How to Write to New Leads for More Engagement, More Quickly

When you write to new leads for your business, you know what you want to say. But how much thought do you give on how you say it?

In my experience, giving equal weight to both considerations brings the benefits of not only more positive responses — but they come to you faster. This can help you save time because you don't need to plan and send as many follow-up drip campaigns.

Below I share 7 facets of your emails and direct messages (DMs) to consider. If you learn more easily with a video, watch my presentation on this topic:

Facet #1: Text length

Are you writing too little versus your lead's much longer text? Conversely, are you writing too much when your lead has said only a little?

Facet #2: How prevalent are exclamation marks (!) in messages from your leads?

If a lead uses them in 1/4 to 1/3 (or more) of sentences, you should strive for the same level when writing back.

A related consideration here is that people who use exclamation marks excessively can feel offended if the person writing them back doesn't reciprocate in kind. These folks view replies with all sentences ending with periods as having an unnecessarily serious (even stern) tone.

Facet #3: Consider the prevalence of emojis 💫

I'm not big on using them, especially in business emails. But if my lead uses them, I'll use them in my replies because I want to show that I'm “on their level.”

Facet #4: Strive to match your lead’s formatting

Is your lead's message: paragraph after paragraph after paragraph? Or is it much more broken up with single-sentence lines or only 2-3 sentence paragraphs, bullets, and/or numbered lists?

Facet #5: If you’re replying to your lead’s questions, keep your answers as concise (brief but comprehensive) as possible

Remember, everyone is busy. And no one likes to have to read more than they need to.

Facet #6: If your lead has more than a few questions per email or DM, make sure you thoroughly review and answer them all

This can be a competitive advantage; if your lead is shopping around for the solution you offer, not all of your competitors will take the time to do this.

Facet #7: Employ one of the oldest sales tricks in the book: use your lead’s name as often as you can

People really do respond more often, and more positively, when they read (or hear) their name.

This is often another competitive advantage — not all of your competitors do this.

What kind of outcomes are possible by using these tips in your lead communications?

When I combine them with my Virtual Networking First approach, I’ve found that:

• 50%+ of cold leads respond to my initial email or DM

• Of those, 80% book at least one 1:1 call with me

• Most leads respond to my replies within 2 business days

• Leads who become clients are more likely to book additional work with me and/or ask questions, giving me the opportunity to maintain a strong relationship by answering them

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