You have just finished an email that you want to send to your employees in preparation for a meeting with an important client. Please read these three steps before sending the email.

The One-sentence Technique

Challenge yourself to say what you want to tell them in one sentence; three to five words max. The one-sentence technique will help you identify your objectives.  Now, you know exactly what you want to share with your employees.  Be precise and to the point.  There is no need to waste the company’s time to write or read a lengthy paragraph.

Specify Actions Needed

Mention the action that you want your employees to complete. For example, rather than telling your employees to “be nice to the client,” tell them,” smile at the client and answer their questions.”

Also, limit the use of the verb; to be, as it sends a vague message that will be open to interpretation.

Acknowledge Previous Profitable Actions

Mention the action that yielded profit in a relative situation. Be specific in pinpointing the main action that generated the profit. Was it the well-written proposal, was it the pitch presentation, what was it?  Name it and acknowledge it as profitable. 

Keep in mind, if you just write, “ winning that contract was great,” then, you are not specific enough for the employees to know what actions they need to undertake to generate the profit again. Instead, you can write, “ catering to the client’s needs resulted in winning the proposal.” So, your employees know what to focus their attention and energy on. For example, some of them will analyze the client’s portfolio, others will research the needs and come up with ways to meet them.