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QuickBooks Business Productivity Tips & Techniques - Email Etiquette


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3Contents


Table of Contents

Part I Introduction 4

Part II Making a Good First Impression 5

Part III Email Etiquette - Why Is It So Important? 8

Part IV Manners & Tone 11

Part V Be Concise & Professional 13

Part VI Spelling, Grammar & Attachments 15

Part VII Before You Hit Send 16

Part VIII NOTES: 18

QuickBooks Business Productivity Tips & Techniques - Email Etiquette4


1 Introduction

We only get one chance to meet someone for the first time and “WOW” them with our products and/

or services, so, it’s important to really put your best foot forward.

With advances in technology, we are no longer limited to meeting prospective customers, clients, or

referral partners face-to-face like we used to. Technology now allows us to meet these same

prospects via email, phone, or our websites.

With these advances, and the ever increasing fast-paced world that we live in, are we sacrificing good

old fashioned common sense etiquette protocols?

Are we still making a good first impression?

Are we identifying ourselves as professionals?

Are we clearly stating the reason for our contact?

Are we being clear and concise about the purpose of our inquiry – whether it’s a support

question, or a request for additional information?

Introduction 5


2 Making a Good First Impression

Let’s compare the various methods in which we initially meet people.

Traditional Meeting:

With a traditional face-to-face meeting, we have two or more people in a group. Everyone exchanges

names, handshakes, and a brief introduction of themselves, their company, and what they do for a

living. A bond is instantly formed by human contact, and an impression is made, good or bad. Lasting

relationships are made because certain people are remembered. As these people leave this initial

meeting, the memory of the meeting and its participants will remain, and when they are with other

groups of people and conversations occur, it is quite likely that someone will say to someone else, “I

met a person the other night that does that; let me give you their name and number.”

Email:

We all use email every day – it’s a fast and effective means of communication, but it’s cold,

impersonal, unclear, and used ineffectively. It lacks the interpersonal contact of the traditional way of

meeting someone.

Email is also the source of many viruses, and is frequently used by spammers, so we should all pay

close attention to how our email is perceived by the person receiving it. Let’s begin with the basic

sections of an email:

The “From” section: When we first setup our email account, no matter what email program we

use, we all have an opportunity to include our name, which we all should take advantage of,

because let’s face it, you will know that you are [email protected], but will the person

receiving the email have any idea who you are?

The “Subject line;” This is the reason that we are contacting the person in the first place. It

should be short, clear, and concise. Above all, it should state the reason for your email; whether

it’s an inquiry about a product, a service, or in response to a support question.

A blank subject line is a big ‘no-no’, and may be immediately blocked or sent to their spam folder.

If it does make it thru, it is often a red flag for the person on the other end, because it could be a

virus; and therefore, the message you send could be immediately deleted, and your inquiry will

never be answered.

The “Body” of the email: This is the true purpose for contacting the person that you send the

email to. It should be clear, concise, and to the point – when you compose the email, always try to

think about what you would say if you had that person on the phone, or better yet, if you were

talking to them in person.

The “Signature” or “Contact” block: Create a standard “signature” to use on all of your email

that includes your name, company name, and telephone. This clearly indicates to the receiver that



you are a professional, and provides them with additional information on how to contact you.

As a Developer, I receive countless emails on a daily basis, some good, some not so good. Let me give

you an example of a “not so good” one.

From: [email protected]

Subject:

Message:

What is the cost of the program?

Let’s analyze this email for a moment.

I do not recognize the email address and there isn’t a person’s name (this is a red flag)

There is no subject (again, this is a red flag – and usually by this time, I’m ready to delete it)

What is the cost of the program? (I always have the preview pane option in my Outlook/

Thunderbird turned on so I did see this, and while some of you might not think there is anything

wrong with this question – there really is. We have 4 products, and while the sender obviously

knew which product they had in mind – I, as the receiver, didn’t have a clue)

No name, signature line, or identifying information about the person who sent the message, so I

have no idea who I am ‘talking’ to, and no way to try to figure out which program they may be

referring to. What could have been a simple response, now becomes a more time-consuming

response, and both the sender and I will have to do a lot of extra work in order to get the

information that was desired.

