Attention to detail – does it really matter?

I received a letter in the post this morning which prompted me to put pen to paper or perhaps fingers to keyboard!

I decided to blog, a little off topic and in the middle of the week, as I felt it was a very simple, small thing, but occurring twice in a few weeks meant it had value as a reminder to us all.

Attention to detail is very important especially in a new start up or small business; you only get one chance to impress, so why would you waste it.

Two examples I have personally received in the last few weeks are as follows:

• 
  A letter arrived this morning, enclosing a CV, the letter was hardly readable as the printer had virtually run out of ink , with some lines disappearing completely, the letter was also unsigned and the applicant for a job at my company, stated that they could be “an asset to my school”!
• 
  A few weeks prior to this I received a letter from someone offering me their accountancy services, this company's letter was also poor, in so far as it was printed at an angle, with some words missing (they fell off the page - oh well doesn’t matter!) and once again almost unreadable due to low ink in their printer – I cannot say more as I never even tried to read it, in the bin it went, first impressions were enough.

Both these people have spent time and money researching clients/employers, thinking, compiling, writing, printing and posting their letters and then ensuring a poor response, all that wasted time, effort and money to guarantee a NO.

In today’s difficult climate a yes is hard enough to get, without putting additional barriers in the way.

Both parties have given the recipient the feeling that they do not care enough to check what they are sending out, so would you trust someone with your very valuable assets: your customers or your money.

The person applying for the job may be very good, as might the accountant, but we will never know!

So your one chance to impress 5 minute check list:

1. Check details are correct
2. Spell check the document
3. Check printer ink
4. Check paper in printer is straight
5. Check it over & sign the letter

5 minutes is all it takes to make a big difference to the outcome, attention to detail and pride in what you do does not guarantee you ‘a yes’, but more importantly, it does guarantee that you will not get an instant ‘NO’, so you are in with a chance.

A chance – the door is open
A NO - the door is closed & locked.

So make sure your doors are all open.

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