My email inbox is empty (again)

Nigel Temple delivering a marketing talk

I am busy marketing consultant, trainer, speaker and author. My wife and I have four (grown up) children, one house, one garden and our own business.

My email inbox is empty (again). My diary is packed with appointments. My office bin is full.

Here is my philosophy of dealing with the huge flow of emails, social media interactions, post and telephone calls that I receive:

TELEPHONE CALLS
* Answering the phone within 4 rings
* Calls are answered by a human being, not a machine
* Appropriate action always taken after each in-bound call

EMAILS
* Answering emails swiftly, i.e. within 1 hour of receipt
(and quite often within 30 seconds)
* Keeping a clear email inbox
* Filing emails, so that they can be found easily

LETTERS
* Dealt with promptly (see ‘DAFT’, below)

SOCIAL MEDIA
* Responding quickly to social media comments, mentions etc
You are welcome to connect with me here: https://twitter.com/nigeltemple

CRM
* Using a CRM every business day
* All contacts are in one place: the CRM

SALES LEADS
* Answered swiftly, i.e. within 1 hour
* Appropriate information captured within the CRM
* Sending quotes / proposals promptly
* Follow-up system in place

MEETINGS
* Confirm location, start and finish time, attendees etc by email
* Turning up on time
* Focusing on the agenda (and not wandering off it)
* Finishing on time

POLITENESS
* Politeness is important, at all times
* Remaining calm also helps

DAFT
An acronym that may help you (it certainly helps me!)
* Delegate (if it is someone else’s problem)
* Action (do something about it)
* File (so that you can actually find it, but why not…)
* Throw (…it in the bin or delete it)

What would you add to this list?

Written by marketing consultant, trainer, speaker and author Nigel Temple.
3,000+ clients over a 30 year period.
Nigel is available for hire as a marketing consultant, marketing trainer or marketing speaker.