Back to Basics
How is it that sometimes we think we are so smart and then we are proven so wrong?
The other day Lynne and I were walking through a parking lot. Whizzing by us was a car with a wonderful logo for a coffee shop. We both looked for a web address, telephone number, or address with none to be found because coffee shops attract us.
A client received a blog posting from a vendor. Wanting to call immediately to get in on the offer, he looked on the blog to find nary a phone number or web address. When my client asked me if his contact information was posted on his blog I was too embarrassed to admit that we had omitted both.
Now I know that if you are reading this and have been a client you know that I always say, “Be sure to put a biography with contact information which includes your:
- Website
- Mailing address (yes, some of us still send snail mail)
- Telephone number
o Cellular phone
o Land line (if you are still connected to the wall)
- Email address
I am sure many of you are smiling now saying, “I know I have this covered.” I encourage you to check again. I too thought I had it all covered to find the other day that I had posted an 800 number that we stopped using almost a year ago on a current article.
With electronic media being so important, it is important that all your business media is up to date. Your social media used for business Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn all need to have the current updates. If you are using social media, be clear on how to update them, keeping them current. With the New Year upon us have you up dated your intellectual property? Are your copyright dates updated?
For those of you who still say in your telephone message answering machine, “Please leave a message after the tone,” get rid of that. Unless someone has just dropped on to the earth we can avoid those directions. When you leave a message, especially with someone new, start with your telephone number after you say your name. Repeat the phone number after the first presentation of your phone number. Leave the body of your phone message followed by the repeating of the phone number, again twice. Instruct your receptionist and those creating auto messaging for your company to do the same.
The other day I was getting ready to do some business with a new company. The person I needed to reach was at another number other than the main office number. I left my message at the main office number. The person I needed to speak with left me a phone message with the telephone number quickly recited once at the end of her message. If it were not that I needed to work with this vendor I would not have called back. I actually thought about not doing business with them, going elsewhere for what I needed.
I hope I have learned my lesson. I am sure I will repeat missing a client’s contact information again. Maybe the next time you will remind me or leave me a message on my cellular phone.
Gerry Rose runs INTEGRITY Networking Solutions in Oceanside, CA. He works with people in business who want to attract the right prospects and generate more referrals. More than 10,000 businesses have been presented the INTEGRITY Networking Solutions system in San Diego, Los Angeles, Riverside, and Orange Counties.
Gerry’s stimulating presentation Unlimited Prospects, Unlimited Referrals is ideally suited for small business owners, home-based businesses, and independent professionals who want clearer direction and want to attract more prospects, develop dynamic systems, and strengthen their companies’ accountability. Gerry does one on one consulting, conducts a range of keynote speeches from thirty minutes to full-day education workshops. His book series, Unlimited Prospects, Unlimited Referrals, are available on the website, www.integritysd.com.
Gerry has more than 20 years’ experience directing business owners how to grow their businesses. He is a networking dynamo. Those who know him will assure you that he does a great job of bringing people together—which is why he started INTEGRITY.
Involved with networking organizations since 1984, Gerry is a Distinguished Toastmaster, a member of Toastmaster International, and has chaired numerous chambers of commerce and non-profit organizations.
Are you truly committed to attracting the right prospects and generate more referrals? If so then contact INTEGRITY Networking Solutions for availability and information. You can contact Gerry by mail at 2103 Wedgewood Drive, Oceanside, CA 92056. Direct dial (760) 439-4623; e-mail to gerry@integritysd.com. For more information, go to www.integritysd.com