While this may seem picky, it’s really all about conveying a clear message to the person that you are

corresponding with, and when this does not happen, you do not portray a good first impression.

Phone:

As a professional, how do you answer the phone when it rings in your office?

Do you simply say “hello?”

Do you say “Hello, Company Name, this is (your name)?”

Do you say “Hello this is (your name)?”

How does the person calling in respond? Let’s look at two situations:

The person calling you also identifies themselves. Pleasantries are exchanged. Next, you get to the

heart of the call – whether it’s an inquiry for product, service, or support. Words are exchanged, as

the conversation develops. When the call ends, a lasting memory of that conversation remains with

each person. Hopefully, a good impression is made, and you look forward to the possibility of another

encounter with that person.

In the second scenario, the person calling in does not identify themselves. No pleasantries are

exchanged. You are immediately bombarded by questions that are not clear. You pleasantly attempt

to steer the conversation toward a more positive interaction, while trying to determine if this is a

current client/customer, a prospective client/customer, someone that you met, etc., in order to give

the caller the appropriate information. Abruptly, the conversation ends. You feel frustrated, and

wonder who the caller was, and if you were able to assist them in any way. A bad impression is made,

and you hope that you never hear from the caller again.

Websites:

Many prospects are now meeting us for the first time via our website, and it is equally as important

Making a Good First Impression 7


that we also make a good impression, in this manner; after all, it is the first glimpse that the

prospect has of the product or service that we offer, and ultimately, us as people.

Your website should be a formal introduction to your product/service, your company, and

yourself.

Your website should portray why the prospect should choose your product/service over your

competitor. A website should be designed to make you stand out in a crowd, not appear like you

are no different than the competition.

Your website should focus on what you can do for the prospect, what benefit they will derive

from your product/service, and not ‘drone’ on about who you are. It is important that your

website have an “An About Us” page, where you can provide a bit more detailed information.



3 Email Etiquette - Why Is It So Important?

It's amazing to find in this day of computer technology, and internet communication,

that some companies still have not realized just how important their email

communications are; even though they have come to accept email as the standard

way of communicating within their organization, with their customers, and

potential customers.

In the business world, the formality of an email message tends to vary, between the semi-formal

approach that was dominant with the "inter-office memo,” down to the chatty exchanges that you

might have with someone over the phone, or while standing next to the coffee machine.

Email messages are surprisingly permanent, take a good look through the contents of your Inbox, and

you just might be surprised to see just how old some of these messages are. Would you have kept a

paper inter-office memo or letter of inquiry for that long? Probably not. The really worrying part of

this is, that most people give very little thought to the content of an email message, even though it

might linger around for years.

It is the normal day-to-day email messages that can often cause the most problems with offhand

remarks, unguarded comments, and careless wording.

The main problem with email messages is "missed signals," the written email message doesn't have

the facial expression or gestures that you would get with a face-to-face discussion, and there is no

tone of voice to interpret, like you would, also, have over the telephone. A great deal of "human

communication" comes from these non-verbal signals, and have traditionally helped make a message

more clear, and can allow us to make judgments about a person's motives and intentions.

If you are able to deal with email in a professional manner, you will provide yourself and/or your

company, with a competitive edge. Furthermore, by educating your employees (and perhaps even your

customers/clients) as to what can and cannot be said in an email, you will be protecting yourself and

them, from awkward situations.

Why do you need email etiquette?

A company needs to implement etiquette rules for the following three reasons:

Professionalism: by using proper email language, your company will convey a professional

image

Efficiency: emails that get to the point are much more effective than poorly worded emails

Protection from awkward situations: employee awareness of email risks will protect your

company from costly law suits

What are the etiquette rules?

If you search the internet, you will find many etiquette guides and many different etiquette rules,

these rules will differ according to the nature of your business. Below is a list of some of the more

important etiquette rules, and why they are important; these will apply to nearly everyone in the

business world.

