How to Use Emails in B2B Business Development

A key medium for approaching B2B prospects is using email. Social Media also has a huge role to play, but email is the key tool available to businesses.

The shape, style, tone and approach of your email is the key to maximising the chance of a positive response - the objective of a business development email is generally to get engagement (in other words a response, a call or even a meeting).

Here are some best practice guidelines that should generally be followed in a B2B business development environment:

• Depending on what you are selling, the email should generally be personalised - sending out impersonal emails which don't speak directly to the buyer and their situation will generally be ignored and result in immediate deletion as spam!

• The email should be concise and not too long – the prospect will not read it unless the information can be gleaned within a few seconds!

• The email should be polite and worded to be respectful of the prospect's time

• The CTA (call to action) in the email should clear

• The spelling and grammar should be correct - grammatical errors do not make the sender or the sender's company look professional!

• Your product or service USP (unique selling point) should be clear and relevant to the prospect

Finally and most importantly, read and re-read the email through several times before sending - always put yourself in the position of the person receiving the email, and how it would make you feel.

The ultimate test here is ‘why would this prospect reply’?

What other things are important in email communications?