Send a Reminder!

When you are out there traveling, usually your main source of communication with your office, as well as customers, is your cell phone.  It is very easy to be forgetful of these conversations; especially if you are trying to quickly get off the phone and on a plane, or off the phone and rushing into a building to make a meeting that starts in 5 minutes, or off the phone to run into a bathroom, etc.  Therefore, you should always send yourself and the person you were speaking to a reminder.

Chances are, if you are trying to accomplish one of the previously mentioned tasks, you do not have the time to stop and send an email, but you should have the time to scribble a note on a piece of paper to remind you later.  The note doesn't have to be a long novel with every detail, just something to jog your memory.  Now, the important part, as soon as you have a few minutes of downtime, send out the reminder!

The reminder that usually works best for me is an, "as per our conversation" email.  This is helpful for several reasons.  First, you do not know what the other person you were just speaking to is going through.  They may be in just as much, if not more, of a hurry than you.  Therefore, when you send the "as per our conversation" email, you may be jogging their memory as well as your own.

Another reason this is a good idea, is that these communications create a paper trail.  In other words, this is a great form of C.Y.A.  There have been many times when I call the office from an account and ask where the samples are my customer has asked for, or where is the contract that was supposed to be emailed over, only to be told, "you never asked me to do that."  I am not throwing the folks in my office "under the bus," they are extremely busy as well and sometimes genuinely forget.  However, since I sent the reminder email after our conversation, now all I have to do is go to my "sent" folder, find the email, and forward it to them with a simple note, "please see email below."

Sending a reminder also will help you remember tasks you were supposed to do.  Personally, I always include myself in the CC, or BCC field so that the email is in my inbox as well as my sent folder.  Then, I can flag the email for follow up later.

I have said it many times before, and will say it many times again, the dullest pencil is better than the sharpest brain.  Make yourself get in the habit of sending reminders after EVERY conversation, it will lead to better follow-up and ultimately better satisfaction from your customers.