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Copy of Cold Emails_ Blog Post.Remember the age-old marketing term ‘cold calling’? It was, or still is in some cases, a technique where you’d have a list of phone numbers and you would call them one-by-one, trying to sell an item or service. It was awful, tedious, and often times very obtrusive to the person at the other end of the phone.

When I first went into marketing, this is something I was taught to do. I hated it. And I never experienced any real growth from it either. While doing this, you may be able to convince one or two people out of the twenty to give in and buy your product or service, but that was very rare. Usually, these people would turn into one-time clients and after the initial contact, you would end up with nothing but crickets. This is how I view cold emailing, to me, it is the exact same concept. You’re sending an unsolicited email to someone that you’ve never met or had any contact with. Cold emailing is your chance at a first impression.

I wanted to write about cold emailing because I received two emails last week that were both very different from one another. Each description is below.

The first did their research. Then, they began to explain what they could do for my company, and even gave an example of the results I might see. It was short and to the point. It was not obtrusive at all, but merely a quick description explaining what they could do to fit my needs.

The second email did no research at all. They basically sent me a pitch telling me what they do, how good they are at it, and included a calendar link to make an appointment with them. That was annoying. I’m sure they found my email address on my website or LinkedIn page, which is fine, but after reading the email it felt very disingenuous and a waste of my time. Why would I want to schedule my own appointment with someone who may or may not be able to help me expand my business? Who is this person? Do they even know anything about me or what I do?

So if you must send out cold emails, please follow these principals first. That way you’ll refrain from sounding too ‘salesy’ and you’ll actually be providing something of value.

PRINCIPALS OF COLD EMAILING:

  • Do your research!!!– This is the most important, have some knowledge about the individual or company and use that to your advantage.
  • Personalize the email– Use your personal work email address. Speak to your reader by name, use some background information you may have found about the individual or company. Compliment them on some of their achievements. DON’T start the email with just a simple greeting. Be personable!
  • Offer something of value– How can you help them? What steps will you take to help them? How might you be a good fit? A freebie wouldn’t hurt either, especially if it pertains to what you’re offering.
  • Keep it short and simple– Busy professionals don’t have a lot of time to read through long emails. Try to keep it short and straight to the point. That way if someone just skims through the email, they’re still absorbing key points. Leave out photos, long signatures etc.
  • Break up your points- Breaking up your key points will help the reader to easily identify what you’re talking about.
  • Add a link or two- Make sure to add your website link so the reader can get further information if they’re interested.

Have you experienced any of these cold email disasters or victories? Would you like to add something to this list? I’d love to hear from you!

Finance, Helpful time saving tips, New Strategies, Productivity

Are you facing the dreaded Expense report again this month? Check out my 6 tips

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I’ve done several expense reports for a variety of my clients. Things that are typically included are: flights, checked bag fees, dinner/lunch meetings, hotels, rental cars, Uber, taxi’s, concert tickets, misc purchases, credit card transactions, and much more. So, with all of the receipts that are acquired during a single trip, or on a daily basis, how can one keep up with the loot?

My solution, use mobile apps! There are so many available these days it’s hard not to take advantage of their services.  These apps allow you to take a photo of your current receipt and it will automatically log that information into a single spreadsheet. Some will even match your credit card transactions, categorize receipts, track company policies & procedures, etc, etc. Saving you, or your Administrative Consultant valuable time. If you’re consistent, utilizing these apps is a great solution! However, there are some companies that do not offer these easy solutions or busy entrepreneurs that do not want to deal with using apps. That’s okay too! You know how it goes, there is a prefabricated spreadsheet that you must fill out manually, entering every receipt, category, or reason. Then you have to submit it to the correct department, attach receipts blah, blah, blah.

As a virtual Administrative Consultant, my goal is to make things easier for all of my clients. So I’ve come up with 6 simple tips to help this process go smoothly, regardless if you choose to go the app route or not.

6 tips for Managing Expense Reports with ease:

  1. Take a photo of each paper receipt you receive: Even though the apps work great for this I would still take one extra step, and email those photos to yourself, or your Administrative Consultant. (Pssst- you can even text the photo to your Admin Consultant) Just so you don’t have to worry about losing the paper receipts. It’s better to be safe than sorry, and you won’t need a scanner.
  2. Use your email to your advantage: You can easily set rules or filters to manage specific incoming emails. For example: If you receive Uber, or Google Apps receipts through email, then you can create a filter to put those emails in a specific folder. That way it keeps your newly received receipts organized, and separate from your inbox.
  3. Create a folder for each month to house all of your emailed receipts and statements: This is important. You need a place to house all of your receipts, and credit card statements. Even if you’re using an app, you need a point of reference in case of a mistake. I would keep this folder in your preferred cloud storage system, or in a secured area on your computer. Your Administrative Consultant can also do this and share the folder with you, or vice versa.
  4. Make time to compile the data: Now that you have a folder with all of your receipts and statements in one place, what’s next? Fill out the report as you go! I highly suggest this, because it will save you time in the long run. No one wants to go through a month of receipts all at once.
  5. Submit your receipts: Companies usually like receipts in one nice PDF document. But, if your photos are in a JPEG format, how does this work? Well, you have some options: you can use a program to convert these for you (sometimes for a small fee), or delegate this task to your Administrative Consultant. I usually have the task of converting these for my clients, it also allows me to double check the entered data as I go.
  6. Double, and triple check!: Before submitting your monthly expense report, just go through and check everything once again. If you’re using a spreadsheet make sure all of your formulas are correct, showing the right amounts. If using an app, check to make sure all receipts are included in the correct amounts. There is less error when using apps, but sometimes a mistake can be made.

Hope this list helps you to become more efficient and productive when managing expense reports. If you need some additional help, contact me at info@crowned.us