How NOT to follow up a price query and other email advice…
6 Jul 2009
Last week I asked several companies to quote to prepare some illustrations for a new book I’m writing. I received five quotations, four of which contained samples of their work. The fifth did not enclose any samples and was more than twice the price of the most expensive of the other four. I politely declined this fifth offer on the basis they were more expensive and did not provide the samples requested. This was the email I received from them:
Sir
Our price is the lower that can be possible for this kind of work. You may find someone not professional to do the illustrations but you will regret not to hire an experienced company like mine. This is my advice to you. I hope you have a good result with your project.
Best regards,
(Sender and company name withheld to save them embarrassment).
I replied and politely suggested they buy my latest sales book.
On emails in general…
Have you ever pressed the ‘send’ button and then reviewed your email in the ‘sent’ box and looked at it in horror or at least wished you’d given it a bit more thought? I’ve done that several times in the past. Email can easily become a very casual and therefore misunderstood form of communication.
My view is that every form of communication with a customer or potential customer is important and we cannot afford to be casual and risk being misunderstood. So I have the same rule with emails to customers as I do when writing copy for a mail shot, advertisement, marketing copy or important letter. I write it, read it several times, and if it’s really important, I ask someone else to read it. I then file it and re-read it the following day. Nine times out of ten I want to change it again before I send it. I respectfully suggest you may want to do the same.