Many people have heard me extol the benefits of helping others when networking online. If you see something askew or out of place and a simple tweet or DM on Twitter or a note on Facebook can help the other person out. Do it. Your reward will be the good feeling you have, and sometimes you may get a bonus reward from the other party.
Today, I want to address the manner in which this should be done.
We’ve all had it happen, a typo or mistake on our website. Errors that can bypass our proofreading checks and when noticed by potential clients, can be very important. Sometimes this could make or break a sale. We’ve also all been on the other side when we come across such kinds of mistakes. They will happen, no one is infallible.
When you are the person who has made such a discovery, how do you handle it?
Most will nonchalantly send a message via email or thru a social media channel and some may even make a phone call (I have done that before, when something was very wrong with someone’s Twitter profile (turns out she had been hacked).
My #1 recommendation on how to tackle sending such a note or contacting the person is to be courteous, kind and polite about it. (What can I say, us Canadians are known for being polite!)
The manner in which you approach your discovery can make all the difference in how it’s received by the other person.
This past week, I received a phone message from someone who left a message asking me to call her back. No reason for the contact, so I made the call and got her voice mail, left a message back. Later while on Twitter, I noted there was also a DM (Direct Message) from this same person, indicating she had phoned and was trying to reach me.
Must be important, so I made another phone call and this time success. I reached the person and indicated who I was. She replied: “Oh yes, right, now who are you again? Let me check my notes.” … and then a pause and I could hear her shuffling papers. (What the heck?, I am thinking as I hear her shuffling more papers)
She started asking me if I was so and so and I said, “No, my name is Kathy Colaiacovo and you had left me a message earlier”.
“Oh right! Yes! I called to tell you that your website says your class starts in March 2011, but it’s July now.” …and then dead silence.
I paused, as the start of the call, the confusion, the shuffling papers and the silence had thrown me for a total loop. What did this person expect me to say?
“Okay” I replied, “I must have missed one spot on the site where I changed the dates.”
“Well, it was a different date than some of the other places on the site.”, was her response. Again, silence.
“Oh… kaaay”, I am really wondering at this point what the whole point of the call is, but guessing that it is exactly this, a wrong date.
“Well, thanks for letting me know.” and I ended the call.
Normally, I would be quite happy to have someone point out an oversight such as this on my websites. Mistakes happen, letting me know that you simply wanted to tell me abut it is all that needed to be said. And then I would have been happy.
As it was, the other person ended up getting on my nerves and annoying me. Had it been handled in a different manner I might have taken the gesture of her calling me a step further and acted with more thanks and appreciation. Instead, I was left with confusion and annoyance that something so simple, was handled in such a way that I really did not end up being thankful at all.
So, please do keep helping out others, just think more about how you approach them when doing this – Courtesy and politeness can make all the difference. Leave them thinking you were indeed being helpful; aim for a happy, thankful and appreciative other party, not someone who is left dazed and confused. Your approach can greatly affect the end result of your contact.
Keep on Networking! Feel free to share other tips on networking by posting a comment below or on our Facebook page
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