BUSINESS MANNERS
Kesta Allen



Without good business manners you will not succeed

You may have the business qualifications. You have an excellent record of good education and work experience. However, without good business manners you will not succeed. Treating people with respect should be second nature to you. It helps to get on well with the people you work with and with your superiors. It always pays to be polite. Here are some tips to help your business manners.

1. If you are behind schedule...

Remember to take the time to contact your next appointment so that the person you are due to meet is aware of the delay. If necessary, you can rearrange the meeting for a more convenient time.

2. Return phone calls.

Try not to leave any caller on hold for too long. It is better to tell someone you will call back when you are free. Be sure to return calls as soon as you can. If you cannot return the call immediately, apologizes to the caller for the delay.

3. Keep paperwork under control.

Try to respond to letters within a set time. Keep a record of requests for reply within a certain time. Make a note in your diary of other deadlines for your work. If you are unable to respond quickly, write a short letter to the other person explaining the delay and tell them when you will reply.

4. Lunch appointments.

If you want to take a client or customer out for lunch, a good rule of thumb is for you to choose the restaurant and for the client or customer to choose the time.

5. Avoid too much chat.

Although it is good to be friendly, do not spend too much time chatting to colleagues. You have work to do. If a colleague is distracting you, be polite and say you have some work to do. Ask if you can carry on the conversation after office hours.

6. Salary.

You may think that you are not being paid as much as you should be. Do not discuss your suspicions with your colleagues. A good way of finding out is to contact an employment agency to find out the 'going rate'. Armed with this objective information, you can discuss your salary with your boss.