In the first part of this article I talked about the biggest mistake real estate professionals make when dealing with prospects via email.  Here are some additional strategies that will help you communicate effectively with email prospects and convert more into clients:

Be Brief: email messages should be short, especially with the number of people using email devices such as Blackberrys.  The longer the email is, the less likely it will be read and thoroughly understood.  This isn’t to say you should censor yourself.  Just spread out your communications over several emails rather than sending one long email.

Give Them What They Want: today’s prospects want real estate experts, not just real estate sales people.  So make answering any questions they have the top priority in your emails.  Use this interaction as a guide for which question to ask next.  The key is showing an interest in them and getting them talking.  Ask pointed questions about what they want and listen very carefully to their responses.   

Keep It To Email Initially: a common mistake real estate professionals make is asking for an email prospect’s phone number right away before building any rapport with them.  When a prospect emails you they’re implying they want to communicate via email.  They would have called you if they wanted the interaction happening over the phone.  Email gives people a buffer zone between themselves and sales people who may be pushy and trying the ‘hard sell’ approach.  So when you request their phone number immediately you’re already not doing what they want you to do.  Do as they ask, and they’ll gradually feel more comfortable with you.

Focus On Them, Not You: many sales people make the mistake of continually putting their own interests above their clients.  The other mistake is they fall in love with what they sell.  They act like their clients will immediately feel the same as them as soon as they see and understand what they sell.  But the prospect really doesn’t necessarily care in the least about what they’re selling and certainly has no emotional investment in it either.

So your job is finding out what they want (what they have an emotional investment in) and you do that by asking questions. 

Avoid Spelling Mistakes: people today are too lax with spelling and grammar and pointless abbreviations.  It just doesn’t look professional and there’s no excuse, even if you’re sending from a Blackberry or sending a text message from your phone.  So always double check (even triple check) anything you’ve written before you send it.

Learn more about using email effectively in your business by taking my course The Awesome Power Of Email.  This course has been approved by the Registrar, REBBA 2002 to qualify for 4 credits.