Is your Covering Email costing you business?

I once helped a consultant write a proposal for a big project. It was worth a lot of money to him. It would have been his biggest contract.

The proposal we wrote was really good. But he didn’t win the work.

When he asked why not, they said they were so underwhelmed by his Covering Email, that they didn’t feel they could trust him with such an important project. 

Their exact words: “if you don’t take care of little things like emails when you know we’re watching, how can we trust you to take care of big things when you don’t think we are?”

Ouch.

I asked him to send me this Covering Email. It said…

Title: FYI

See attached

Cheers,
NAME

How utterly dreadful.

And what a waste.

We’d created this wonderful proposal. If the customer had just read it, the consultant would have had an outstanding chance of winning the business. But all our effort was ruined by the first thing they saw: his Covering Email. I wouldn’t have even noticed his email in my inbox. Would you?

So, what about your Covering Emails? How good are they? Do you put much time into making them brilliant? Do you put any?

The good news: there are many ways to craft a good one. Here’s one that works very well…

Title: John, here’s the email you requested about [insert topic]

John,

As [promised/requested], I attach the [communication] about [topic].

You’ll see it contains some critical points. In particular:
[highlight 1]
[highlight 2]
[highlight 3]

As agreed, I’ll ring you at [time] on [date] to discuss how we should proceed. If you want to discuss before then, please call my mobile – [number].

Best,
James

You’ll notice:

• The title is compelling. This ensures she opens the email
• It starts with “As promised” (or similar). This reminds her that she’s already verbally engaged with you, and that you’ve written the document she requested. (An important note: if you haven’t had this chat beforehand, it’s less likely that your communication will impress. After all, when you know what she wants, you’re more likely to write something she wants. But when you don’t…)
• Briefly mentioning 2-3 highlights means she’s more likely to open the document, to read the detail
• There’s a clear call to action – ‘I’m calling you on X. But call me if you prefer’ – so it’s likely there’ll be an action! Again, note that this has been verbally agreed beforehand
• By providing your direct contact details, you’re empowering her to increase the pace if she wants to
• The email’s short, but contains enough info to persuade her to open the attachment. You don’t need to re-write half your document. But neither can you write only “see attached”

Let’s face it: it doesn’t take long to write an email like this. It only takes minutes – seconds? – to do. But, if you don’t, you might find you’ve wasted the previous few hours you’ve spent on your document.

Action Point

What’s the most important attachment you’re sending today? Ensure your Covering Email impresses, such that they take the action you want them to.

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Written by NativeEnglish

Native English Spain is dedicated to make learning English simple, fun and affordable for Spanish people.