OnQ

On Spam

I know what a problem spam can be. I've got two different systems filtering my incoming e-mail, and they're catching about 99% of the spam, which I'm thankful for. Given what does still get through, I can only imagine what I'd be combing through if I didn't have that protection in place.

Wel this morning, I re-encountered another spam prevention tool. There's a local vendor that I need to work with on a project I have for one of my clients, and after discussing the project in several phone calls, I told him I'd send him e-mail with some of the specifics. And that's what I did this morning.

But what happened next really got me thinking about spam protection and business image...

I immediately received the following e-mail back from his mail system:

"I apologize for this automatic reply to your email.

To control spam, I now allow incoming messages only from senders I have approved beforehand.

If you would like to be added to my list of approved senders, please fill out the short request form (see link below). Once I approve you, I will receive your original message in my inbox. You do not need to resend your message. I apologize for this one-time inconvenience.

Click the link below to fill out the request:"

This is not the first time I've run across this particular spam prevention tool. The business side of me immediately clicked on the link and requested authorization. Then the personal side of me stepped up and said "Now wait just a minute..."

If that e-mail had been the first attempt I'd made to contact him, I wouldn't have bothered to click on the link and request authorization. My gut reaction is "well, if I have to take extra steps just to send e-mail to this business, I'll go to someone who wants to get my e-mail and my business instead." How many others have tried to contact him by e-mail and had the same reaction? To me, that presents itself as a huge roadblock to getting potential clients to contact you.

Now I know that he'll approve my address and get the message, because we discussed it and he's expecting the e-mail. Still, I sent another message, replying to the autoresponse I got, and shared with him what my initial reaction was and explained that he might be losing business because people don't want to take that extra step just to get e-mail to him.

As a business owner, I want as few roadblocks as possible when potential customers are trying to reach me. If someone has to take an extra step to get in touch with me, who's to say that extra step won't instead be directed to finding someone else to take care of their needs? Yes, e-mail spam is a problem, but it's my problem, not my potential client's problem. If anyone has to take extra steps to ward off spam, it should be me, not someone who is trying to reach me to engage my services.

Something to think about anyway...

On Moving

Who you choose as a web host is an important decision. And I made a decision in December to change my web hosting provider for two of my sites. Today, we are fully online with the new host.

Thanks to Vlad Mazek and Own Web Now for helping me get the site and the blogs set back up. We had some fun getting it going, but it's all good now.

That's not the only change I'll be making in 2006, but it's a big one. The eonconsulting.net site had only been up for a year, so I didn't really have any loyalty to the hosting service that I was using for that. The simultaneouspancakes.com site, however, I've had up for over 7 years with the same provider, and that one took some doing to agree to move. But, in the end, I made the right choice.

Welcome to 2006!

On Ethics

I had a plum dropped into my lap tonight. A potential client contacted me because the consultant they were working with on a project had to bow out for some reason, and they were referred to me by a mutual acquaintance. They are planning on a complete server rebuild of their SBS 2003 installation this weekend and need some help with it.

Within just a few questions, I found out what's really going on. They are changing their company name and need to modify their DNS records to make that happen. Unfortunately, when the site was originally installed, they used the public DNS name for their internal Active Directory namespace. The consultant that they had worked with told them (correctly) that if they wanted to change the internal domain name, they would need to reformat and rebuild the server.

I could have left it at that and taken the job and netted a nice little profit this weekend. Instead, I discussed with my contact that he really didn't need to change the internal domain namespace even though they are changing their public domain name. All of the work they want to do, in fact, can probably be handled with about an hour of effort on my part, if they can live with the internal domain name staying the same.

As a business owner, there's no way I could accept the job as originally proposed when there was a solution that would cost them so much less to achieve. Because that's exactly what I would want from a vendor I contacted for service. If there's a better way to get something done, especially if it will cost me less, I want to know about it.

Now this potential client may have other issues that would also be best served by a complete rebuild, and my contact is looking into that. For example, if the server was not built correctly in the first place and is having performance issues, sure, a rebuild might be a good solution, especially if they really want to change the internal domain name. Or the business owner or other key contact may say that they don't care what the cost is, they need to change the internal domain name. Whatever the next conversation with the client holds, I'm going to work with them to determine what the best course of action will be for their business. Sure, I could have made easy money on a rebuild, but if that's not in their best interest, then it's not in my best interest. I'm not interested in making a fast buck if it's possibly going to have a negative impact on my reputation down the line. So long as I act in the best interest of my clients, it's a win-win for everyone involved.

