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Am I the Only Missed Message in Your SPAM Folder? I Doubt it! A mild rant...

By
Education & Training with Sell with Soul

Don't you hate it when you send someone an important email... and then mark that little to-do off your list... and forget about it? And then realize a week or two later that the person didn't respond?

Ticks you off, doesn't it?

I'm not talking about prospecting or marketing emails; I'm talking about bona-fide business-related emails that deserve attention.

As often as not, the non-responder eventually finds the message in her SPAM folder and finally responds with a casual apology - "Sorry I didn't get back to you sooner, your message went to my SPAM folder for some reason."

Hmmmmmm.

Okay, it's been two weeks. And I really doubt that I'm the only message that erroneously made its way into your SPAM folder; there's nothing all that "special" about me and my messages! It's not as if the subject line might be mistaken for body-part enhancement or cheap prescription drugs!

I really get annoyed (and frankly, suspicious) when it happens more than once with the same person. Uh, dude (or dudette), maybe you might want to DO something about your filtering system if you find yourself apologizing a second... or third... or fourth time? Or if nothing else - check the darn folder every day?

I don't have a SPAM folder - never have, so maybe I'm not understanding something in this picture. But it seems to me that if you're frequently missing emails from people who matter (or should matter) to you, you might wanna rethink the concept.

Rant over. Carry on.

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Comments (14)

Mark Seamone
EXIT Realty Inter Lake, Bridgewater Nova Scotia, Canada - Bridgewater, NS

So true Jennifer! My Admin says she has this problem all the time!! I will have her send something, for me, to a client I have spent some real time with and she never seems to get the response??

I always end up doing it all over again in the end~

I'll let her know, she will feel good about this today that someone else feels the way she does.

Thanks Mark

Jan 14, 2010 12:03 AM
Damon Gettier
Damon Gettier & Associates, REALTORS- Roanoke Va Short Sale Expert - Roanoke, VA
Broker/Owner ABRM, GRI, CDPE

It happens all of the time....I sometimes wonder if it is the "it must have gotten lost in the mail" excuse though.

Jan 14, 2010 12:21 AM
Karen Poss
Coldwell Banker Pinnacle Properties, Florence Alabama - Florence, AL
Realtor - 256-366-6292 - Search Florence Al Homes For Sale

You deserve to rant.  SPAM is not an excuse.  I do have a spam box but I check it several times a day...it's not that difficult.  Sometimes I wonder why people even give an email address if they don't know how to use it.  And on that note...how can anyone in todays world not know how to do email???

Jan 14, 2010 12:27 AM
Robert Rauf
CMG Home Loans - Toms River, NJ

My stuff does get stuck in spam filters on occasion as well.  so I tell people the first time to be sure they check there...   Not sure why, but it does.

I do check mine every day, and lately they are trying to sell me a Cat Emery board along with the viagra...

Jan 14, 2010 12:52 AM
Kim Brown
Keller Williams Realty - Keene, NH
Keene, NH - New England at its Best!

The key is if you have a spam folder, you have to check it!  As Karen said above, it's just not that hard (no more difficult than opening any other folder in your email)  I've found that a lot of emails that I send out get tagged as spam by the recipient.  Not sure why that happens, but I've been bugging our IT guy about it...something to do with certificates or something?  I dunno, I just want it fixed.

JA--Just so's you know, the email you (re)sent me last week was the first time I saw it.  Not in spam, just never arrived.  :-/  I've brought this to my IT dude's attention, as well.

OBTW...I received my copy of If You're Not Having Fun Selling Real Estate, You're Not Doing It Right.   Yippeee....yahoooo....it totally rocks!!!  WTG JA...Love it!

Jan 14, 2010 01:11 AM
Loreena and Michael Yeo
3:16 team REALTY ~ Locally-owned Prosper TX Real Estate Co. - Prosper, TX
Real Estate Agents

If only more people operate the way we do. I really dont care if I have a SPAM folder or not. I check it as often as I check my emails. There you have it. I'm sure if wasnt my email.

Jan 14, 2010 01:33 AM
Jean Doyle
RE/MAX House Values - Mount Arlington, NJ
Morris and Sussex NJ Real Estate

I ask people to add me as a contact so this won't happen. I kind of feel like it is the old like "Its not you its me..."

Jan 14, 2010 01:54 AM
Jennifer Allan-Hagedorn
Sell with Soul - Pensacola Beach, FL
Author of Sell with Soul

Thanks for your comments! The other thing about being told you were sent to SPAM is that, well, it's kind of insulting. Oh, sure, I know it's not intentional, but still... on my more sensitive days, I might find my feelings hurt if you tell me I'm SPAM!

The other thing I don't understand (while I'm on a ranting roll) is when people create a "rule" for me in Outlook. I'm not sure what that means, but many times, people have told me that they "ruled" me at some point in the past, forgot they did it, and now don't get my emails at all. Seems like an awfully risky thing to do, especially if you're going to forget to check your Rule-Box!

Jan 14, 2010 04:26 AM
Ann Cordes
Century 21 Randall Morris and Associates, Waco - Waco, TX
Home Ownership is Not a Distant Dream

I have a junk folder ( guess it is the same as spam) but it is easy to see when i have new emails in there and I check it when I check my other email accounts. How hard is that?

My problem with e-mail is that when I try to send an email out at my office, more times than not it comes back undeliverable.? But I never have this problem at home. What's that about.

Jan 14, 2010 06:49 AM
Shana Haugen
Century 21 - Gold Key - Fargo, ND

I have a junk folder that my email automatically forwards to.  But, I check it and then delete it.  Not so hard!

Jan 14, 2010 09:10 AM
Bryant Tutas
Tutas Towne Realty, Inc and Garden Views Realty, LLC - Winter Garden, FL
Selling Florida one home at a time

Jennifer when I send important emails I always ask the person to confirm receipt. If I don't hear back I follow up. I use gmail and they have an excellent spam filter. I have to use it due to the fact that I get 100s of emails every day. I would miss more weeding through spam than I do from an occasional important email going to spam

Jan 14, 2010 10:03 AM
Anonymous
Mary Diaz

I have a friend that has a system for cold calling.  I believe he is the person that has done more call calling than anyone I know.  He is selling his system along with a seminar.  He is really an awesome person.  Cold calling is not for everyone, but he has made it an art.

Jan 14, 2010 10:46 AM
#12
Susan Haughton
Long and Foster REALTORS (703) 470-4545 - Alexandria, VA
Susan & Mindy Team...Honesty. Integrity. Results.

LOL...ref: rules.  I tried that, briefly, because I thought it would be so cool to have emails filed automatically.  Problem is, I would forget to check the appropriate folders and occasionally be delayed in seeing an email.  Stopped doing that.

As for the emails going to Spam, what really annoys me is when you bust your keister to get info to someone who seems to be anxiously awaiting it, only to not hear from them and then to hear, belatedly, "oh, yeah, it was in my spam folder."  Hullo? It's just not that difficult to figure out.  LOL

Jan 14, 2010 09:45 PM
Lisa Stafford
Broken Arrow, Tulsa, McGraw Realtors - Broken Arrow, OK
Broken Arrow OK Homes For Sale

I tell someone new I'm emailing that I'll send a short email with my contact information and to please respond so I know I had the email address correct.  I do this not to see if I have it correct but just to make sure I don't get spammed.

You just never know.

Jan 23, 2010 12:19 PM