One thing at a time...

One thing at a time makes your communication easier to respond to. If you want to get something out of an email to a busy person, keep it simple: Ask one question and let the recipient decide on it.

The video was uploaded on 19 March 2010. The original post here on the site is dated 20 March 2010. The story is about my experiences with emails and offers for Amino Plus members at that time.

One thing at a time gets me to reply faster

I sit here answering a hell of a lot of emails. Lots of people write, and the vast majority are really nice people. I want to reply to them.

But the things that are easy to answer typically get answered first. The more troublesome ones come later. And the really difficult ones that take a long time can be left sitting there.

Where it often falls apart for me is when people ask about lots of things at once. If you want something from me, you can start with one thing. Once I have answered it, you can follow up with an "and by the way".

I think that is fairly common. An email with a question, an extra suggestion, yet another possibility and then something else suddenly looks overwhelming. So you think it will have to wait until tomorrow. Tomorrow turns into the day after, and on it goes.

A simple offer was straightforward to process

What made me think of this was that I had asked for some interesting offers for our Plus members on Amino. Quite a few replies actually came in.

The people who got a quick reply were those who made the offer simple. For example: We have an online shop, and we would like to give all Amino Plus members a 25 per cent discount. We get some marketing, and your members get an extra benefit.

Cool. That is straightforward to process. Great, we would like that. They get a chance for extra revenue, and we get some happy Plus members. I can understand the offer and make a decision straight away.

A strategic partnership became too much

Then there was one approach that day that turned into something quite different. The person wanted a "strategic partnership". There was a product we could sell, a revenue split and a discount. Then another product with a different split. And finally a third product with yet another discount.

I imagine the sender thought all those products and possibilities would impress me. But my reaction was: Bloody hell, man, a strategic partnership? I only asked for a couple of good offers.

Suddenly, I had to consider three or four different things and different discounts. I ended up having to say I could not take it all in. Get back to me later with one good discount, and then we can play around with it.

It is a good example of how more information and more options can make it harder to get a yes. My problem was that the approach involved too much to consider.

Keep the email short and constructive

Keep your communication simple. Assume the recipient is bloody busy, whoever they are. Use simple language without lots of fancy terms. Do not ask about ten things at once, but one thing at a time. Also read Min vej som leder for my experiences with people and clear communication in businesses.

Keep the email reasonably short and constructive. And remember what I said the other day: Butter them up a little first. It really does help to start on a friendly note before asking for something. That gives your approach a better chance.

Best wishes, Martin. PS. Remember AminoTastic on 27 March. You will learn a lot about personal branding there. Http://www.amino.dk

Location:Jasmine Ct,Delray Beach,USA