It Can Cost Everything or Nothing

Over the course of 60 days in 2024, I emailed 100 people who were in charge of hosting conference, conventions and events for their organization. The point of my email was to introduce myself as a speaker for an upcoming event. The email was three paragraphs with appropriate links to my book and website, and finished with a request to receive the speaker guidelines or to have a further conversation at an appropriate time.

After 100 inquiries, here is what I found:

• 65 people I contacted responded to the first email
• 35 people I contacted did not respond on the first email
• Of the 35 people who did not respond to the first email, 5 responded to a follow-up email

A 65% response rate is certainly higher than usual by most studies on cold emailing. One study said the initial cold call email had a 9% response rate and a follow-up only improved that result to 13%.
However, there were a few additional statistics on my 100-contact project:

• 100% of the generic emails (info@ or admin@, etc.) did not respond
• 100% of submissions through the online contact us form were not responded to

I had always advised clients never to use generic emails or online forms, but I never had any proof that they are poor communication tools until my own experiment! Moving forward, to ensure the best value for my time, I didn’t reach out to any business or organization with generic emails or contact forms.

Responding: The Secret Weapon

There are a lot of reasons why people don’t reply to emails, and to be honest, it doesn’t matter. What does matter is how you can leapfrog your competition simply by responding! There are two ways you can use responding to emails to your benefit.

Being Ignored

First, it doesn’t feel good to be ignored. When a potential customer or connection sends a personal email, and it isn’t responded to, a negative impression is created. To maintain a positive impression, just reply to the email.

In my speaker research, I have connections with several other speakers who all have topics in entrepreneurial areas. When an event planner doesn’t respond to my request, I don’t refer their organization to a colleague because I assume they’ll be treated the same way. And, I don’t wan to negatively impact my relationship with a colleague who could refer me.

Instead, I refer colleagues to organizations that do reply, even if they don’t choose me as a speaker. I know I may not always be a fit for an association, but if there’s good communication there, I’m happy to refer a colleague.

Burning a Connection

Second, you don’t know when a connection is going to pay off down the road.

I have had plenty of personal experience with gaining business simply because I always replied to inquiries, even when it was something I didn’t provide. I have gained consulting business when people changed jobs, I have been able to rally others to attend an event because of having built a good communications connection – the list is endless.

You never know when a connection will prove beneficial.

There are always easy ways to lose business, and one of this is certainly not replying to someone’s inquiry. With more and more impersonal communications now, having a person communication is an advantage. Ironically, in a marketplace with even more competition, the way to elevate yourself above it has almost gotten easier.

Get started with easy-to-implement marketing tips by picking up a copy of  Forward Thinking for Your Business. You can order today at Amazon US, Amazon Canada, Ingram and other retailers. For bulk orders, contact Jennifer directly at [email protected] or phone: 613-312-7824.