Getting in Touch with Potential Customers by E-mail

Subject Lines Matter

A lot. Your subject line should be precise and descriptive. Bad:  "Re: fundraising advice".  Good: "Seeking advice for developing my business (as per intro from Jens Rasmussen)."

Use Your Company E-mail Address

Everyone has multiple e-mail addresses now.  When you randomly e-mail or respond from your personal gmail account, you make it harder for your target to search his archives for context on your conversation.  If you don't include your company name, he won't even know what you do!

Remind Him of Context

You met a potential customer at a conference and had this fabulous conversation about your concept, and he totally got it.  But, guess what?  He's had 137 conversations with other entrepreneurs in the last three weeks.  Remind him of where you met, what exactly you do, and how you met.

Limit Your Entire Email to five sentences or Less

Seriously. This can be painful. You have so many important things to say.  However, getting it read is more important than getting all that explanation in there. Preferably it's three sentences.  Your goal is to make it easy for him to respond immediately from his smartphone.

Make Your Ask Explicit

If you want a meeting, ask for a meeting.  Provide some time options and ask for a specified length.  If you want an introduction, ask for an introduction. Don't be sly.  Don't hint.  Make the process ridiculously easy by just asking for what you want.

Respond Immediately

Show your potenitial customer respect by responding to everything immediately. Just because the VC you are e-mailing might not get back to you immediately, doesn't mean that you have the same privilege. Follow up quickly.

Include a Short, Professional Signature

Your standard signature includes your name, company, blog, Twitter, and LinkedIn.  If you want a phone call or fax or meeting, it'll include phone number, fax, address.

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