One of the biggest challenges in business communication is to write to people you don’t personally know. Since it is such a commonplace requirement, there is no escaping it. Granted that nobody jumps at the idea of writing an email to an absolute stranger, yet it can be not as painful as it seems if a few points are taken care of.
In my experience, apart from it being a not-so-pleasant task, the bigger problem is that it is often non-effective. The reason is that we are asking the receiver for her time, the most precious commodity on earth and generally the asking is not justified. Sometimes it doesn’t make sense at all from the receiver’s point of view. For example, on networking sites, if somebody sends a request like:
ABC
I’d like to add you to my professional network on LinkedIn.
XYZ
Now the receiver has no idea who the sender is and why should she consider her request. Out of the two choices available (accept or ignore), which one do you think has more chances of being selected in a case like this? It is not really an email, but you get the point, right?
It is important to remember that usually when we write to a stranger, the person is pressed for time and has her own priorities to work on. Also, more often than not, writing to strangers is for asking them a favor. So it becomes even more necessary to be thoughtful and put efforts into the writing. Well, at least more effort than you are asking of the receiver!
Here are some pointers:
0. Do your homework. Know abilify online whatever you should about the receiver, her work and what you expect out of the communication.
1. Greet the receiver suitably.
2. Introduce yourself properly. Who you are and what you do etc.
3. Tell the receiver your reason for writing to her. Set the context. The receiver should not be left wondering why on earth she is getting this email.
4. If you have a referral, it is great to start with that. Tell her how you got to know about her, got her email id etc. I would say, it is a good idea to include the referring person in the cc field, if it makes sense. In most cases, it does.
5. State your point clearly. What is the purpose of your writing and what is expected of the receiver?
6. Let her know why she should invest time and effort for what you are asking her to do. Or why should the receiver respond? Sometimes, there may be something as simple as just common interests and that’s fine too.
7. Show your gratefulness as responding requires some work on the receiver’s part.
8. At the same time, do not make it sound like you are begging. Have confidence. People respect that, especially successful people.
9. Leave your complete contact information.
10. Last but not the least, be as courteous and polite as you possibly can be.
Having said that, it is also important to be prepared for rejection or worse still, no response at all. You have to understand that people do have different priorities. Remember, it is nothing personal. In their shoes, you would do the same!
References: Lynn Gaertner-Johnston, www.businesswritingblog.com
