Use this chess technique for more persuasive emails
Kim Arnold
Better emails = Bigger profits ??Founder, Email Attraction | Speaker | Author: Email Attraction - Get What You Want Every Time You Hit Send
Picture this…?
You need budget approval from a senior stakeholder for a new project. ?They’re going to take a lot of convincing.?
You write an email to them with all the facts, but it ends up being so long it could be turned into a Netflix mini-series.?
However…you think you need all the information?to win them over.?
So, do you:?
a) continue with one big email?
or?
b) split it up into 3 shorter ones, each building on the last as you get a response?
It’s a dilemma I get asked about all the time.?
My clients worry about ‘spamming’ their reader with lots of different emails, so they go for the mega-email approach.?
But this is a big mistake.
Former FBI?hostage negotiator Chris Voss (you know I’m a big fan of his teachings on persuasion and influence) explains:?
‘People run into trouble when they put too much information into one communication.?
A great example is: would you play chess via email? Would you put your next seven chess moves in the same email??
No, because the other side would see all the moves and then decide not to go along.?
So if you just shorten things down in your digital communications, and make one good move in each one, you’ll be highly efficient and you’ll get answers.’?
Listen – I’m no chess player, but I know from experience this strategy works.?
And if you still need convincing, know this.?
Studies show when our emails are longer, our reader assumes the task we’re asking them to do will take longer too.
Which – of course – makes them less likely to do it.??
So, try the ‘little and often’ chess technique if you want to be an email grandmaster.
I'm a marketing and brand consultant and communication coach. To get your business off that comfy old couch and out there winning business, visit kimarnold.co.uk or drop me a line at [email protected].
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