0816_TOEFL-Test-and-Score-Manual-1997

100 ● 201 Great Ideas for Your Small Business
voice mail system may be, make sure callers can reach a live person by
pressing 0.
Remember, businesses lose millions of dollars in sales because frustrated
callers hang up when they can’t speak to a company representative.
If your staff needs to put callers on hold, consider adding a “messages
on hold” feature to your phone system. These systems allow you to fill the
hold time with music, product information, or even trivia games (see Great
Idea #98).
GREAT
Don’t Let E-Mail Rule or Ruin Your Life
It’s hard to imagine life without e-mail. It’s a great tool,
IDEA
but when people have to work late into the night to
make up for not getting anything done during the day, you know e-mail
has gotten out of control.
One of my closest friends is president of a large business advocacy
organization. She admitted that she often spent eight hours a day responding
to e-mail! That means she has to work another six or seven hours every
night to actually get any work done. That’s crazy. She finally hired a full-time
assistant, who spends most of her time responding to e-mail. Does it really
make sense to pay someone $40,000 or $50,000 a year, plus benefits, to manage
your e-mail?
I believe we make really poor decisions when we feel pressured to
respond to e-mail within seconds. Unless you are a trauma surgeon or top
military officer, you don’t need to respond right away. Just take a breath and
think before you hit reply. Here’s another tip: never, ever write an e-mail
if you are angry, high, or drunk. I’ve received some crazy messages from
people who were obviously out of their minds.
You may be too young to remember that just a few years ago we conducted
business via letters and faxes. If a matter was truly urgent or we
needed a contract signed, we sent overnight letters. (When I was a reporter
at the Los Angeles Times, receiving a FedEx package was a big deal and
meant you were writing an important story.)