The Missed Opportunity of “Out of Office” Emails

You’re missing an opportunity if your next “Out of Office” email isn’t memorable. Christmas is around the corner, and it’s time to leave a message that sparkles beyond the Christmas season. But not just any colorful email will do.

Your out of office email should communicate more than simply being unavailable. This is your chance to create an emotional bond and communicate your values.

When you do it right, you get replies to your email thanking you for “putting it out there.”

And when you get that, you know you’ve made an emotional connection.

Here’s the formula to get it done.

Step 1: Identify the Reason for Your Absence

This is very simple. Why are you out? Write it down on your notepad.

I keep copies of my Out of Office Emails, and here are some of my reasons:

• Thanksgiving
• Christmas
• Training
• Mastermind Event / Conference
• Surgery
• 4th of July

Step 2: Identify the Value You Want to Communicate

This is the opportunity to tell the world how you make decisions and why you make those decisions.

For example, allies4me doesn’t check emails over Thanksgiving or Christmas. There are multiple reasons. One is that we place a high value on family. We believe that strong companies are run by people with strong families.

So, connect the value with the reason for the absence. Here are mine:

• Thanksgiving – We believe family is important.
• Christmas – We believe family is important, and something big happened that split time.
• Training – We believe it’s important to be constantly improving.
• Mastermind Event / Conference – We believe it's important to learn from others.
• Surgery – In my case, mistakes were made because people lacked hope and imagination.
• 4th of July – We believe we are better unified than we are divided.

Step 3: Connect Your Reason and Your Value to Your Client’s Benefit

Your reason for being gone needs to add value to your client… even if you think it’s about you. Identify that value and communicate it. Here is my list:

• Thanksgiving – when we unplug and spend time with family, we’re better for you when we return.
• Christmas – when we unplug and spend time with family, we’re better for you when we return.
• Training – We’re going to training so we can deliver better work for you.
• Mastermind Event / Conference – We’re seeking insights from others so we can deliver better work for you.
• Surgery – You shouldn’t suffer from a lack of hope and imagination.
• 4th of July – Your life will be better when we focus on what unites us more than what divides us.

Step 4: Pull it Together and Tell a Story

 Nobody wants to read a list of dry reasons or an impersonal auto-response email. Engage your reader.

The standard Out-of-Office email states the basics: “I’ll be out from this date to that date.”

The worst Out-of-Office email I’ve seen simply says, “OOO.”

Don’t do that. Engage your reader and make it interesting. Here’s an example of one of mine.

Example: Out for Surgery

Hi there,

It began with a lack of imagination… and a lack of hope.

They were certain I was going to die, so they got careless. Mistakes were made.

Last August, I had surgery to reconstruct my mouth because of one of those mistakes.

Now I’m having surgery to address another mistake.

I’m incredibly grateful because I’m alive and here for my wife. Nobody expected that in August or September of 2021.

But there’s a lesson here…

Sometimes we make bad decisions because we have a lack of imagination and a lack of hope. What about you?

What assumptions are you making as you look into this staggering economy?

Do you lack imagination? Or hope?

The statistics were overwhelming. They were clear. The probability of me surviving was as close to zero as it gets. But that’s not the case for you.

A surprising number of companies grow and prosper during recessions. You’ve got WAY better odds for financial survival than I did for physical survival.

So, what are you going to do about that?

I’m going to be offline for a day or two while I convalesce. But I’d love to talk to you about improving your odds when I come back online.

So, please reply back with your view of growth, and let’s talk in a couple of days.

Craig

Next Steps

Christmas is around the corner. How will your Out-of-Office email read? Make it magical so it creates bonds with the reader.

You’ll know you’ve nailed it when you start getting replies to your Out-of-Office email.

We make businesses irresistible to their cautious buyers. And this is one piece of the puzzle. Reach out and connect if you want irresistible growth.