No Nothing Business E-mails | Business Email Etiquette

An e-mail from one of my less amiable clients spurred me to share this situation with you as a perfect example of how e-mail is a relationship building tool. A tool that can be misused and underestimated in its power of how you will be perceived. Based on all the little efforts you choose to make — or not.

This particular client has always been demanding and in some cases presumptuously rude. So, with that established tone, when you get an e-mail like the one I received today, it does nothing to improve the situation. Rather it solidifies the already negative attitude that I have that causes me to literally groan out loud when I see their name in my inbox.

With this particular message, there was nothing in the Subject: field, nothing in the message — only an attachment that was a Word doc that had nothing in it other than an embedded graphic. Raise all the spam flags!

No Hi or Hello. No explanation of what they wanted me to do — I was to assume the attachment spoke for itself.

Nor did they feel the need to include a “can you check this out and explain or advise?” No thank you in advance — no nothing. Because all the e-mail included was an attachment, it was identified as spam by my filters, and rightly sent straight to my trash.

This is why I always recommend you review the e-mails in your trash before deleting. E-mails get sent there erroneously all the time due to those who see no need to take the time to communicate with clarity and courtesy.

The approach this client consistently uses only serves to build upon my already negative perception of them. That’s where taking the time to include all the little Business E-mail Etiquette courtesies I type about come into play. They take a moment — a moment that ensures you are perceived positively while helping you to build positive business relationships moving forward.

If the e-mail I am referencing had included all those little things this person didn’t want to take the time to include, I probably would have already replied. Instead, since I just found it in my trash, it goes into my “To Do” folder behind those professionals who do include all those little things this person finds unnecessary.