Sending and replying to emails can be a total timesuck and that’s exactly why having a series of canned email responses is a must for busy business owners. Retyping virtually the same email over and over again can be time consuming and let’s be honest, just annoying!
BUT creating canned email responses can also be pretty annoying, especially for longer (and more important!) emails. Sure, a quick autoresponder that says “Thanks for reaching out. We’ll be in touch!” is easy enough but what about allll the other emails you need to send? What about the email for the contract your new client needs to sign? Or the one that asks them to complete a questionnaire? Or the one that sends an invoice?
These are the REALLY annoying emails. And they feel so annoying because you often don’t realize you can have a canned response for them. Or if you do realize, you probably don’t really know what to say. Because of this, you likely neglect to send them or labor over what should be included, both of which cause delays for your clients and your bank account.
The annoying emails stop now!
Here are 4 emails every service provider needs and what they should say.
Contract Delivery Email
This. Is. It. You nailed the sales call and the prospect wants to work with you, yay! ::cue the balloons:: But now it’s time for you to send the contract and initial invoice email. Ugh. This one is always tough. What do you say? You don’t simply want to drop a link and say “sign here” #awkward. But until you’ve got their signature and payment there’s probably not a whole lot else to say at this point.
Now you end up struggling to come up with a few sentences that don’t feel weird and spending way more time sending a contract than a human being should.
Putting together a great canned email response for sending your contracts removes the stress from figuring out to what to write every time. Not to mention, it makes it much easier for you to get the contract out fast (and get paid fast).
This email is a must for every service provider. It should be short but keeps the momentum going. You want your new client to feel excited when they receive this email. Reaffirm their decision to work with you and give them a peek at what comes after they sign on the dotted line.
Expectations Email
Before we dive in to why a canned expectations email is so important, let’s first talk about what exactly it is. Your expectations email outlines both what you expect from your client AND what your clients can expect from you. This includes things like your working hours, when and how to schedule calls as well as your deliverables.
This email is SUPER important because it sets the stage for your working relationship. A good expectations email will create boundaries, establish you as the leader in the client/service provider relationship and save you tons of time. BUT this email can also quickly feel like a lot of work.
Start small and work your way up. Don’t feel like it has to be perfect. Start by stating your work hours and preferred method of communication (slack, voxer, Trello board, etc.) and what your client’s immediate next steps are (fill out a questionnaire, schedule a call, etc.).
If you skip all the other canned email responses, do this ONE! It won’t only save you time rewriting it every time but the content of this email will keep you from being driven crazy by your clients.
Exit Email
Are you good at good-byes? When it comes time to part ways with a client, it can feel a little awkward. This is especially true if you’ve been working with someone for a while and you’ve really gotten to know them. Additionally, how do you make sure you don’t end up fielding lingering questions and tasks?
Wrapping up your work together in a nice little bow is exactly what a good exit email does. Create a canned email response that reminds them of all the great things you did together and lets them know when or how to get in touch with you should they need assistance in the future. Knowing they’ve been told work has concluded and that more work will require more money makes that conversation feel a whole lot better when the time comes.
A good canned exit email will keep clients from lingering and you from doing work you aren’t getting paid to do.
Transition Email
So what if a client doesn’t leave? Many of the service providers I work with have a project based offering that can turn into ongoing support. For example, the social media manager who creates a strategy and then implements it. Or the bookkeeper I worked with who did a Quickbooks setup and then offered monthly bookkeeping services.
Anytime you can move a client from a project to ongoing support is a win, and it should be treated as such!
It can be easy to think your client knows what will happen next as you’ve already done a project together, but it doesn’t always work that way. Oftentimes a new contract needs to be signed, a new deposit needs to be paid and new expectations need to be set. It’s kind of like mini-onboarding.
This is where your transition email comes in. Create a canned email response for any clients who are moving from a project service offering you have to ongoing support. Include in this email the new contract and invoice as well as outline any “new” information they may need to know. Are they going to schedule monthly calls now? Do you need additional passwords or information from them?
Make sure they keep feeling the love as they move from a project to part of the business family.
These 4 canned email responses are total gamechangers for service providers. Getting these emails nailed down not only saves you time when it comes to writing them but also continues to save you time because you created a really easy path for your new client to follow.
See the value of these canned email responses but still not sure where to start when writing your own?
Download my FREE email swipe files.
These swipe files give you a template and samples for each of the emails I mentioned above. They’re totally plug and play for any service provider and save you tons of time all while feeling confident when pressing send.