Client email before you send
12 checks in a minute: purpose, next step, numbers, recipients and tone.
What it is
A short list to run before you hit Send: one request per email, a specific next step with a date, correct names, amounts and attachments, a calm tone in a tense situation, and the right people on the Cc line.
- Clients
- Communication
Text to copy
- [ ] The first line makes clear why you're writing
- [ ] One email, one request or one decision
- [ ] The next step is specific: what to do and by what date
- [ ] The name, company and order details are correct
- [ ] Numbers, dates, amounts and links are checked
- [ ] Attachments are there and open
- [ ] No promises you aren't ready to keep: deadlines, discounts, guarantees
- [ ] The tone is calm even if the client is upset: acknowledge the problem first, then the solution
- [ ] If you wrote it with AI, stock phrases are cut and anything that doesn't sound like you is gone
- [ ] The thread below has no one else's personal data or internal notes
- [ ] Recipients are checked: To, Cc, Reply All
- [ ] The subject line says what it's about ("September invoice and payment deadline")Lessons that use it
Professions it helps
- Construction superintendent
- Project manager
- Executive assistant and office manager
- Attorney
- Insurance agent
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Checked: October 2026