Courtesy of PTRA President Joel Casaubon, what follows are some timely thoughts on reps’ effective use of the Internet.

I would like to take this opportunity to address an issue that has become near and dear to my heart, and I suspect this is an issue with many of us in these days of electronic communication. That issue is e-mail etiquette — or, as I like to call it, “netiquette.”

The Internet has brought a whole new meaning to the way we communicate with each other. In a way it is a wonderful thing, because it has made it extremely easy and inexpensive for us to communicate with our customers, principals and suppliers. The days of the “speed memo” are gone, and I for one do not miss those. However, I would like to say that e-mail has also brought about its own set of problems such as spam, viruses, and an easy way of passing along bad news. This, in turn, actually increases the amount of time we spend each day going though our inbox. How many times have you heard someone say “When I logged on today, I had 137 e-mails in my inbox”?

I would like to share with you what I think are some of the key issues that we should all be aware of when we use this valuable tool. If we all take a few minutes to understand what is going on and to try and follow some of these simple rules, life will be so much simpler and our use of this tool will become more efficient. Remember, time is money, and the value of our time continues to increase every year.

Following is a list of e-mail issues we all should be constantly aware of:

Subject — The subject should be stated clearly and accurately. Many of us file messages in folders for later reference, but if the subject is incorrect, vague, or imprecise, it makes it very difficult to retrieve the message at a later date.

Reply to All — We should not reply to everyone on a message unless it is information that everyone really needs to have. Take the time to go through the list of “Cc”s and delete anyone that doesn’t need to see your reply.

Forward — This is one that really gets to me because when you deal with large companies, you end up getting an e-mail that has been forwarded several times by numerous people on the “Cc” list. By the time you scroll down through every copy of each forwarded message, you find out that it is a message that you have already read three times. Also, every time you “Reply to All,” you are passing along everyone’s e-mail address to a host of people that may not even know who you are.

Signature — Along with the forward function is the signature function. Since when does a “signature” include the “wisdom of the day”? I must say that there are times when I am scrolling down through a forwarded e-mail that it takes me some time to find my way to the actual message. I can appreciate that it is cute to tell everyone to “have a nice day,” but please limit your special comments in your signature box to a minimum so that I can scroll past them faster and get to the meat of the replied/forwarded message.

Also, I would like to suggest that you be concise and to the point. Use proper spelling and grammar (use a spell checker). Do not overuse the “High Priority” option, and do not forward chain letters.

Last — whatever happened to picking up the phone and calling someone? With one-rate phone service, it really doesn’t cost much anymore. I remember hearing that “selling is a people business,” and, “People buy from people.” Well, if that is truly the case, then people still like to talk to people too. Make it personal. Instead of sending an e-mail to tell someone their order is late or they screwed up, why don’t you call them? Sure, send them a message as confirmation, but wouldn’t you rather hear it personally than in an impersonal e-mail message? I know I would. Besides, that way you can be certain they got the message and understood it. Go ahead, give it a try.

I think everyone should take a class in e-mail etiquette or at the very least, spend some time trying to better understand what makes sense and what doesn’t. Think about it next time you get an e-mail and there is something about it that bothers you. If we were to all take these suggestions under advisement, I really think we could make a difference.

Help me clean out my inbox. Think about the next e-mail you send.

Refining Your Skill-Set

We received some food for thought recently in the form of comments from Karla Brandau, CSP, concerning career skills that reps, and all of us for that matter, had better possess if we want to continue to be successful. Here’s what she had to say.

Most people drive through life looking in their rearview mirror and judging the future by the past. They have a really good view of where they have been and mistakenly think the future will be similar to the past as they make decisions based on their previous experiences. Even though past experience gives a base for the future, there are many factors to take into account as you view the future.

The future work world will be even more global. If your job is not one that requires you to physically be in one place, you will be competing with bright and hungry workers in India, China, Korea and other developing nations around the globe.

Competing in the new environment will require higher levels of competence and necessitate looking straight ahead, not constantly glancing in the rearview mirror for warm fuzzy feelings about what you have achieved in the past.

Here are skills to acquire and refine that will increase your professional confidence level:

Constantly adapt to technology — Dependency on technology in the future will increase, not decrease. Spend time learning new computer programs but more importantly, make applications to your daily routine and strive to use technology as an enabler of productivity, not as a neat new toy with tons of cute features that you don’t use. To decide if the new gadget is worth the time, ask yourself, “Does this make time or waste time?”

Embrace diversity — Get comfortable with other ethnic cultures, religions and customs. Be curious about what makes people from other cultures tick. Learn a little about the customs and attitudes that belong to workers from other countries. The time will be well spent as you begin to relate human to human, not human to inhabitant of another country.

Be a life-long learner — When you finished your last college course, did you utter a sigh of relief and mumble something like, “Whew, glad I’m finished with my education!” Surprise — the new century will require you to be a continuous learner. Be prepared to reinvent yourself, the pool of information in your brain and your work-related skills every four or five years.

Practice impeccable integrity — Employers need to feel your spirit and have the quiet assurance that you are honest. Even one person in an organization who takes advantage of company assets for personal gain causes untold rules and regulations. Taking integrity beyond just simple honesty, however, means that when you commit to a deadline, you are fully committed to producing results, not excuses.

Be a self-starter — Fire yourself up or look forward to being the first to go when bottom lines dip into the red, a recession lurks around the corner or the next merger takes place. Those who learn to work on the optimistic and not the pessimistic side of life are more valuable to the organization as they create a positive work environment that produces higher productivity.

Demonstrate personal discipline — Employers want to hire people who have disciplined work habits and disciplined thinking. The more disciplined the worker, the less time managers must spend rethinking, retracing and reworking — basically worrying if you will be reliable. When you demonstrate personal discipline, you and your manager can spend more time on solving problems and moving the company forward.

Prioritize and evaluate daily — Two of the biggest time wasters in the world are not knowing where to start when you get to work in the morning and working on low-priority items. To compete in the global work environment takes meticulous prioritization of tasks and the ability to identify the highest priority item that you tackle first every morning.

Be adaptable — To stave off obsolescence, organizations must constantly change and regularly introduce change initiatives. Often employee resistance derails plans for updating processes and procedures and stalls company progress. To increase employability in 2010, learn to be part of the solution, not part of the problem. Ask tough questions that define the future and actively look for ways to support the new change initiatives.

Think creatively and innovatively — Contributing to your organization in 2010 demands thinking outside of the box and looking for creative ways to solve nagging problems, increase productivity or produce a new product or service. When a challenge presents itself, be the first to offer a new viewpoint, discover an alternative or recommend another course of action. Your ideas combined with the creative ideas from other employees will help your organization renew itself as necessary to be competitive in the 21st century.

Have the can-do attitude — Immerse yourself in all the available positive mental attitude material you can find. Negatives are thrown at you the entire day from the news, next-door neighbors and the nerd in the next cubicle. Teams face hurdles to productivity which causes dissension among members. Management faces dissatisfaction and product deadlines. To compound the problem, your mind naturally generates negative thoughts before positive thoughts. You have to train your mind to see the positive, to find the positive and to see the opportunity lurking in the obstacle. If you can master the positive can-do attitude, you will add value to every thing you touch and be more employable in an increasingly negative world.

Some of these skills will be relatively simple and others may be difficult for you to implement. As you improve in each area mentioned above, however, you will increase in confidence and competence and create an environment where you add value to the organization and a need for your personal services.