Be concise and to the point - don't make an email longer than it needs to be. Remember that

reading an email is harder than reading printed communications.

Email Etiquette - Why Is It So Important? 9


Answer all questions, and pre-empt further questions - if you fail to answer all the questions

in the original email, you will receive further emails regarding the unanswered questions. This

will not only waste your time and your customer’s time, but will cause considerable frustration,

and perhaps give the impression that you do not know the answer to the question, or that you

are not concerned with the problem that the customer is having.

Use proper spelling - usee yur spall chacker. Its annyang to reede constent spalling misstakes

Use proper punctuation - its hard to read stuff that doesnt have any commas capital letters

periods or apostrophes.

Use proper grammar - don't use shorthand. Stuff like "r u going to stp by ltr" can be hard to

read. Don't B lzy, tye the whole wrd.

Make it personal - a printed communication always starts with "Dear" someone; while Dear in

an email is perhaps a bit formal, try "Hello" someone (if it's a person that you don't know) or "Hi"

someone (for a person that you already have an established relationship with).

Use templates for frequently used responses - some questions you get over and over again.

Save these responses as templates or drafts, and paste them into your messages when you need

them.

Answer promptly - customers or potential customers send an email because they desire a quick

response. Each email should be answered within 24 hours, preferably, within the same business

day. If the email is complicated, acknowledge that you have received it, and that you will

respond within a specified time frame.

Do not attach unnecessary files – remember, attachments over 50k are annoyingly long to

download, possibly causing your recipient's connection to "time-out", or the email could even be

blocked. Keep in mind that even in this day and age, not everyone has high-speed internet

connections.

Use good structure and layout - reading from a computer screen is more difficult than reading

from a piece of paper; therefore, the structure and layout of your email message is very

important. Use short paragraphs and blank lines between each paragraph. When making

points, number or mark each point.

Do not overuse the high priority option - if you overuse this option, it will lose its impact

when you really need it. Even if an email has a high priority, your message might come across

as slightly aggressive, if you flag it as "high priority".

Do not write in CAPITALS - MANY READERS DON'T LIKE ALL CAPS. IT'S HARD TO READ AND

SEEMS LIKE YOU ARE SHOUTING!

Don't leave out the message thread - you should always include the original mail in your reply.

Some people feel that this is unnecessary; but, if you receive many emails on a daily basis,

obviously you cannot remember the details of each and every one of them. Including the

original email in your reply will give, not only you but the recipient, a history of your email

conversation.

Add disclaimers to your emails.

Read the email before you send it - I don't know how many times I thought I had everything

"just right", then found something that was way out of line, when I re-read the document. Re-

reading your email will help you send a more effective message and avoid misunderstandings.

Do not overuse the "Reply to All" - use this feature only if your message needs to be seen by

each person who received the original email; using "Reply to All" is effective and appropriate for

use in "group communications".

Mass Mailings - use the bcc: field or do a mail merge - when sending an email "mailing" (such as

a newsletter), some people tend to place all the email addresses in the "To:" or "CC:" field.

There are two drawbacks to this practice: (1) the recipient knows that you have sent the same

message to a large number of recipients, and (2) you are publicizing someone else's email



address without their permission.

Take care with abbreviations and emoticons - In business emails, try to avoid abbreviations,

such as BTW (by the way) and LOL (laugh out loud). The recipient might not be aware of the

meaning of the abbreviation. The same goes for emoticons, such as a smiley :-). If you aren't

sure if the recipient will know what this means, avoid using it.

Take care with formatting - the sender might not be able to view formatting, or might see

different fonts than you had intended. Use color that is easy to read on the background.

Take care with rich text and HTML messages - not all email programs can handle rich text or

HTML format, and if not, your message will be received as a .txt attachment.

Do not forward chain letters - we can safely assume that these are simply hoaxes.

Do not overuse delivery and read receipts - this will, almost always, be annoying for your

recipient. Use it only when appropriate.

Do not ask to recall a message - there is a very good chance that your message has already

been read, therefore, a recall request will look very silly. It's better to simply send another

email stating that you made a mistake in the previous one.

