 If you've ever asked yourself why a meeting planner isn't getting back to you after you've sent them this email, it might be as simple as you didn't have a clear enough email signature. I've seen some doozies over the years and we're going to talk about how to clean up your email signature so that meeting planners can find you. Hey there, it's Leanne from leancolderwood.com and an email signature you think would be simple enough to put together, to foot any message that you send out to anyone, but it's amazing how many email signatures are missing some critical pieces of information so that when someone receives an email they actually find it difficult to reference where it is that you're writing from or how to get a hold of you in response. So I'm going to talk about some doozies I've seen over the years and of course how you can clean up your own email signature. There might be some of you who work for a brand or an organization out there that has a mandated format to set up your email signature. Before you make any changes to your signature, make sure that you're referring to your own brand's standards to ensure that you're in line with that. And hopefully if your brand has done it correctly, it does indeed include all the critical components of a great email signature already. First off, ensure your email signature has both your first and your last name on it. I know some people choose an abbreviated first name email signature, especially if it's in response to something. Please ensure that your last name is on even those abbreviated emails, especially if you have a common name and it would be easy for a planner to get you confused with another person by the same name. You may also want to add your designation at the end of your name. So for example, if you've gone through the CMP program, make sure that the CMP designation is behind your name. Some people might not find value in it, but I think other CMPs would see a lot of value in it. So have a designation that has importance in the meetings industry. Make sure you put it behind your name. Ensure that your email signature actually has your organization's name. Now if you work at a hotel and your hotel name isn't clear on what destination you are in, so for example, the Fairmont Empress, it isn't clear from the words Fairmont Empress that this is a hotel in Victoria, BC. So if you're working for the Fairmont Empress, you may also want to include the words Victoria BC somewhere in your email signature. Putting the full address of your organization in the email is also great. It does give people a frame of reference. Again, especially if you're a hotel or a destination, it gives them relative location to other things in that destination. So ensure that your address is in your email signature if you have some room. Make sure your email has your title and if you're servicing a particular market segment, make sure it includes that as well. I suspect your organization has a number of individuals that may be speaking with that meeting planner. So putting your title at least gives the planner a frame of reference of who it is they're talking to and why. It may go without saying, but please include your phone number and email address. I've seen so many email signatures over the years that have forgotten those two critical pieces of information and aside from hitting reply, I have no way of knowing how to get back to that person. The other reason you should include your email signature again is some organizations, the email format itself is not clear on where it is that you work. And a great example of this, if you don't mind me using is Tourism Toronto, their email format is at TORCVB, which is not screaming Tourism Toronto. So putting your email in your email signature again allows people to start to learn that that's how they get a hold of you and not simply just rely on reply all when they're trying to get a hold of you. And finally, if you have room in your email signature, I think there's a great opportunity to put the website of your hotel and your social media handles. Whether those are the handles for you personally or for the hotel, if they reflect you, your brand or your hotel in a professional light, I think you should include them. Now about all those other bits and pieces, now we see a lot of people in their email signature put all kinds of different things in their signature about the accolades of the hotels, about their own accolades, and I think those are perfectly acceptable. Please gauge how much space you have to do that in and ensure that your email signature isn't droning on for half a page. But by all means, I think putting those accolades in your email signature or any other notes that you think are relevant for your audience is a great fit. Now about those emails that you have to send from your iPhone at minimum, make sure that your phone email signature has your name, your phone number, and again your email address at minimum. Now there are some other phone email tips that I would like to cover with you. I know a lot of people have automatically in their email signature on their phone that this was written from an iPhone or excuse the typos, excuse the brevity. If planners have created a culture that they expect you to answer right away 24-7, then that's bad on us. I feel strongly that you should take the time to write an email that's complete and free of typos rather than excusing the typos and have something go out that looks unprofessional. Now if you are in a bind and you are writing emails and have to get them out to your clients right away via your phone, please do so. But ensure that you're checking it for typos, ensure you're taking an extra 20 seconds to add enough content so that it doesn't look like you've done it in a super rush. I think that's going to go a long way in looking more professional than sending super quick one or two word answers and the words, excuse the brevity from your iPhone. I might be alone in this and I actually want to hear from you if I am alone in this. So will you comment on this video below if you think I'm off the mark when talking about email etiquette from your phone? I would love to hear your thoughts on it as well. So while it may seem simple in nature, I think taking a great look at your email signature and making sure it's complete and attractive is it's going to go a long way to help meeting planners remember you. So take some time today to take a quick look at your email signature, polish it up, tidy it up, add some social media handles, make sure it looks great and meeting planners will be able to find you easier. I hope you found this video helpful for more advice on how to communicate with meeting planners. Please check out my website at liankholderwood.com. There you'll find a number of blog posts that speak to the sales and service side of our industry as well as some productivity tips. While you're there, please subscribe to my newsletter and receive those tips and tricks in your inbox every week. Thanks for watching and we'll see you next time. Bye for now.