How would you like to harness the power of email to connect with customers? Here are five secrets of winning emails from Mike Brooks, Mr. Inside Sales, to set your email apart from everyone else's.

Use the prospect's first name in the subject line.
Putting your prospect's first name in the subject line will automatically distinguish your email from the hundreds of others your prospect gets. In addition, we're all partial to our own name, and this will draw your prospect's eyes like a magnet.

Customize the first few lines of your email as much as possible.
Many people preview emails by reading the first paragraph in Outlook. So the beginning better be short and have immediate value to your prospect. Example:

"Hi Barbara, Mike Brooks here with MHS Software. I've got some ideas about your networking issues for your new office that's opening in Houston next month. We've helped a lot of companies in this area, and I think you'll find it useful if we talk."

Keep your email short and easy to read!
Nothing will turn your prospect off more than long, information packed paragraphs. Break up your sentences into different paragraphs if possible, to make them easy to read and accessible - no more than three sentences per paragraph.

Ask for a return response - whether they're interested or not.
This is a great way to end your email and a good way to get a response. Simply thank them in advance for their consideration and say you're looking forward to their response.

Promise to follow up by phone if they don't respond.
Let them know that you understand they are busy, and that out of consideration, if you don't hear from them you'll follow up with a call in a day or two. This really increases your response rate - and be happy if you get a "not interested" response. These prospects just disqualified themselves and saved you a lot of time and energy.

Try out these email secrets from Mr. Inside Sales, Mike Brooks, and watch your response rate go up! If you've got an email secret to add to the list, let us know!

Mike Brooks, Mr. Inside Sales, specializes in helping sales reps avoid rejection and make more money. Check out his free ezine at http://www.mrinsidesales.com/ezine.htm