My smartphone is part of my life.  It's with me (almost) everywhere I go, charges on the nightstand next to my bed and has a special spot in the console of my car.  Having mobile Internet, messaging and synchronized calendars allows me to manage my time the way I want to.  I don't have to be tethered to a desk – I can respond to an important email while in the frozen food section of Costco or jump on a call while walking to the local Tim Hortons.

But there are times when home, family and other personal matters come first over business. There are also times when it's healthy to step back for a few minutes and disconnect.  When those times happen for you, here are some simple things to consider:

1.  Bump calls to voicemail.

Just because your phone rings or vibrates, doesn't mean you must answer it every single time. Screen the call using call display and learn how to bump calls directly to voicemail.  Almost every smartphone has the ability to silence a call and send it directly to voicemail.  For example, on the Apple iPhone 3GS it's done by pressing the sleep/wake button on the top of the phone twice as the phone is ringing.

2.  Use out of office alerts.

If you let people know how long you are going to be away and why, they will usually understand. Therefore use tools like email out of office alerts and record a quick out of office voicemail message including, if you feel it's appropriate, a way to reach you if it's an emergency.  It's also comforting to know that when emails come in, your customers will still be getting a quick reply.

3.  Turn off your phone.

Turn off your phone?  A person working for a cell phone company is recommending that I turn off my phone? Surprisingly, yes. As business people, there are times when we simply need to disconnect for a bit.  Voicemail, email, text messaging and most web apps will continue to work for you while your phone is off.  Many BlackBerry® smartphones also have built-in functions which you can program to automatically turn on and off your phone at certain times of the day.

What do you think?  Do you disagree with any of these points or have others to add?  Please join in by creating a profile and adding a comment below.

Poor manners.  Few people would be comfortable with having a personal reputation that includes those words.  In business though, a reputation that includes poor manners could equal negative customer experiences and lost sales.

Unfortunately there is no one-size-fits-all guidebook to good or bad mobile phone manners, it depends heavily on the situation.  Each business needs to consider their customers, employees and type of work to develop their own standards.  To help you through the process, here are some items to consider:

When with customers

Place yourself in the shoes of your customer and ask: “If I were my customer, what would my expectations be?”  It's very possible that your customers would not mind if you answered a call or responded to a message while with them – especially if it pertains to a challenge or situation they are facing.  Other customers may expect your complete attention.  Have an open discussion with your employees about this topic to set a standard that demonstrates attention and respect for your customer.

Also ask yourself: In what situations is it considered acceptable to answer a call while with a customer and is it appropriate to ask for permission first?  Often a simple “mind if I take this call?” prior to answering (then keeping it short) followed up with a “thanks” is all it takes.  If you are waiting for an important call or message, let your customer know up front so they are prepared for the interruption.

When with colleagues

When with our team mates, phone manners can be different while stilling being professional.  The key here is simple: have a conversation with your team and set the standard together.  Come to consensus on the following items:

• Using a smartphone during employee meetings.
• Priority for calls from customers.
• Personalized ringtones or loud ringers (not everyone might like the Lone Ranger theme music!).
• Talking loudly and private conversations.
• Expectations for when employees should be reachable by phone, email or text message.

The key is to talk about situations up front and modify the standards as your employee base, company and customers grow.

What do you think?  Are there situations that irritate you or techniques your company has used?  Add your thoughts below.

You may have heard a lot of buzz lately about Twitter and are wondering what it is and if you should use it to promote your business. Twitter is one of many social media platforms such as Facebook and You Tube that have emerged and grown in popularity over the past few years. It is a service that allows users to send short (140 characters only) messages to their “followers” and anyone else viewing their Twitter feed.

The goal with Twitter, as with all social media, is to connect people with similar interests or to share. With this connection you can have conversations and develop relationships with your customers, partners and other stakeholders. On Twitter this is done by sending “tweets” to your followers that contain valuable and engaging information and that link back to a web site for further action.

Another good use for Twitter is to “listen in” to conversations.  It can provide some interesting and revealing facts about your competitors and customers.

Resources to help you get started

To learn about the basics of Twitter for business, there is a great resource from Twitter that can be found here. There are also great books and videos on YouTube that will provide further information. A book I found to be very useful to understand and get started with Twitter is The Twitter Book by Tim O’Reilly and Sarah Milstein.

In future articles, I will explore issues such as why Twitter is important to small businesses, how to set up an account and tips for sending tweets.

Do you have any ideas about how you might use Twitter to support your small business?  Please join the conversation; we would love to hear from you!

To some it's as normal as breathing. To others, it might as well be ancient Greek. Text and instant messaging is a language to itself that takes a bit of time to understand, however once you do it's a real time-saver! If you or one of your employees is new to texting, here's a place to start.

Spell it like you say it.

Time is money, so use abbreviations to convey your thoughts as quickly as possible. The best way to do this is to shorten your spelling by removing "unspoken" letters. For example, saying "Great presentation today! Can you send me a copy before the end of the day? Thanks!" could be shortened as: "GR8 pres 2day! Send a copy by EOD? tx". Start by simplifying a word or two and your speed will quickly increase.

Sample abbreviations for business

To get you started, here's a list of common text abbreviations for business:

How about you and your business? Do you have a tip or abbreviation that works well in your business?

Hello and welcome!

TELUS Talks Business.  It’s easy for me to say.  It’s also easy to read.  Starting today, I, on behalf of the thousands of TELUS Business Solutions team members worldwide, commit to doing it.

Like  all good  conversations, we need a place to start.  So let’s start with a  topic more and more businesses are facing:  Working efficiently  while away from the office.  We will have a number of blog posts on  this subject in the coming days and weeks.

You can also expect to see articles on the subjects of charitable giving by businesses, cloud computing and other topics that you say are important or are  currently in the news.  Plus there will be commentary from experts in Information Technology, Communications and Human Resources – all from  successful business  leaders. The site will grow to where you will see something new and discussion worthy on a regular basis.

Bottom line:  This site is managed by TELUS so there is going to be a fair amount of talk about TELUS products and solutions. But the commitment of this site is to give you much more. This is a place where you can view relevant and interesting information, ask questions, engage in a dialogue and make your voice heard.  It’s not just about TELUS.  It’s about you and your business.  On behalf of the TELUS Business Solutions team, I promise to grow the contents and direction of this site in a way that represents your needs.

How to stay connected

First, sign up for our regular emails and please send me feedback on what you receive. The team behind the scenes is working to build a valuable business-focused newsletter you should enjoy. We’ll also send you information on some TELUS campaigns, but promise not to abuse the privilege. You can also subscribe to our RSS feed and follow us on Twitter where we will highlight new articles as they are posted.  As an added bonus, we are also going to be holding some contests (like one on Mobile Working coming soon) and maybe even doing some random giveaways to our loyal community members – you’ll just have to join in and see.

Most importantly, please know that your business related comments, discussions and opinions are all valued. Our goal is to be part of the conversation every weekday and jump in on the weekends where we can.  If you’re a TELUS customer and have specific questions about your account the team here commits to your privacy by not replying in public.

Please, join the conversation with me and let’s talk business together.

Thanks,

Peter Hartl

TELUS Talks Business Community Manager