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Why are you on this list? You could be any of the following:
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a client
- we've swapped
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From a
reader:
I
wonder sometimes if people really want to do business via email and the
Internet. Why? do you ask. Well, when you get messages like this…..
-
These recipients of your message have been processed by the mail server: sue@xyz.com;
Failed; 5.2.2 (mailbox full)
Remote MTA cpms02.int.abc.com: SMTP diagnostic: 552 RCPT
TO:<sue@xyz.com> Mailbox disk quota exceeded.
Do you really want
to get business via the Internet?
It
was purported that the introduction of email would mean less paperwork,
but I doubt that has happened.
What it has done is increase the amount of reading we all need to
do – even if it’s quickly scanning what comes in our inboxes daily.
The
thing that is of concern is that people either don’t check their emails
daily, or if they have gone away on holiday or business that they
haven’t set up a system to prevent these kind of messages.
Most ISPs have webmail facilities available now so it would mean
that many could access their email even when away from their primary
computer. Or you could set up
an online email account such as hotmail, yahoo or similar and get your
email forwarded to that address so you can check into an Internet café or
similar.
It
is possible on occasion that your email box may become full but I have
noticed that some people I contact regularly seem to have this message
more often than should be the case – particularly if they are people
seeking to do business on the Internet.
How do they know when a client is trying to contact them?
They should be dialing in to check their email on a daily
basis, at the very least. Perhaps the answer is to set up two or
three different email addresses – one for general newsletters and
discussion forums, another that is specifically for business, and so on.
Registering
for a spam filter (if your ISP doesn’t provide one that is sufficient)
may also be an answer to stop your mailbox from becoming full.
I’m told there are many good ones out there and a couple I’ve
heard of are Mailwasher and Spamarrest.
I only have experience of Spamarrest
and have found that to be effective.
Instead of receiving over 100 emails overnight to go through each
morning I now have around 20 or so genuine email. Some of that will be forum discussions; others will be
enquiries or responses to emails I’ve sent.
If you’ve been using a Spam filter that you believe is really
worth knowing about, please let me know and I’ll add it as a link on the
newsletter pages of this site.
Sending
email is a convenient form of communication – at least for me it is, and
I know it is for others. I
can sit and write an email late at night and think about what I want to
say. I certainly couldn’t
phone anyone at the hours I often write my email.
Responding
to email is usually quick and doesn’t take the time a telephone
conversation will often take – no need for small talk or going off on a
tangent! But it is
disappointing to send an email to someone and then get a reply like the
one above. Especially if it is
because I’ve been doing business with that person and there is the
prospect of them getting more business – you have to wonder ‘do they really
want it?’ Are they even aware this message is going out to those
trying to contact them?
A
note to ponder:
If, on the other hand, you send an email, don’t get a bounce back
but no reply after a reasonable period of time, then perhaps it’s time
to pick up the phone. I’ve
known people who haven’t followed up because they thought the person
they emailed wasn’t interested in the matter at hand only to find out,
when it was much too late, that the intended recipient never received the
email in the first place – it’s not 100% reliable (yet) and we need to
remember that.
Web links can be found at
our site under Business
Partners. If you are interested in accepting credit
cards for payment from your clients, without the cost of setting up bank
merchant accounts – please check out the information under Stratapay.
Not only will you be able to accept payments by credit card, but
also through BPay, Australia Post Billpay, Direct Debit and a number of other options. This is a new service now being made available to small
businesses – so we can provide the same facilities as big business.
Visit
Seminars
to see what is currently on offer. Testimonials under Case
Studies (if you’d like to contribute a testimonial your
contact details and weblink may be included). List of new ACS
members at VA
Directory. And click here for my own current rates.
Please note that these rates do not apply to the team
members of "A Clayton's Secretary" - each member works with
their own rates, depending on their geographical location, experience and
skill.
Have a great month and a great year!
Kathie
Award-winning
Secretarial
Support with Virtual Assistants
The
team at “A Clayton’s Secretary” wish you the very best for 2003 in
the way of business success, prosperity, family blessings, peace, joy and
contentment.
Providing global support in many languages
to businesses around the world!
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