Do not copy a message or attachment without permission - depending upon the message or

attachment, you might be infringing upon copyright laws.

Do not use email to discuss confidential information - think of sending an email like sending a

postcard. If you don't want your email displayed on a bulletin board, don't send it.

Use a meaningful subject - for instance, when you send an email to a company requesting

information about a product, it is better to mention the actual name of the product (Product

Name information) than to just say, "product information" or the company's name, in the

subject.

Use active instead of passive - for instance, "We will process your order today" sounds better

than "Your order will be processed today".

Avoid using URGENT and IMPORTANT - even more so than the "high priority" option, you must

try to avoid these types of words in an email or subject line. Use them only if it is a really,

really urgent or important message. And, if the message really is that urgent, a phone call is

best.

Avoid long sentences - try to keep sentences to a maximum of 15-20 words. Email is meant to

be a quick and effective form of communication.

Don't send or forward emails that contain libelous, defamatory, offensive, racists, or

obscene remarks.

Keep your language gender neutral.

Don't reply to spam - by replying or unsubscribing to spam, you are really confirming that your

email address is "live", and this will only generate more spam.

Avoid embedding sounds or using "stationary" in your messages - yes, it's "cute", but they

take longer to download, and can be annoying to the recipient. Additionally, when your

recipient responds to your email, they may have to reformat their text (especially color), in

order for it to be readable.

While I’m certainly not suggesting that you HAVE to follow each and every one of these “rules”, it

certainly is helpful to know the rules and plan our correspondence accordingly, making the best

possible impression on those that we deal with.

Email Etiquette - Why Is It So Important? 11


4 Manners & Tone

When we stop to think about it, communication between humans is

approximately 90% body language, 8% tone of voice, and the final 2%, what

you actually have to say. With email, you remove the first 98%. Be aware

of this when you write an email.

Mind Your Manners

What three words have a total of only 14 letters, yet carry a great deal of meaning? People may not

notice these words when they're there, but if you forget to use them, you could come across looking

disrespectful and ungrateful. Give up?

These very powerful words are "Please" and "Thank You." Please take my advice. You'll thank me

later.

For example, you receive an email inquiry about your product or service.

When you reply do you start your response with:

Hello [person's name],

Thank your for your inquiry regarding [product/service]

And do you end your response with:

Please feel free to contact me again, if you have additional questions.

While this may seem trivial, adding these three powerful words to your email communications makes

you, the unknown entity, seem friendly, approachable, and respectful.

My name is Edwin, not Ed

While this isn't something that specifically bothers me, there are many others who are quite sensitive

about being addressed by a shortened version of their first name, for example, some people become

extremely frustrated when their name is published on their website as "Edwin" and people send emails

that begin with "Hi Ed".

Don't Use that Tone With Me

Remember when you were a child and your parents would say, "Don't use that tone of voice with me,

young lady (or young man)?" This was usually accompanied by a shaking finger and a somewhat harsh

tone of voice from the parent in question. Your feelings had come across by the way in which you said

something, and while it is easy to change your tone of voice when you are speaking, it is very difficult

to do when you are writing.

When you write an email, read your message over several times before you finally hit send. Make sure

that you come across as respectful, friendly, and approachable. The last thing that you want to do is

come across as sounding curt, demanding, and unapproachable. Sometimes, just rearranging your

paragraphs or sentence structure, will help.

If you are writing to someone you've communicated with before, and have established a relationship

with, you might want to begin by saying, "I hope you are well." or "It's good to hear from you."



