Business Writing 101_Client Partnerships

BUSINESS WRITING EFFECTIVENESS Evergreen Academy

CLICK TO EDIT OBJECTIVE 03 OBJECTIVE 04 OJBECTIVE 01 OBJECTIVE 02

WHAT’S THE NEED? STORYTELLING & POV 02 03 NEED NEED EMAIL 01 10 REFRESHERS OF COMMUNICATION BIZ WRITING NEED

Why is it so important, especially now, to have clear & effective communication?



What are your most common business writing challenges?

Start List Here: ❑ Making assumptions that everyone has/knows the same info. Has the same background knowledge ❑ Ability to be direct and concise ❑ No clear action items…hanging chad ❑ Making relevant points to outside business ❑ Managing the CC/ BCC list – including the right people in the right list/ action items ❑ “Close of business” means something entirely different depending on who/where someone is ❑ CYA

Preparation… • Organize your thoughts • What/ Why/ How • Anticipation (know the road ahead) Formatting • Bullet points vs. paragraph • Spacing in emails • Reformatting data in email to send to client or network partner Grammar & punctuation • Tenses within sentences • Capitalize • Periods, commas, ! Professional vs. Informal • Making writing more sophisticated, more impactful, less wordy • Email etiquette: formality • Correctly addressing specific levels (asst, planner, AE) for specific requests Delivery • Clean and specific • Information transfer • Call to action/ no action needed Medium • Email • Text • Phone • In-person (“face-to-face”)

SPECIFIC TO YOUR ROLE ❑ Convey a point of view (in short form or long form) ❑ Anticipate questions that your writing/summary/pov will spark, as a result ❑ Draft a note on an “executive” level… ❑ Take the lead in your writing, by doing ALL THE ABOVE

SUMMARY: (AVOIDABLE) MISTAKES

CLICSKUTOMEDMIT ARY: SOLUTIONS



WRITING EMAILS

TOP 2 EMAIL CONCERNS 1. Professionalism 2. Conciseness

ANTICIPATE/ WRITE TO YOUR DESIRED ACTIONS Answer this question: What do you want the receiver to do with your information?

VOLUNTEER?





THE “WRAP-UP” EMAIL







STORYTELLING/ POV

CLARIFY vs VERIFY

CLARIFY Clarifying helps you make a statement or situation less confusing, and more clearly comprehensible. EXAMPLE: RESTATE THE OUTCOME “To clarify, you want me to reach out to Mark, or WHO OWNS THIS, IF DELEGATED? you will be reaching out to him to verify what the DEADLINE client wants by the EOD tomorrow?”

VERIFY Verifying makes sure or demonstrates that (something) is TRUE, accurate, or justified. EXAMPLE: WHO? WHAT? “I’m reaching out to verify that you requested $10M BY WHEN to be invested the week of August 5th?”

10 MUST-HAVES OF BUSINESS WRITING

MUSTS: 1 - 3 #One BE DIGESTIBLE Most readers skim written communication pieces before deciding if they’re worth reading, so carefully choose paragraph breaks, headings, and subheadings. #Two BE CONCISE #Three Use as few words are possible to present your thoughts (concise), and present as few thoughts as possible to convey your overarching idea (brief). BE HONEST & ACCURATE (Verify & Clarify) Be intentional about spreading the truth and about verifying information.

MUSTS: 4 - 6 #Four BE CLEAR #Five #Six Know exactly what you are writing about (objective) and know your audience. BE THOROUGH Truly effective communication anticipates readers’ questions and counterpoints and addresses them immediately. Set the table, own the POV, be detailed in your response/ support POV. and your recipient. Also communicate clear dates and deadlines. REVISE & CORRECT Multiple errors in clarity, sentence structure, or grammar undermine your validity and can be confusing for readers.

MUSTS: 7 - 9 #Seven BE TIMELY #Eight Providing relevant information at the right time for the client, ensuring the info is still on-time. BUILD GOODWILL Effective communications elicit positive reactions from readers and offer them the chance to create a personal connection with you/ your company. #Nine PACKAGE ATTRACTIVELY Simple or complex, the package that your content comes in should look professional and should be user friendly (like a magazine or article)

MUSTS: 10 # Te n BE THE QUARTERBACK/ PRODUCER

SAMPLE 01

Hi Talonya, I’m in your inbox today to introduce you to one of our customers. Melissa is the knowledge manager at Certify. Job title aside, Melissa’s responsibilities are similar to yours. • Get new hires trained • Refresh current employee knowledge And with TalentLMS, Melissa has been able to do exactly that. “We have seen drastic results and changes since using TalentLMS. Our new hire training stihmoerltienre.”has significantly decreased and now the ramp-up time for new hires is much Do you want to feel the same sense of relief I heard in Melissa’s voice? Read about her struggles and why Certify chose TalentLMS here. Mary Logotheti Product Trainer

Hi Talonya, I’m in your inbox today to introduce you to one of our customers. [Objective] Melissa is the knowledge manager at Certify. Job title aside, Melissa’s responsibilities are similar to yours. [Relevancy] • Get new hires trained [Bullet points] • Refresh current employee knowledge [Bullet points] And with TalentLMS, Melissa has been able to do exactly that. [Story] “We have seen drastic results and changes since using TalentLMS. Our new hire training tsihmoerltienre.”h[aBsosldiginngifitcoacnatllyl adtetecnretiaosne]d and now the ramp-up time for new hires is much Do you want to feel the same sense of relief I heard in Melissa’s voice? [CTA] Read about her struggles and why Certify chose TalentLMS here. [CTA] Mary Logotheti Product Trainer