On Deadlines

One of the tenets I have tried to follow my entire professional career is this: keep the commitments you make. The converse is just as important: don't make a commitment unless you can keep it. This week, I got to experience problems with this tenet on both sides.

A couple of weeks ago, I ordered a piece of equipment for a new client and we made plans to complete the installation over the holiday weekend. I received a ship notification on the product this past Monday, so I confirmed the schedule for installation with the client. By Thursday, when I still hadn't received the equipment, I started asking questions. I didn't get answers until Friday, and those answers weren't what I needed to hear: the shipment got lost.

I was mortified. Fortunately, my client was more understanding than I would have been. I'd already lost one client earlier in the year from a similar situation, and I would have understood completely if this client had chosen to look elsewhere for equipment and service. Fortunately for me, he's opted to stick with us for his long-term service.

In a completely separate but simultaneous scenario, I have been waiting on delivery of product from a couple of different vendors. Each of these independent vendors has been promising delivery of the product for weeks, and every time they have been contacted, the response has been that delivery will happen in a "day or two." Each response has obviously been a false promise designed to get me off their backs and buy more time.

I've been witness to a steady decline in customer service from just about every market over the last 20 years. Some companies, it seems, don't seem too concerned about providing good service to their clients, because they already have so many that the loss of one or two will not hurt them financially, or they are able to gain new clients so easily that, again, the loss of one or two clients will not hurt them financially.

In the time I've been working for myself, I've had the pleasure to get to know many other small business owners in my area, and we all seem to have one thing in common - we're small enough that we genuinely do care about providing outstanding service to our clients. In some cases, that's as simple as returning phone calls. In others, it's making a client meeting on time and well prepared for the meeting. As I continue to grow my business, I will keep this notion in the forefront of everything that I do. As I partner with other companies, I'm already finding that I'm leaning more towards the smaller businesses as partners instead of the giant ones. In some cases (local phone service for instance) I really do not have any choices in whom I can use, but in others, I’m looking locally for business owners who share my thoughts, ethics, and ideals in how they approach their business.

In the long run, I expect that this attitude is what will guide me to success rather than my technical savvy or management prowess. And I'm glad it's a lesson I've learned earlier rather than later.

On Networking

And no, I don't mean the ethernet kind. I mean the type of networking where you're going out and pressing flesh for your business or other organization that you feel strongly about. It is definitely a skill that most of us have to develop, although it is amazing to watch those who are naturals at work. Sometimes successful networking is making the effort to get your name recognized by key contacts who may be able to help you in your endeavors. Sometimes, success comes from being in the right place at the right time.

This past week, I happened upon two of these situations, and I decided to share them. Monday morning I got a call from a contact I had made at a Chamber of Commerce lunch function several months before. I arranged to meet this potential new client on Tuesday, right after my BNI meeting. They tell me that they are moving offices and want to set up a new server in the office and get all the computers networked correctly. After we discuss the specifics of the services I can provide fo them, I ask about a few items related to their move, including security systems. After I let them know that I can refer them to a reliable company to install a new security system for them, they ask me if I know anyone who does phone systems and could help them paint the offices before they move in. I told them yes, and I would arrange for all three to contact them later in the day.

After leaving their office, I immediately got on my cell phone and made three calls to arrange for these other vendors to contact my potential new clients. When I checked back later in the day, all three had made contact, and two had made arrangements to start work in the next two days.

Even if I hadn't had my proposal accepted, I provided three solid referrals to businesses I network with. Those businesses will remember those referrals.

Friday morning I was with a different client. While doing several small jobs for them, one of the employees asks me about copiers, as the one they have is a loaner, and they really need to get a new unit in quickly. I had been involved in a massive copier replacement project several years ago, so I was able to provide some insight about that project to them. Then, during my last appointment for the afternoon, a differnet client asks if I know anyone who is needing a new copier. As it turns out, if they can refer someone who purchases a new copier to their copier contact, the contact will donate a copier to my client's organization. Before I got back to the office, I had amde contact with my client and the copier rep and they had a phone call scheduled for Monday to discuss their needs with him. Since they're wanting to get a new unit ASAP, my other client may well get the copier donation they need so desperatly.

What networking really boils down to is two things: listening to all your contacts at all times, and thinking outside the box. I know a number of computer consultants who would have discussed a proposal with my potential client Tuesday morning and never brought up solutions to their other, unspoken needs. But becaus I was willing to think outside the box, I saved my newest client several hours of time he would have spent trying the old fashioned way to find people to help with his needs. I may never see any acknowledgement from them about that, but I have a good feeling inside knowing that I helped them save time and money. That's what customer service is really all about.