Making money conveniently, I can’t think of a better option. These days we all seem pressed for time. Inconvenient things get in the way and take up our valuable time; time we’d rather spend catching up on work or being with a client or networking. It’s nice when people make it easier to do business with them—it saves us time.

Dotting I’s & Crossing T’s

Making It Easy To Do Business With You

Making money conveniently, I can’t think of a better option. These days we all seem pressed for time. Inconvenient things get in the way and take up our valuable time; time we’d rather spend catching up on work or being with a client or networking. It’s nice when people make it easier to do business with them—it saves us time.

One easy thing you should do is to market yourself by making it easy to contact you. Let’s look at an example of an email signature.

Sincerely,

Mary Jones

ABC Company

631-555-1234

That first impression is unimpressive. This version allows only one way to contact Mary. Do we really want to Google the company and scroll through possible links to find her?  If she wanted us to find her website she could have given us the link. And we might think hitting Reply would allow us to send an email to her, but what if Mary’s message was forwarded? We’d have to scour the message to locate her email address. And if her email was copy/pasted then her email address may be nowhere to be found. Time wasted.

An improved version:

Mary Jones

ABC Company

This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

www.abcco.com

631-555-1234

Now our first impression of Mary is more positive. She’s dotted her I’s and crossed her T’s. Email and phone info is available, and we can find out more about her services by clicking her website link.  And if we think that it would be good for someone else to learn of her services, we simply copy her signature and send it along and maybe drive business her way.

Then there’s the killer signature.  It may have great graphics buts it’s utterly useless. (Excuse the poor graphics.)

We can’t copy/paste it into our contacts manager. It’s barely legible, and passing this contact information to someone else just passes the same problem to them. It’s fine if you want to present yourself with a graphic signature, but follow it with text and hyperlinks that make it easy to do business with you.

I can’t dollarize how much clients have profited from this advice, but they’ve all made the change and know that they and their employees are easier to contact; the website is easier to access; and that not making theses changes would be a shortsighted approach.

And it may bring unexpected business their way.

Keith A. Simmons, Partner in B2B CFO®, serves owners of emerging growth and mid-market companies who find they need a seasoned business advisor but do not require a full-time Chief Financial Officer. A B2B CFO® works with owners to create financial and goal clarity, increase cash, profitability, sales, company value and exit strategies. Every company, regardless of its size, needs a CFO. You can now afford one with B2B CFO®, providing solutions to business owners on a scheduled part-time basis since 1987.

Despite times of tight credit the 122 partners of B2B CFO® are on track to arrange for $250 million in financing for their clients this year. We understand what your lender is looking for and know how to position and present you to them.  Cash. We Help You Get It.™

http://www.b2bcfo.com/partners/ksimmons/