Electronics Etiquette 

By Rick Broida  

See if this story sounds familiar. Bonnie Strassman, branch manager of Dilbeck GMAC REALTORS®, was at a seminar for REALTORS® when the agent sitting next to her received a phone call. Instead of silencing the phone or letting the call go to voice mail, the agent "answered his phone and started talking," Strassman recalls. "It was so rude!" • Have you ever been in a similar situation? Now fess up: Were you the one appalled by the rude behavior—or the one conducting it? The truth is that we often get so swept up by omnipresent electronic devices like cell phones, BlackBerry® devices, and notebook PCs that we forget the basic rules of etiquette. At the same time, we often abuse e-mail and social-networking sites in our attempts to attract more business, all of which can have the opposite effect. Let’s take a look at proper etiquette in the age of electronics.

Office Meetings

>> It’s an increasingly common scene: Everyone gathers around the conference table for the daily meeting, but in place of notepads and pens, they’ve got their laptops and BlackBerry® devices. Ostensibly, these are for taking notes, but in reality everyone’s checking their e-mail or catching up on a little work—and paying little attention to the actual meeting.

Leaving the laptop at your desk, ignoring your BlackBerry®, and giving the speaker your full attention. That’s just common courtesy. If you work in an office where meetings run so long that cutting the electronic cord isn’t practical, take a stand—literally. John Trosko, professional organizer and author of the OrganizingLA blog, recommends "stand-up meetings." Call it etiquette-by-force.

Client Meetings

>> You know when you’re standing in line at a store and the guy at the register keeps answering the phone instead of dealing with the customers who are, you know, in the store? It’s rude, annoying, and bad business. The same is true of REALTORS® who, while meeting with a client, lunge for their cell phone every time it rings.

And that’s why Strassman tells her agents to "never answer their phone when they’re with clients, unless it has something to do with those clients. Let [them] know that all calls get answered, but your attention is just on them."

E-Mail Etiquette

>> Next to your cell phone, e-mail is your most important communications tool. It’s also incredibly easy to abuse, especially if you’re sending unsolicited sales messages to clients and potential clients. Sure, this kind of marketing costs almost nothing, but too much of it will have recipients scurrying to blacklist your e-mail address. Keep the spam to a minimum—no more than one or two "new listings!" messages per month.

At the same time, be careful about content. Here’s a list of tips to remember:

Watch your tone: A joke made via e-mail can easily come across as an insult because e-mail can’t convey the same nuances as verbal communication.

Don’t use all-caps: THIS IS THE E-MAIL EQUIVALENT OF SHOUTING!

Use spell-check: Poor spelling is another example of poor etiquette. While you’re at it, monitor your grammar and punctuation.

Be brief and to the point: Most people receive a ton of e-mail every day. Make your subject line clear and informative and the body of your message simple and concise. If you have a lot of information to communicate, pick up the phone.

Social Netiquette

>> Social networks like Facebook and LinkedIn are not the place to start hawking your listings or infiltrating user groups just for the sake of self-promotion. Imagine if someone peppered your I Love Azaleas group with constant plugs for used cars.

Bits & Bytes

MyDealBook.com Connects Agents

Taking a page from Facebook and LinkedIn, a new arrival on the social networking site called MyDealBook.com promises to be the world's largest cross-industry real estate professional networking site.

Created by Ryan Slack, the former CEO of PropertyShark.com, and his partners, MyDealBook.com builds on an existing network of more than 300,000 members.

According to Slack, "MyDealBook brings together individuals who are not competitors and provides a whole section on deals. That way, you can show people what you’ve done and can establish credibility within the real estate field."

Users can create an individual profile, join geographical groups, filter out irrelevant information, extend their networking range, view a mini-feed of projects and deals within networks, and access job boards.

Rick Broida is a freelance technology writer.