Writing for Business -- Create a Professional Image
I recently had a conversation with Rick Roberge who told me what a great service our company provides. Rick, a sales coach and trainer, said he believes that every salesperson who writes proposals, e-mails, letters, etc., should incorporate proofreading as a standard part of their business writing process. Rick then went on to write a blog post about this topic.
I had to agree with Rick about the need for attention to detail in writing. As you may know, I've written before about the lack of quality and the inattention to detail that I see almost every day on the Web and in e-mails and other written correspondence.
I'm constantly amazed that there are folks who think it doesn't matter that their posts include misspellings or bad grammar. Their attitude is that it's more important to have timely posts than correct posts. But while I firmly believe a casual style of writing is appropriate in many instances, such as blog posts and some e-mails, this doesn't mean that all writing guidelines should be ignored.
First impressions are very important. If you're a businessperson who comes across unprofessionally in a first encounter, whether face-to-face or in writing, you may very well take yourself out of the running for new business. I'm totally in agreement with Rick on this!
So are you in agreement with us? How do you approach your business writing projects? Do you use the "get it done quickly" approach, without paying heed to misspellings, grammar and punctuation? Or do you stop to proofread before posting, e-mailing, or printing your document?
We at ProofreadNOW.com can help you present a professional image. But if you're looking for help in perfecting your company's professional sales image, I recommend you talk with Rick at Kurlan Associates.