Professionals are inundated with hundreds of emails a day.
You might leave your desk for a minute or two and, upon your return; you find 56 unread messages in your inbox. These messages can be an unwanted distraction which induce frustration as you see your work life balance fly out of the office window. But you ignore them at your peril if you value your reputation.
You must respond, even if it is with a no thank you, a yes please or I’ll get back to you later – as lack of response suggests that you might be lazy, rude or that you think you are just too important. What you must consider is the inordinate amount of time the sender may have spent in wording that email, preparing that report, costing that quote or collating that information especially for you!
We all know that time is precious and we also know that in this competitive world contacts are vital if you are to progress successfully through the minefield of deals, contracts and acquisitions. So don’t delay. Respond, respond, respond.
Remember that it takes a lifetime to build a good reputation and a second to destroy it.