SAMPLE 02

Dear Stephanie, I hope this note finds you well. It has been a long time since we have talked, so I wanted to personally reach out as our two companies reach the potential end of our business relationship. As you may know, I’ve personally have had the pleasure of partnering with The Gallo organization since 1997! The first 15 years while at my previous company, Active International and the last several years here, while at Evergreen Trading. I’m reaching out for two reasons: First and foremost, to say Thank you! Both personally and professionally I have grown through my relationship with your organization and the many interactions I have had over the years. Second, to provide a high-level summary of what our two organizations have accomplished together over the course of our partnership (with Evergreen Trading). During the 2nd qtr of 2020, Gallo will complete the utilization of all of their trade credits that were issued through Evergreen Trading. Through the corporate trade program, Evergreen E&J Gallo have collaborated on 6 asset transactions, with Evergreen purchasing over 100,000 cases of surplus cases of wine and spirits. Those transactions have enabled Gallo to recognize nearly $6MM in incremental value to your brands bottom lines. (See attached). While we recognize that your organization has a reluctance to trade any more product for media, I should point out that at least 50% of our business is now using our trading tool to (1) increase media leverage in the marketplace; (2) fund various sponsorships and other Branded marketing efforts; and (3) Offset agency fees. All of these efforts are established with Marketing leadership driving the KPI’s, measurement, quality and scale. While you may only know us as a company that purchases excess inventory, our media trading business has grown substantially and quickly because of the quality of our work and the change in how we deliver our value to corporate organizations. As your team navigates these uncharted waters, I believe Evergreen’s media investment model can continue to serve as strategic tool for many of your brands as they fight for “share of voice” in this media ecosystem. I look forward to an opportunity to discuss your thoughts on the above. In any event, Thank you for the time we/I have spent interacting with your organization. It has been a growth experience for me and my teams. Sincerely, Mark Ordover

Dear Stephanie, I hope this note finds you well. It has been a long time since we have talked, so I wanted to personally reach out as our two companies reach the potential end of our business relationship. As you may know, I’ve personally have had the pleasure of partnering with The Gallo organization since 1997! The first 15 years while at my previous company, Active International and the last several years here, while at Evergreen Trading. [Story] I’m reaching out for two reasons: First and foremost, to say Thank you! Both personally and professionally I have grown through my relationship with your organization and the many interactions I have had over the years. Second, to provide a high-level summary of what our two organizations have accomplished together over the course of our partnership (with Evergreen Trading). During the 2nd qtr of 2020, Gallo will complete the utilization of all of their trade credits that were issued through Evergreen Trading. Through the corporate trade program, Evergreen E&J Gallo have collaborated on 6 asset transactions, with Evergreen purchasing over 100,000 cases of surplus cases of wine and spirits. Those transactions have enabled Gallo to recognize nearly $6MM in incremental value to your brands bottom lines. (See attached). While we recognize that your organization has a reluctance to trade any more product for media, I should point out that at least 50% of our business is now using our trading tool to (1) increase media leverage in the marketplace; (2) fund various sponsorships and other Branded marketing efforts; and (3) Offset agency fees. All of these efforts are established with Marketing leadership driving the KPI’s, measurement, quality and scale. While you may only know us as a company that purchases excess inventory, our media trading business has grown substantially and quickly because of the quality of our work and the change in how we deliver our value to corporate organizations. As your team navigates these uncharted waters, I believe Evergreen’s media investment model can continue to serve as strategic tool for many of your brands as they fight for “share of voice” in this media ecosystem. I look forward to an opportunity to discuss your thoughts on the above. In any event, Thank you for the time we/I have spent interacting with your organization. It has been a growth experience for me and my teams. Sincerely, Mark Ordover

Dear Stephanie, I hope this note finds you well. It has been a long time since we have talked, so I wanted to personally reach out as our two companies reach the potential end of our business relationship. As you may know, I’ve personally have had the pleasure of partnering with The Gallo organization since 1997! The first 15 years while at my previous company, Active International and the last several years here, while at Evergreen Trading. 1. [STORY] 2. [PREFRAME] I’m reaching out for two reasons: 3. [Starts with Mark’s Outcome/ Goal for writing this email] First and foremost, to say Thank you! 4. [PERSONAL, HUMAN TOUCH] Both personally and professionally I have grown through my relationship with your organization and the many interactions I have had over the years. 5. [PERSONAL/ STORY] Second, to provide a high-level summary of what our two organizations have accomplished together over the course of our partnership (with Evergreen Trading). 6. [RELEVENCE] During the 2nd qtr of 2020, Gallo will complete the utilization of all of their trade credits that were issued through Evergreen Trading. Through the corporate trade program, Evergreen E&J Gallo have collaborated on 6 asset transactions, with Evergreen purchasing over 100,000 cases of surplus cases of wine and spirits. Those transactions have enabled Gallo to recognize nearly $6MM in incremental value to your brands bottom lines. (See attached). 7. [CONSICE DATA, CITES MORE INFO TO REFERENCE] While we recognize that your organization has a reluctance to trade any more product for media, I should point out that at least 50% of our business is now using our trading tool to (1) increase media leverage in the marketplace; (2) fund various sponsorships and other Branded marketing efforts; and (3) Offset agency fees. 8. [RESTATES THE VALUE] In any event, Thank you for the time we/I have spent interacting with your organization. It has been a growth experience for me and my teams. Sincerely, Mark Ordover

QUESTIONS

Next Steps 02 What needs improvement? What am I already STEP 03 doing well? 01 STEP STEP What are my next steps? (24 Hr)

SHARES

THANK YOU

APPENDIX