Inside Sales Telesales Tips Blog

Fractured English in emails can kills sales: one common grammatical mistake and how you can fix it.

Nowadays, most reps are writing emails as an important element in the sales process. While much thought is given to email content, probably not enough is given to producing grammatically proper English. An email full of fractured English may easily be discarded by the recipient and can be as big a detriment to closing a sale as a poor presentation over the telephone, one concept I always address in my inside sales training course. Let’s take a look at one very common English faux pas and discuss how to fix it. 

I subscribe to several sales blogs, and here’s a question that was asked verbatim, to kick off a forum discussion: 

“How do you build rapport with the gatekeeper so they want to help you?” 

And here are some of the answers: 

“Treat them like a person. Be nice, inquire about them. Treat them as if they were the buyer. Make them feel important.” 

“Take steps to find out more about them. Get their name right.” 

 “Treat them like a person. Be nice, inquire about them. Treat them as if they were the buyer.” 

The question and its answers display a grammatical error that is commonly found in emails, singular-plural disagreement. “Them” and “they” always refers to more than one person. “He” or “she” refers to an individual. To fix the problem, determine whether you’re addressing or discussing one person or a group. Once you determine whether you’re in singular or plural mode, ensure that you're using the proper term. A good way to craft the question and one of the responses (above) might be as follows: 

Q. “How do you build rapport with the gatekeeper so that he or she wants to help you?” 

A. “Take steps to find out more about him or her, and get the name right.” 

How important is grammar? As I’ve said, most inside sales reps send emails to prospects and customers, and quite a few of these go out to CXOs and VPs, where they’re often vetted by Executive Administrators (EAs). So what’s the problem? Many EAs tend to be well educated, and won't pass anyone making improper use of the English language through to high-level executives. In particular, be very careful about singular-plural agreement (e.g. he>they>them) as shown in the above example. If your English isn't up to snuff, nothing else you say will matter to many higher-level execs or their Personal Assistants, and this is where many large enterprise deals start. Many prospects are sticklers for English, and you never know who might be reading your email. We're all in constant learning mode, so consider using college-level English with prospects and customers. It builds credibility.

I’m not perfect either.  I’ve been writing for years, and I still make bonehead mistakes, particularly when I'm writing late at night. Like many writers, I’m my own worst proofreader. The fact remains, however, that if we're going to sell as peers to high-level executives, we have to speak and write as peers. This a basic element in making headway with all the people to whom you’ll be writing in a business environment, including people to whom you report. If English isn’t your strong point, pick up a copy of Strunk’s “The Elements of Style,” (you can find it for $4.00 at many bookstores) and read the newspaper every day. You’ll start to improve quickly. Once you start writing better, your emails will be far more effective. Migrate your improved written grammar to the way you speak, and you’ll have a great asset that will last your entire career. Add an emphasis on good grammar to your Best Practices playbook.