How To Respond To An Email
By: David Kucic, Hawaii Real Estate Agent
I AM BEING SARCATIC AS I WRITE THIS POST. I KNOW ALL OF YOU OUT THERE IN TV LAND KNOW WHAT AN EMAIL IS!!!!
Many things can make me upset such as a bad round of golf, rain when I want to work on my yard, people that don't answer or return phone calls and people that don't reply to emails.
Did you know that if your "Inbox" says that you have "new mail", you are supposed to read it? Heck, there is even an internet service provider that has an email program and speaks to you saying something like "You've Got Mail". How cool is that! Replying to an email is what is called an "implied task". An implied task means that although there is nobody there to tell you to open your email and read it, you should do it all by yourself. This is also known as "professionalism" and "competence".
An email is short for "electronic mail". This means that although the sender did not take the time to put his/her thoughts on paper, put it into an envelope and mail it using a brand new "forever stamp" the sender still wants you to know something and in a lot of cases, the sender is expecting a prompt response especially on a time sensitive email.
At this point I will stop and give you an example of what sort of email would require a prompt response:
- Initiator of Email: Dear Mr. Receiver of Email, I was unable to get a reply via your cell phone number and office number that you had posted on the MLS for the property located at 123 Anystreet. I was hoping that maybe since the seller has hired you as their representative to market and sell their house for them that you would be so inclined as to schedule me an appointment to show the property to my pre-approved buyer. I am sending this follow-up email because I am assuming that out of the hundreds and maybe thousands of cell phone providers in the nation, your carrier may be the one that is experiencing some sort of difficulties today. I would like to schedule an appointment for tomorrow at 1200. Sorry about the short notice but I did leave you two voice mails yesterday that went unreturned. Thank you and have a good day.
Here is an example of an email that would require a response but is not too time sensitive:
- Initiator of Email: Dear Mrs. Reciever of Email, I was wondering if you would be interested in meeting me for a cup of coffee next month to discuss how I can serve you and represent you as your preferred lender. Please RSVP to this email in 10 days. In case you didn't catch that, you aren't required to reply until no later than 10 days from the date of the email.
This last example is one that would not require any response unless you truly beleived that you had just hit the jackpot:
- Initiator of Email: Dear Mr. Receiver of Email, I am writing you because I am the executor of the will for the late King of Boogabooga, the late Dr. Josef Adiop. He was tragically killed in a car accident in January and left behind 29 million US Dollars. I found your email address on Active Rain and I thought that you would be a good person to help me manage the money.
Now this is apparently the difficult part of the whole "replying to an email" part. What should you do now? Most employers, other professionals and fellow realtors will click on a button at the top of the screen if using Microsoft Outlook called "reply". Use this button and send a response to the initiator of the email. Its that simple!
If you are still having difficulties understanding this concept about replying to emails, you can send me an email and I will personally respond so that you can see how it works.
Try it and I think you will really enjoy it! Aloha!
Comments(7)