Ryan Dohrn explains why email reply rates are dropping: subject lines aren't creating a "brain loop" that makes people want to open them. He says the fix is ethical subject lines that spark curiosity, plus email bodies that give readers a clear reason to respond.
David asks, why does it feel like people are not reading their emails anymore? I send plenty of emails. I'm getting the lowest reply rate of my entire career. So David, let's just go back to the question that you asked. Why does it feel like people are not reading emails? Because quite honestly, friend, I believe they are not paying attention to emails. So we've gotta dissect our email life and ask ourselves, what is it that we are doing as salespeople that are not getting those replies, because the replies are getting less because everybody's turned to email, and it's not like it's a brand new thing, right, David? We know this. All right, the first place to start is what subject lines are you using? Are you using subject lines that are intriguing? Are you using subject lines that are ethical? Are you using brain loops to your advantage? So remember from previous training, previous shows and videos, Brain loops are when you as a human hear or see something, and then your brain wants to naturally close that loop. An example of that would be a subject line that says, "Do you agree with this?" Okay, do I agree with what? I have to open the email to figure out what it is that you're saying. Now, you could use a subject line, "Your thoughts on this." My thoughts on what? You have to open the email to see what they need your thoughts on. Now, a lot of you that are watching or listening, you might say, oh, Ryan, that is so salesy. Everyone's gonna see right through that. But they don't. My experience is that most people don't see it as being salesy. And if they do, it's okay. They know what it is that you're trying to do. You're trying to get them to open that email. Subject line variations and tries are not about what you like. It's about is it ethical and does it work? And if you think either of those subject lines were unethical, I kind of wonder what you're doing in sales because it's not. I would never ask you to do something unethical. So you've got to be asking yourself first, what does that subject line do? Does it complete a brain loop and cause somebody to open the email? The second thing is this, maybe they did open your email but they didn't find value in replying to it. You've got to be asking yourself this question. It's very simple. Why would they reply? Read the email and then ask yourself, why would they reply to this? Because if you're just asking a generic question about a generic meeting, something that's of no value to them, it's highly likely that they would not necessarily reply to the email. So ask yourself that question, David.
