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All Business Communications are Not Equal

Written by: Steven G. Atkinson

Article Overview: At one time it was simple to communicate with another business associate. As technology changed, some of these changed as well. Do you know how to reach the ones you need to communicate with in a hurry?

All Business Communications are Not Equal

At one time it was simple to communicate with another business associate. To have a conversation with them, you called their office telephone number and talked over the phone. If a written proposal was needed, you sent it through the mail.

As technology changed, communication has changed as well. To have the proposal delivered, you could use a delivery service, such as UPS or Federal Express. Maybe you sent a fax. Now you can use email to send a file as an attachment or communicate by Cell Phone or Instant Messaging.

Everyone has his or her preferred way to communicate. While everyone may have a telephone number or an email address, there’s no guarantee on how they are used. Some people may only check Voice Mail messages once a day. The same may be true with email. To many the Fax machine sits in the corner gathering dust with the telephone line not even connected to it. Others may wear out a machine a year. Some may rarely use the telephone and use email as the preferred method. Some may prefer text messaging.

Do you know how to reach the ones you need to communicate with in a hurry? You may be working on a proposal and have been given a deadline. How do they want it? While some may not have a problem with receiving an email with the proposal attached, others may want a hard copy delivered to their office by the time they stated. Because you delivered in a fashion other than the one preferred by the client, they considered it not delivered.

How can you find out? The simplest way is to ask. Ask the person what is the best way to get in touch with them. Or how they want the proposal delivered.

Having a good relationship with clients or prospects is important. Knowing how to communicate with them can help with that relationship.

© 2007 Steven G. Atkinson – All Rights Reserved

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