Business Etiquette…old school is still preferred

Good Day from Franklin TN! 

I joke with friends, family and business associates that I am “a 42 year-old man trapped in an 82 year-old man’s body!”  My life and business mentor growing up was my Granddaddy (my mom’s dad).  He owned an independent insurance agency in a small town east of Nashville for 40 years with two other gentlemen.  To this day, his youngest son is in the business and does quite well.  Perhaps my grandfather’s personality and business acumen contributed to his success; I would propose that his intangibles, faith in God and “operating principles” were key factors as well.

As the oldest of six grandkids, I was very fortunate to spend many weeks/weekends/vacations with my grandparents.  The principles taught to me reasonnate to this day with me:  integrity, dependability, work ethic and manners.  With this as a premise, would love to explore a bit on the subject of business etiquette.  In this day and age of smartphones, social media and never ending list of tasks and priorities, do you find people less considerate than perhaps 20 years ago?

In my business, at least 2/3 of my work is via phone or over email.  I believe it is important to ALWAYS ask someone on the other end of the line: “Is this a good time?  Do you have a few moments to speak?”  This is certainly appreciated and generally proceeds into a pleasant and productive phone call.  Just the other day, someone from the Northeast called me and fired away; after 20 seconds, I interjected and let this person know that this was not the best time.  Why is that necessary?  Should we not respect each and every person we come in contact with each day?  My thought is that my next million dollar client is one chance meeting or conversation away.

Ever receive an email at an inconvenient time?  If like me, that can happen multiple times in a single day.  Why are we so addicted to email?  We have become enamored with the idea of
being busy.  However, in sales and business development, lots of activity does not always lead to compelling results.

Might we do a better job of thinking about email timing? For instance, with my staff, I encourage them to check email 3 times per day.  Before 9am, just after lunch and again prior to going home.  If you need to share something important with a client or a candidate, then use the telephone.  It is counterproductive when you receive multiple emails from vendors, associates or networking contacts about a matter that simply is not time sensitive and would be better received and reviewed either first thing in the morning or at the end of the day.  Microsoft Outlook as the functionality to delay emails going out, even allowing you to set the time.  As a business owner, I want my clients or client prospects reading my mail either early or late in the day; based on their response/request, that will prompt me to call them.  Their job is their focus each day, not necessarily responding to my note or request.

In closing, business is more competitive than ever.  We are all in a hurry and face stress and challenges each day.  Sometimes a deep breath and taking a moment to think about the person on the other end of that email or phone will give you pause.  In the long run, we all will succeed more when we think of others first before ourselves.  May we all apply the Golden Rule to business dealings a little bit more in the coming days.  Thanks for reading!