Things to avoid

The following is a list of other things that you should avoid in order to be watchful of your Manners

and Tone:

Don't reply to an email message when angry, you may regret it later

Don't keep mail on your server longer than necessary, especially large attachments

Don't copy out an entire, long message just to add a line or two of text such as, "I agree"

Don't type in CAPITALS, as it is considered SHOUTING. This is one of the rudest things you can

do

Don't over-use punctuation such as, exclamation marks ("!"), as these are meant to be for

emphasis

Don't send irrelevant messages, especially to mailing lists or newsgroups

Don't send large attachments without checking with the recipient first

Don't send excessive multiple messages to people who have no interest. Also known as

"spamming", and is considered to be ignorant, and may lead to serious trouble with your ISP

Don't send chain letters or "make money fast" messages

Don't criticize people's spelling, it is considered petty

Don't conduct arguments in public, for example: on a mailing list or forum

Don't "flame" people by sending them abusive email messages; if you are experiencing a

problem, ask for help in correcting the problem

Don't make personal remarks about third parties. Email messages can come back to haunt you

Remember that it is easy to offend someone via email

Emails are public documents, despite the fact that you may send an email to someone privately.

Therefore, only include statements in an email that you can openly defend should your email be

circulated or shown to other parties. Using emoticons (smiley faces) and other virtual gestures may

be appropriate in some cases, but not in all cases.

It is important to always consider the type of relationship you have with the receiver of your message

before including virtual non-verbals. If your relationship is more casual, then using the symbols is

fine; but, if your relationship is more formal, then it is best to refrain from using them.

Manners & Tone 13


5 Be Concise & Professional

In a paper document, it is absolutely essential to make everything completely

clear and unambiguous, because your audience may not have a chance to ask for

clarification. With email documents, your recipient can ask questions

immediately. Therefore, like conversational speech, email communication tends

to be sloppier than communications on paper.

While I admit that it makes little sense to slave over a message for hours, making sure that your

spelling is faultless, your words eloquent, and your grammar beyond approach, if the point of the

message is to tell a co-worker that you are ready to go to lunch, your business correspondence should

take a much more professional approach.

What's the Subject?

A useful subject line that leads into the body of the email will allow the recipient to mentally shift

gears before reading the rest of your email. While it need not be long or a complete sentence, it

should give the recipient a clue to the contents of the email. Always include a subject line in your

email correspondence, otherwise, it might be seen as spam and be automatically deleted by the

recipient's spam blocker, or automatically sent to the Junk or Trash folders, and you will be left

wondering "why" you never received a response to your inquiry.

And Your Point Would Be…?

When possible, be brief. Get to your point as quickly as possible. However, please don't leave out

necessary details. If providing a lot of background information will help the recipient answer your

query, by all means, include it. You might even want to apologize for being so wordy in the beginning

of the message.

Let's take a look at the following two examples of a technical support email, where the user is

experiencing a problem.

Email 1: body of the message

It doesn't work.

Email 2: body of message

When I attempt to do "x" , I receive the following error message, "error description".

When the recipient of the email receives Email 1, they have no indication of what the true problem is,

therefore, rectifying the problem may take up to 3 additional emails before a solution is provided.

When the recipient of the email receives Email 2, they immediately know when the problem happened,

and can quickly and efficiently provide a solution.

Plz Don't Abbrvt.

While it's common for teenagers to send email messages using all sorts of abbreviations--U instead of

you, 2 instead of to or too, plz instead of please, and thanx instead of thanks -- business email should

be more formal.

Of course, frequently used abbreviations such as Mr. and Mrs., and FYI, and etc., are fine.



What's In a Name?

Take a good look at your email address. What does it say about you? Are you a [email protected] or

[email protected]? Maybe.

But, do you want a prospective business partner or potential client to think so?

Consider what information, you are or are not conveying about yourself, with your email address. Is it

telling the recipient anything at all about you? Such as, "what" your name is?

This is a common occurrence for those of us who create yahoo, hotmail, or even gmail addresses for

the purpose of posting to forums, newsgroups, etc.; which, by the way, is fine for these types of

situations. But using email addresses such as these, when sending an inquiry regarding a service or

product, tends only to portray to the recipient that we are attempting to "hide" our real identity for

some reason.

And What About an Email Signature?

Like a concise email name, take a good look at how you sign your emails. What information are you

providing the recipient? Are you distinguishing the fact that you are a professional vs. a potential

client or customer? We all should create an Email Signature block to be included at the bottom of

every email we send.

