minutes would mean in improved productivity thus increased billable hours.
| So how did I come up with the numbers? I picked up the phone and called a principal at one of the engineering firms I had worked with in the past. I asked what the average billable hour fee was for both principals and engineers as well as the average administrators’ salary. Next, I asked the approximate number of principals, engineers and administrators would be employed by the different sized firms. Finally, I quantified 20 minutes a day in a five-day working week for a 45 working week year. That was 74 hours per annum. |  |
You can easily do this too
- Value time saved per annum, multiply by wage/salary.
- Stress reduction leads to happier employees, which helps reduce turnover. Quantify the savings in recruitment costs along with the productivity continuum.
- More sales? Take the average value of one sale (you can even factor in the life time value of that one new client) multiplied by the number of new ones expected.
- Lowered operating costs
You can get the base information any number of ways. Research on the Internet. Their competitors. Annual reports. Talk to HR professionals about salary levels. Colleagues in that industry. Allies within that company.
Recommend Debbie for a Conference speaker or to present during a sales or management meeting.
Email for a quote debbie@successis.co.nz