If you’ve never taken anything I’ve blogged about to heart these three months or so, please don’t let this entry fall on deaf ears.
There is a small project I’ve been working on in the evenings, and, like most things these days, much of the correspondence with those involved has been through e-mail. Almost a month ago, I’d e-mailed the project’s financier with some specific questions related to the work. After the first week passed without receiving a response from him, I grew uneasy, but did not take action. An obvious next-step would have been to make a follow-up call, right?
It’s now a month into the project and I happened to have a telephone conversation (finally) with the financier through the connections of a mutual friend. When I asked him why he hadn’t responded to my e-mail, he informed me that in fact he had responded and was actually surprised he hadn’t heard back from me!
Somehow his e-mailed response to my original message—in which he’d requested additional information from me—never appeared in my Inbox. We both were thinking that either person had dropped the ball, when in fact, either his e-mail server or mine had gone on hiatus. I almost missed out on a great business opportunity due to the folly of e-mail. He has since assured me that he has all intentions of continuing to work with me.
To make a long story short, here’s what I know for sure about e-mail:
1. It is a man-made technology and is therefore prone to error.
Here’s what I know for sure about doing important business with e-mail:
1. EVERY e-mail correspondence (especially ones that involve potentially lucrative business deals) should be followed up with a good, old-fashioned telephone call! This simple step can add $$$ to your bottom line and save your hard-earned reputation!
‘Til we chat again …
-Cynthia
