New Tip: Five Rules for Texting Anyone You Do Business With

Walk into any boardroom two minutes before a meeting and you’ll find the same scenario: a table full of executives checking their phones with their heads bowed in the “smartphone prayer.”

Text messaging is the fastest way to communicate in business. Quicker than email and more convenient than a phone call, it’s become commonplace. But it’s not always the best choice.

Choose to text message for simple notifications or reminders like “I’m running five minutes late,” or “Remember to bring the report.” As a general rule, consider texting only appropriate for a maximum of two messages -- one message and one reply.

Here are five rules to avoid a text message business blunder.

1. Keep it positive.

Like email, the tone of a text message can be misinterpreted by the recipient. Quick messages can make you come off as flippant or harsh. Instead of staccato phrases, write complete sentences. Add polite touches like “please” and “thank you.” Re-read every message before pressing send to double-check your tone (bonus: no embarrassing typos).

2. Avoid serious topics.

You wouldn’t break up with your girlfriend over a text message -- to be clear, you should not -- and the same goes for business. Never give negative feedback or fire someone via a text message. Any serious conversation should take place face-to-face. It allows for subtle interaction through facial expressions and will ensure clear communication.

3. Don’t abbreviate every other word.

Abbreviations are common in casual texts, but you should be careful how often you use them. Common abbreviations like “LOL” (laugh out loud) and “np” (no problem) are safe choices. However, if you’re communicating with a new customer or acquaintance, take 30 extra seconds and type out each word.

Avoid informal shortcuts like “u” (you) and less common abbreviations like “SMH” (shaking my head) or “MFW” (my face when). Don’t leave your clients and colleagues confused; your texts should convey messages quickly and clearly.

4. Don’t text a last-minute cancellation.

There are a thousand reasons someone may miss a text message. Don’t depend on a quick note to cancel a meeting or change a lunch venue. For an important or time-sensitive message, pick up the phone.

5. Double-check the autocorrect.

Smart phones can occasionally be a little too smart. Autocorrect and voice-to-text features have a sneaky way of changing your intended message into something entirely different and often embarrassing. When using voice-to-text, ensure you’re in a quiet location. It picks up on background noise and may type a nearby conversation instead of what you’re saying.

New Tip: Answer These 3 Questions Before Jumping Into Entrepreneurship

Everyone has at least once in their life had a million-dollar idea. The tricky part is deciding if this idea actually has legs and could be a viable business.

As a small-business owner for a decade, I’ve identified three crucial questions to ask yourself to help decide whether or not the concept is worth pursuing.

These questions can help scope what I like to call “The Success Triangle,” an approach to help budding entrepreneurs decide whether to pull the trigger on that small business idea.

1. Concept: Is it a good idea? Let’s start with the obvious.  Not every idea is a good one and just because your mom thinks it’s great doesn’t mean it is.  Too many of us suffer from the “if we build it, they will come” mentality which can be equally tempting and dangerous.  Just because you are obsessed with your dogs and think the world is clamoring for the introduction of canine teeth whitening pens doesn’t mean it will be a hit.  It’s easy for something to seem like a great idea initially but several key questions should be asked to help determine whether the idea is truly solid:

• Is there a need?  How significant is the need?
• How much competition currently exists in this space?
• How large is your potential customer base?
• Do you have a unique ability to provide this product/service?
• Do you have experience/passion in this area?
• Are there trends in the marketplace/industry that might make my produce/service more or less attractive going forward?    
• 2. Execution: How Well Can You Execute the Concept? While it’s great to have a solid business idea, it’s quite another thing to execute it well.  Your idea about selling doggie teeth whitening might be a viable concept that the marketplace needs, but how well can you execute it?  How do you manufacture the product?  How well does it work?  How easily is it applied?  How do you market and deliver the product?  These questions and others are critical issues to consider when contemplating how well your business idea scores on execution:
• • How will you provide great customer service?
  • What is the quality level of your product/service?
  • How efficiently can you produce your product/service?
  • What is your time to market?
  • How is your product/service produced?  Fulfilled?
  • How easy/difficult is it to market the product?
  • 3. Profitability: Is Your Business Model Profitable? Unless you’re starting a nonprofit, most entrepreneurs are hoping to be profitable. (If you’re not managing your profit levels, you won’t be around very long most likely.)  As part of this analysis, it’s important to evaluate your overall business model.  For your dog whitening product, you should consider your pricing structure?  Are you selling whitening pens individually or in bulk?  Are you only selling pens or also providing a whitening service?  Where will you sell: online, through vets and spas or at retailers?  Consider these questions to help evaluate your business model and profit potential:
    • What is your cost structure?  What are your expenses?
    • How much does it “cost” to gain a client? 
    • What is the anticipated demand (quantified)?
    • How will you sell? Online, brick and mortar, using party concept, through resellers?
    • Are you focused on B2B or B2C selling?
    • Are you selling to individuals or groups? Bulk or individual products?
    • Are you using a franchise model?
    • Are you selling products, services or both?
    These questions aren’t a substitute for developing a thorough business plan, but they act as a simple guide to help the budding entrepreneur begin that critical vetting process. 
                                                                                                                  

New Tip: Tips to Help You Remember Names Better

As PR professionals, we all know the importance of building rapport and maintaining relationship with clients. That can be difficult when you can’t remember the name of the guy sitting next to you at lunch.

