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Integrity & Awareness by Paul Burnstein

Thursday, February 1, 2007

E-Mail Awareness

A few days ago I received an e-mail from an associate of mine who has a client looking for funding. The associate and I had never previously communicated and the only reason I call him an associate is that we are both accredited executive associates of the Institute for Independent Business (www.iib.org.ws). I promptly replied with some additional questions, explaining what information I would need to move forward. I received a quick response with an attached business plan and one sentence. It was not addressed to me, nor was there any form of salutation. The most aggravating part was that my questions were not even answered in the e-mail.

Even though I expect a lot of others, this is where integrity and awareness come into play. I understand the informality associated with e-mail, but I don't feel that is an excuse to be rude or ignore people. Say hello to the person you are writing to and thank them in the end. Most importantly, answer direct questions!

If you want to build relationships, don't brush people off. Read e-mails and listen to what people are asking of you. Don't treat others as though they are unimportant; it will come back and bite you.

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