Those of us who want to make money online, or keep making money online must be sure treat our online business with the same professionalism and respect as any other business. Many of us can easily recount three professional and unfortunately unprofessional business experiences which we have had at some time in the past. Our interaction with these businesses may have been via e-mail, a shopping experience, or a phone conversation. In most instances, the line between whether an experience was professional or unprofessional was extremely subtle, but very significant.
Being the primary individual at your online business, you have a range of responsibilities. One day you might be engaging in a strictly secretarial duty, while the next day you might be representing your business to other business leaders as its Chief Executive Officer. Regardless of what responsibilities you are handling, you must maintain your professionalism.
It is not difficult to maintain a professional standard with your home business. Thus, we will look at five things which you must do to maintain your professional image. Many of these things will seem obvious. Nonetheless, they are overlooked way too often.
1. Spell Check
Whether you are writing an email, creating a brochure of your services, adding text to your website, or writing a thank-you card, make sure that you double check your work. Nearly every program you work in will have a ‘spell check’ function. This function was made for you, so take advantage of it. It will save you the embarrassment of spelling mistakes. These are errors which may very well cost you a future customer.
2. Proper Telephone Manners
I am sure that you have called a traditional business, and heard the person on the other end state the name of the business, rather than simply saying, “Hello”. Just think about what would happen if a business simply answered the phone and said, “Hello”. You would think that you had dialed the wrong number.
Employees and business owners answer the telephone by first stating the name of the business. Doing so ensures the customer that they have dialed the correct number. Whether it is fair or not, the fact of the matter is that people do not view online businesses with the same manner of respect as they do traditional business. Therefore, you have to go above and beyond to let people who you engage with know that you are running a professional enterprise. Be sure to clearly depict your business’ name on your voice mail, and give secondary contact information, if possible. Make sure that you check your messages frequently, and never let those calling you receive a message telling them that you voice mailbox is full. If you have to share your home line with your business, instruct others in your home how to answer calls. If possible, but a distinctive ring for your business so you know when calls are coming in for your business.
3. Convey a Professional Mannerism
The most important professional documentation which you can have for your online business is your website. Make sure that your website is clean and easy to follow. A visitor should be able to determine the purpose and theme of your website within the first seven to ten seconds of arriving. You should also ensure that your website does not take too long to load. The internet is full of choices, therefore, customers will not wait around for your website to load. They will go to your competitor’s website.
Also, avoid using free e-mail addresses at all costs. Nothing screams “amateur” louder than this. It is easy to simply log into the cPanel of your hosting plan and create an e-mail address which matches your website’s URL.
4. Be Pleasant and Mannerly
When you are on the phone, make sure that you have a smile on your face. As your parents taught you, say please and thank you. No matter who you are corresponding with, treat each person as they are extremely valuable to your business. Tell you customers that you appreciate their business. This will go a long way in their decision to give you future business. Make sure that customers are made comfortable with your online business by exuding the picture of professionalism and manners.
5. Know Your Business Inside and Out
It is most unprofessional when the owner of a company does not know the answer to a question about their business. When someone asks for a quote, they are expecting an answer of how much your business will charge to provide them with a service. The last thing that potential customers want to hear is that you are just redoing your pricing and/or you have never done this before. Remember that you are the professional. Professionals give clear answers to the inquiries which they receive about their service offerings, pricing, policies, etc. You need to do this as well.
From the outset, you must know that a lot of work is involved for those of us who make money online. Furthermore, online business is relatively new, so expect to experience some push back from customers from time to time. Nonetheless, your professionalism can do a lot to negate the stereotypes regarding online business, and instill the confidence your customer needs prior to purchasing your products or services.
Do not let anyone tell you that you cannot Make Money Online. Yet, you have to portray an image of professionalism if you expect to Work At Home and be taken seriously. Drop by and visit us at SOSComplete.com.