Be professional - ALWAYS! Even in writing

I recently posted about writing with proper grammar and spelling. It caused quite a stir so I decided to put some of my thoughts into an article!

Here are a few examples of recent correspondence I have received from individuals whom I have NEVER been in contact with previously:

"Pls call me ty"

"Pls sent my administrator 'BHD' Investments at gmail.com. Regards"

"Huge revenue will get...connect end investors"

Ever get messages like those? And you think, "Wow. They feel so comfortable that they message me in short-hand" or "I'd love to do business with people who write with improper grammar or incomprehensible words!"

It's great that we're all so comfortable and busy! Who has time to write long emails? Who has time to actually write three sentences about why the person should call you? Or who has time to do a grammar and spellcheck before pressing 'send'?

But here's the thing. The person you're writing to is also super busy! So if they don't know why they're calling or emailing you back, it's really hard to gauge timing. Which makes them schedule you for later. And later might not come. At least not today. Or tomorrow.

If you'd like someone to call you, or reach out to you by email, please be thoughtful. Take an extra minute to explain the nature of your business. It will give them a better sense of how to fit the call/email into their schedule, determine that it is a wise investment of their time, and be able to give you their full attention.

And by the way, it looks a lot more professional and you're taken more seriously when you actually spell out the words and use complete sentences.

What do you do to maintain your professionalism in an ever-growing text-friendly world?