A good email signature block should contain:

Your full name

Your Company Name

Your Phone Number

Your website URL

Including this information provides the recipient with additional information on how to reach you,

should your inquiry require more assistance than an email can provide. It also conveys a higher level

of professionalism, and sets you apart from others.

Be Concise & Professional 15


6 Spelling, Grammar & Attachments

Let’s face it – in this busy day and age, most of our written communication is done

using email! It is a fast and efficient means of communication….but it does have

its drawbacks!

Spelling Counts….Grammar, Too

Use your spell checker; that's what it's for.

Don't rely entirely on your spell checker though. If you are using the wrong spelling for a particular

use of a word, i.e. two vs. to vs. too; the spell checker simply will not pick that up. Don't try to

"guess" how a word is spelled, look it up.

Good grammar is important. As you can see, I tend to write using a conversational tone, when

writing. It just "sounds" friendlier.

Don't Get Too Attached

I don't open attachments unless I know the sender or am expecting the attachment. Even then, I

hesitate.

Attachments often carry viruses. The sender may not even know that they are sending you a virus.

As a matter of fact, they may not even know that they are sending you an email. There are many

viruses that cause Outlook and Outlook Express to automatically send everyone in your address book

an infected file.



7 Before You Hit Send

I was “spurred” into writing about Email Etiquette after 3 grueling weeks of

receiving email communications from Advisors, customers, and potential

customers, that were simply incoherent and made no sense what-so-ever, and, to

be honest----I was just “fed up”. How many times have you received an email from

someone, read it, re-read it, re-read it again, and were still left wondering, “What

are they talking about?” or the “huh?” factor. J

The bottom line of Email Etiquette is this:

Sending email that looks good is a reflection of your professionalism. An email that is properly

written not only makes you look good, but it is easier for the recipient to read, which will win

you lots of points with that individual.

Sounds pretty easy….doesn’t it?

How to Make Sure Your Email Gives a Good Impression

I love email. It's much less intrusive than a phone call because it can be read at the convenience of

the recipient, and far faster than a traditionally mailed letter.

Remember though, that with email, the only impression others have of us may be the one they get

when they read our email message. That's why it is important to take care in composing those

messages. Before you hit the send button, take a moment and ask yourself these questions:

What does my email address say about me?

For business related emails, make sure your email address conveys a professional tone. Don't use

email addresses that are suggestive, childish, cute, or non-identifying. There is no place for that in

business related email.

Is the name and email address in the "TO:" field correct?

Many email clients pre-fill the "TO:" field for you when you type in the first few letters of an email

address or a recipient's name. You want to make sure that your message reaches its intended

destination.

Have I properly addressed the recipient?

First names are often okay in business writings. Look at how the recipient signed his message before

you reply "Hi Ed", when he signs his messages with "Edwin".

Have I used the appropriate tone?

As the saying goes, "It's not what you say, but how you say it." Sometimes, it’s a lot easier to

convey the meaning of your words when you speak than when you write. Make sure that your tone is

polite and friendly, but that you also relay your intended meaning.

Is my email too wordy (or is it not wordy enough)?

Get your point across quickly, but make sure that you don't leave out important details.

Have I attached unsolicited attachments?

Get permission, or notify the recipient, before you send that file attachment.

Before You Hit Send 17


Have I proof-read my message?

Errors will make you look careless.

Finally, if you send an email that looks good and sounds professional while conveying warmth and

friendliness, you will make a lasting impression on the person that you sent it to. You will also look

like you take pride in your work, and know your way around the computer and the internet. This can

be an important consideration for the recipient of your communication.



8 NOTES:

We hope that you have found this article to be useful, please feel free to send comments and or

suggestions to the author, Nancy Smyth - [email protected]

QuickBooks for Contractors Bookkeeping Tips & Training is a service of:

Sunburst Software Solutions, Inc.

2378 Dane Hill Road

West Charleston, VT 05872

Phone: (888) 348-2877

Email: [email protected]

Website: http://www.sunburstsoftwaresolutions.com

Blog: http://blog.sunburstsoftwaresolutions.com AND

http://contractorbookkeepingtips.com/


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