Three Email Etiquette Tips for Better Lead Conversion

In today's digital world, your first interaction with many potential clients will be via email. Do your messages get the response you want? Try these email etiquette tips to impress those leads and gain more business.

Apply basic grammar rules

Non-traditional capitalizations and creative abbreviations (e.g. l8r) may be common in text messages or emails between family and friends, but these composition shortcuts are never appropriate when communicating with potential clients.

Whether you're trying to schedule a listing appointment or sending a thank you note after an initial meeting with some buyers, be sure to apply the grammar rules you learned in grade school.

• The first word in a sentence and any proper nouns should be capitalized
• Always use complete sentences
• Start each message with a greeting that addresses the recipient
• End with a professional closing

Stay away from all-caps and don't assume spell check will catch everything, especially when it comes to client names. Take a moment to proofread your email before you hit send.

Save imagery and bold colors for your advertising

Email today provides a lot of opportunities for creative expression. From new fonts and extensive color palettes to animated GIFs embedded in the message, the sky's the limit. Unfortunately those enhancements can make your message more difficult to read and may even get it routed to the SPAM folder.

Stick to black text in a standard font like Arial, and keep it a consistent size. Including a small headshot or personal logo in your email signature is fine, but avoid anything animated or large promotional images.

Know when not to use email

The convenience of email makes it a prime communication tool between agents and their clients, especially if you own a smartphone which enables you to email on-the-go. However, it isn't always the best communication method and could be costing you business.

Before you start typing, take a moment to consider any communication preferences the potential client expressed. Pay attention to directive cues, such as, "Why don't you text me next week and we'll figure out a time to meet." When in doubt, match the channel to the message. Anything requiring an immediate response or potentially sensitive information may require a phone call.

To view the original article, visit the HomeFinder.com blog.