First impressions are critical and it's imperative when you approach others that you watch their behavior. It's a great learning tool. You will easily learn the wrong and right ways of conducting business to improve your business image.
For instance, do you get upset when you attend a conference and some thoughtless person lets their cell phone ring? This person faces a dilemma; picking it up to turn it off, everyone in attendance will throw darts with their eyes; but if the person allows it to continue to ring the noise will ruin that portion of the presentation.
Remember to turn off all electronics before attending meetings and events!
Have you ever been in the middle of expressing a thought just when another person interrupted to express hers? Most likely you were very frustrated and made to feel insignificant.
Today's newsletter is a holiday gift to remind you to be aware of your presence in front of others, in order to make a better first impression. And, hopefully, this will serve to remind others to be more mindful when they come upon those of us who know better!
Making Calls:
1. When you call someone and they sound rushed, ask if they prefer to suggest a better time
2. Speaking of calling, if someone is on vacation, it would be rude to interrupt unless you know the person well and it were an emergency
3. Avoid taking calls when you are in a meeting
4. When your appointment arrives, do your best to end the phone conversation or ask to call back, acknowledging the arriving party.
Speaking to Others:
1. Do your best to look the other in the eye as each of you speaks
2. Do not watch others come and go while you are having a conversation
3. Take an active interest in what is being said
Attending Meetings, Events and Conventions:
1. Be courteous to vendors, don't interrupt
2. Smile and say "hello" even as you are passing them by
3. Grabbing giveaways without learning about the business is uncouth
4. Blocking the table by talking with a friend smack in front is disrespectful
5. If you need to put a cup of liquid down for a moment - do it elsewhere than on a vendor table
6. Do not put any personal belongings on a vendor's table
7. At a meeting, ask questions at the appointed time rather than interrupting the speaker
8. Ask questions appropriate to the topic at hand
9. Personal conversations with the presenter should be held afterward or scheduled for another time
Receiving Items in the Mail:
1. Let the sending party know the items were received, don't make them call
2. Say "Thank you"
Receiving Gifts:
1. Promptly hand write a thank you note
2. In your note and voice mail - say something specific about the gift, how the thought brought you joy and that you are very appreciative
Giving Gifts:
1. The gift should be proportionate to the amount of business and within your budget
2. A thoughtful note with the gift will be kept
3. Give something you are certain the other person will like
Being treated to a restaurant meal:
1. Let the treating party choose their seat
2. Facing the window or door is usually the power seat - and the waiter will know to provide the check to that person.
3. Try to stay within the same price range of what your host orders
4. Take a cue from your host on whether to order extras such as drinks or dessert
5. Do your best to eat at the same pace as your host
6. If you aren't certain which bread dish or glass is yours, follow these instructions: Face the palms of your hands away from you with fingers upward; touch your thumbs to the forefingers - you will see the left hand makes a small "b" and the right hand a small "d" symbolizing bread and drink - take the dishes accordingly.
7. Say "thank you" when the bill is paid
8. Offer to leave the tip
9. Send a "thank you" note after the fact
Treating others to a restaurant meal:
1. Choose the power seat to take control
2. Either offer your guest to "choose anything on the menu" or let the other party know what you are ordering.
3. Try to pay for the meal without your guest knowing the total
4. Leave a generous tip
5. Do your best to get to know your guest on a personal level too
These sales etiquette tips will hopefully help you to continually make excellent first impressions times after time!
No comments:
Post a Comment