To quote Shapespeare - "What's in a name?" Being someone who has an unusually spelled name, I'm in a position to answer that. What's in a name? Everything! It's MY name. It's not spelled Kelly or Kellee or Kellie, it's spelled Kelle. I know it's phonetically stupid. I've had long discussions with my mother on this exact topic. But, nonetheless, whether you like it or not, it is the way that it's spelled.
And yet, often I get emails from people who are trying to sell me something or ingratiate themselves in some way to me and these people have mispelled my name. Sometimes they've even done it in response to something I've emailed them - so my name is there for them, right on the same page. Now, does this mean that I won't do business with them? No. But I do take note that they do not have attention to detail, that they are clearly not being conscious as they write their note to me, otherwise they would have taken the time to notice how I spell my name. It gives me pause. It tells me that we are not on the same page in the way we view customer/client service.
How many of your clients are getting mail from you that looks like this? How often do you stop to check the way you spelled someone's name? I'm of the opinion that it's better to do without a greeting at all than to mispell the client's name (although I don't recommend dispensing with greetings). I know it's a small thing in practice, but it's more significant than we realize. If you address your letter to Kellee, you're not talking to me. I pay less attention - because clearly you did.
Our names are how we define ourselves in the world. Don't insult the recipient of your email by slaughtering their personal identifier. It's just bad form.
Kelle Sparta is the author of The Consultative Real Estate Agent - Building Relationships that Create Loyal Clients, Get More Referrals, and Increase Your Sales, as well as being a speaker and trainer specializing in the real estate industry. Kelle is the founder of Sparta Success Systems, a real estate training company that provides tools, products, and training to empower agents and brokers to create lives and businesses they can love. For more information, visit her website at http://www.spartasuccess.com/. © 2007, Kelle Sparta.
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