Sunday, 14 August 2011

Keeping Up Your Professionalism

By Tyler Q. Smith


Do you recall when you had the ability to check the flow of information about yourself? Once upon a time, the amount of information about you and how it could be accessed was completely within your control. This, unfortunately, isn't the case any longer. There are plenty of different ways that other people can discover information about you. This is tricky on a normal scale for individuals who work offline in traditional jobs. It's far tougher for those who work online. Nowadays, a haphazard tweet could make you lose sales.

So, what should you do? What is the plan? The key to keeping your reputation unblemished is to be as professional as possible both online and offline. Below are several suggestions to help you with that.

1. It is important to make sure that every last piece of writing you pen is spelled and punctuated right. Whether your writing is for your sales page or simply a random email message does not matter. Spelling and grammar are important. After all, you don't want another person to discover something that is full with mistakes, do you? It proves that you don't know what you are doing.

2. It is important to answer every last online message and phone call. When you respond, see to it that you are amicable and positive and courteous. Try not to let an e-mail sit in your box for more than a day without answering it. Try not to allow phone messages to stagnate unreturned. Answer all call by the third ring. These are the types of things that will tell individuals all they need to know about your commitment to your project.

3. Accept critiques graciously and nicely. There are invariably going to be people who would like you to feel awful about yourself. At the same time, there are people who are going to have legitimate complaints about what you are offering or how you are offering it. It is vital to earnestly consider every last critique and to look into whether or not it's possible to make the changes the person wishes from you without it being damaging to your business. Afterwards, let the person know if you will be heeding his critique or not and explain, politely, why you decided to go with that specific course of action. This will demonstrate that you take each person seriously, not merely people who give you compliments.

4. Check your social media! It's not difficult, while in the throes of social media, to forget that you're not simply a random individualonline user, you're representing a business. The individuals you are talking to might be fine with a very informal tweet or Facebook message. They might also be misconstrued by someone who stumbles on to them as proof that you're not serious about your reputation or business.

5. Let who you are shine as much as possible. Nobody says you have to conceal everything about who you are. In fact, one of the best ways to set yourself apart is to let who you are reflect on your work. All the same, you're still trying to run a business so make sure that you keep your best face forward.




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