Never fear. There are plenty of techniques and tricks from business pros and memory experts to help you remember names. Below is a brief description of some of the most effective tips. As I continue meeting people at my new job, I’ll be using these:

1. Pay attention to the person’s name when it’s said. This may seem obvious, but it’s not always easy to do. Sometimes people introduce themselves and then jump right in and ask a question. You’re busy focusing on the question and not paying attention to the name. Or maybe you’ve been introduced to a big group of people at the same time and you don’t remember who was who. Do your best to register each name.

2. Say the name aloud as soon as possible. Repeat the name to yourself and then use it in a sentence. “It’s nice to meet you, Cindy. What did you need my help with?” Then repeat the name to yourself again. End the conversation by using the name again. “I’ll be looking for that email from you, Cindy.”

3. Comment on the name. This may seem like something George Costanza from “Seinfeld” might do, but finding a way to comment on the name does help. “I have a cousin named Cindy.” “Do you spell Cindy with a ‘y’ or an ‘i’? “Is your last name one word or two?” “What does your last name mean?”

4. Associate the name with something meaningful. If the person’s name is Brian and your brother is named Brian, tie them together. Picture them standing next to each other. Another trick: Associate the person’s name with what they told you about themselves. Peter owns his own PR firm, has two boys, and likes to play soccer.

5. Form a visual association between the face and the name. From the person’s physical appearance, create a mental picture of one thing that stands out and associate that with the name. If Sarah is short, remember short Sarah. David Green has brown eyes.

6. Keep looking at the person’s name tag or business card. As you are speaking, keep the person’s business card in your hand. Glance at the name on the card and at the person, or from the name tag to the person. This will help you associate the face with the name. After the event, write notes about the person on the back of his or her business card.

New Tip: Three Behaviours A Leader Must Do Away With

We all have our own perceptions of what “effective” leadership looks like, so trying to define what is right to hundreds or thousands of people would be an effort in futility -- like asking your boss for a raise after making fun of his new haircut.

A Google search of leadership yields 159,000,000 results. Try boiling that down into a shared definition of what leadership means and your life, as you know it, will be over.

But if we flip this construct on its head, I am willing to bet that there are non-desirable leadership behaviors we could all agree on; behaviors that simply do not create value for people.

Try this exercise. Make a list of eight leadership behaviors that you would not want to see, and then compare your top four to mine below:

1. Complaining. Not cool. I remember something one of my SEAL team leaders said that was so simple and impactful it has stuck with me to this day: “Complaints go up, not down.” Criticizing another leader in the company of followers does two things, neither of which is a great way to make friends:

It undermines leadership efforts. One of the many challenges an organizational leader faces is buy-in from his people. What he doesn’t need is one of his appointed deputies barking insults behind his back, because doing so only erodes the trust that was built.

It establishes your reputation as a gossip hound. Authenticity is about dealing with conflict as it happens rather than waiting for the leader to leave the room. When people know where you stand, they also know what you stand for.

2. Emotional volatility. Not to be confused with expressing emotion. Leaders are expected to comport themselves professionally, and that means having the self- and social-awareness to know when to put up, shut up or blow up. It also requires understanding different personalities, because some people learn easier after having a heart-to-heart conversation while others need a more direct -- strategically placed -- kick in the buttocks. Adapting one’s style to match the setting and people takes patience and acute observation if you don’t want to be the “fun sponge.”

4. Minding other people’s matters (micromanagement). Starting out as an entrepreneur, you have to wear all the hats, but as your company grows, so should you. The invoicing and logistics that you once ran no longer warrant your direct involvement because you’re now focused on higher-level planning. It’s not easy removing the tactical, operational and strategic hats that an entrepreneur initially wears and then scaling back to just one. But awareness is half the battle. If you want your company to grow then you must focus on what only you can affect -- and let your people do the same.

As a leader there are certain expectations that others have of you, such as acting the part and delivering a message, service or product of value.

What are your expectations? I would love to hear the list you came up with (you did it, right?) in the comments section below. This will help all readers -- including myself -- better understand the myriad perceptions we use to qualify leadership effectiveness.

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