Do you prefer to communicate by phone or e-mail?

What you prefer is not so important. It’s what your customers/clients prefer that matters. But they have a responsibility also, not just a preference.

I have a client who clearly prefers telephone contact, but it’s not working very well. She will call and leave a message – not about the reason for her call, but simply: “This is Louise; please call me back.” I call her back. She does not answer the phone, so I leave a message: “Hi, Louise, this is Lya Sorano, returning your call. Do call me again!”

She does not call. I call her again the next day: “Louise, hi – this is Lya Sorano, still trying to return your call from yesterday. Do call again, or if e-mail works for you, please send me your question or information and I will respond to it.” She still does not call back and she does not send an e-mail. I do not return the call a third time. I may lose the client; she may fire me, because I am often unable to answer the phone when she calls, or I may fire her, because she never leaves a meaningful message, calls again or sends an e-mail.

How is this phone vs. e-mail practice working for you?

Improving your LinkedIn profile and your e-mail address

How often do you review a LinkedIn profile of a colleague or a potential business partner or new hire and you see that he/she has the following under “Websites”:

My Website
My Company
My Blog
My Portfolio

Often, right?

It would so much better project a professional image, if this section instead revealed:

The web site’s name or expertise (e.g. orchids for every occasion)
The company’s name (e.g. Sailing for Fun, Inc.)
The blog’s name (e.g. The Accidental Gardener)
The portfolio’s focus (e.g. business coaching around the world)

This is easy to accomplish (just change the name, retain the URL) and the profile owner comes across as being more professional than most. If this is a tweak you should make, do it; it will set you apart from the competition.

Sort of the same thing with e-mail addresses.

If your e-mail address is info@xyz.com, or your web site offers contact choices of info@, sales@, quotes@, etc., you may miss inquiries that could lead to sales. Business depends on personal relationships; people want to do business with people, not with characters. sam@xyz.com or suzie@xyz.com is bound to generate more interest than info@xyz.com.