(This article, based on Dr. Yager’s award-winning book Business Protocol: How to Survive & Succeed in Business, Wiley, 1991 was originally published in the Entrepreneurial Women’s Network Newsletter, March-April 1996. Copyright© 1998 by Dr. Jan Yager, http://www.JanYager.com, Address: 1127 High Ridge Road, #110, Stamford, CT 06905 Fax (203) 968-0193)

By knowing and understanding business protocol you will optimize your chances of success in the business world. Indeed, business protocol is a strategy for succe$$.

Here are 20 suggestions for using etiquette and protocol to help you stand out from the competition as you maximize your business effectiveness:

1. Make sure you pronounce each person’s name correctly and also spell it right. If necessary, ask to have it spelled out for you. It will be perceived as flattering that you care enough to spell someone’s name correctly. It also helps you avoid one of the biggest faux pas—insulting someone, whether by accident or not.
2. Make sure you have the person’s title right as well. Giving someone a higher title can be as embarrassing as ascribing a lower title or an incorrect one. Once again, when in doubt, ask rather than make a mistake.
3. Follow through on all your promises. It’s better to make a promise you know you can keep all the time than to make unrealistic ones that you default on. For example, it’s better to say, “I’ll send that material out to you within the next few days” than to say “I’ll get that to you tomorrow,” only to have it arrive two weeks later. (As I wrote in my first time management book, Creative Time Management, “Promise less, deliver more.” This is true for more effective protocol as well as time management.)
4. Keep in mind these 6 basic principles of business protocol, based on the 250+ surveys and interviews I conducted with human resource professionals, executives, entrepreneurs, consultants, small business owners, and employees at various levels in diverse companies and industries:
   • Be on time.
   • Be discreet.
   • Be courteous, pleasant, and positive.
   • Be concerned with others, not just yourself.
   • Dress appropriately.
   • Use proper written and spoken language.
5. Return phone calls promptly, certainly within 24 hours. (If you know you will be away, set up a way of dealing with calls in your absence that helps you to be responsive; if necessary, announce on your voice mail that you will be away till a certain date and that no calls with be taken. For emergencies, you might consider providing a beeper number or the name and phone number of someone else covering for you in your absence for emergencies.)
6. There is a fine line between showing interest and being too aggressive and pushy. Be sensitive to the messages your customer or clients or potential customer is giving to you. Having that kind of communication and rapport is essential to developing the kind of positive business relationship that is likely to be continued.
7. Make sure you meet and establish a relationship with a new customer before you cancel an appointment or ask someone else to cover for you. Those first or second times you spend together are invaluable in terms of building trust and finding out your customers’ needs and preferences.
8. If you already have a working relationship with someone and you plan to go away on vacation, make sure you tell your key customers in advance or have a good coverage system for while you are away. It would be a shame to insult and customer or client and ruin a good relationship because a phone call or importune t letter is ignored for two weeks.
9. Follow up on phone conversation with a letter, business card, or an information packet that shows a personal interest in your customer. (However, sending a birthday card to someone you just met once at a convention might not look genuine.)
10. Show patience as new customers decide if you or your products are right for them.
11. If your customer decides against what you are currently selling, taking a long view of the relationship. A “no” today may be a “yes” tomorrow. He or she might also recommend you to friends, co-workers, or relatives.
12. Build a relationship with your customers or clients. Be sincere in caring about your clients’ needs and they will be more likely to want to buy from you, or to recommend you to others. How can you show interest? I f you know your customer has a particular interest or hobby and you see an article or news items about it in a magazine or newspaper, clip it out and send it along with a short note or even just an “FYI” (for your information) and a business card attached. Keep in mind information they share with you—write it down on your file card on that customer—and mention it the next time you speak. For example, “You mentioned last time we spoke that your daughter was going to Italy for the summer to study art. How was her trip?”
13. Remember your customers at the holidays. If appropriate, send your best ones thoughtful holiday gifts, for $25-to-$50 or less, such as baskets of fruit or coffee mugs with a sample of coffees. Certainly send non-religious seasonal greeting cards to everyone you value. A personal note on the card is best but if you just don’t have the time for that, at least write “To so-and-so” and sign your first name (even if your company has engraved your name or the company name on the inside of the card).
14. Put your customer or client’s needs before yours in terms of appointments and phone calls. Your customer or clients comes first. If a customer or client is valuable to you, and genuinely unavailable during typical business hours, be open to calls or appointments at night, very early in the morning, or on the weekends.
15. Remember to always say, “thank you.” Act humble and grateful for each sale rather than arrogant or as if you expect it.
16. Your contact should not end with the sale. By following up after the sale – not to sell something else but just to show an interest in your customer and to see how your first sale has worked out—you may be doing more to insure a second and third sale than by any other action. Successful companies—whether that company consists of one person or one hundred thousand—are built on satisfied customers, one sale at a time, one relationship at a time.
17. Go over letters so your grammar and spelling are correct. Use the grammar and spelling check in your computer or, if necessary, have a professional copyeditor or proofreader do the final check.
18. Avoid foul language and any racial, ethnic, or sexist comments or jokes.
19. No matter what is going on in your professional or personal life be upbeat and enthusiastic with your clients or customers.
20. Be as informal or as formal as if comfortable in each situation. One customer may want to be referred to as “Ms. Connor” but another one might find “Sally” just fine.