Things that go ring in the night?

The radio ad said the diet doctor gives you his personal email address and cell phone number.

Yeah, right.

For those middle-of-the-night calls you need him, as he talks you out of that raid on the refrigerator. Or perhaps you need to text him, a calorie-burning effort in itself, with a 3 am question. Aw c’mon!

But the concept, if not the reality, is more meaningful when you consider that we are expected to be “on” 24x7x366, accessible by call or text, day or night, weekday or weekend, and that makes us more marketable.

You may not like it, but others may expect it. You can, and should, manage the client’s expectations early on.

Not that you have to accept the call at night or on a weekend–you can let it go to voice mail and listen to it, then answer as appropriate. Or reply to that anxious text with an anticipated time of response. Just follow through.

Don’t relish placing your cell number in your contact details anywhere on the internet? Think again: with only a company phone number (or worse, no number at all!) on your LinkedIn profile, you will certainly be late to reply to that voice mail until you check back into the office, and never see the text they tried to send you. And miss what could be a new opportunity, or one to serve the client in a timely manner, depending on the situation.

Time is of the essence. Be accessible. Be in the (right) moment and be reasonably responsive.

Be sure your cell phone number is in your LinkedIn profile’s Contact Info link.

It should be easy to get a message or text to you. And if not to you, then expect them to contact your competitor.