ou've been polishing your image for months, making sure the first impression you leave with people is that of a knowledgeable, competent sales professional. Your cold-calling skills are sharpened and you are motivated and ready to hit the streets. You set your appointments and are getting ready to send out an e-mail message to your prospects. You write a brilliant message and send it off. But how will your prospects respond to correspondence from ilovebarney@yahoo.com?

Many people forget that the address they use for their e-mail is another reflection of their business. Some of us have set up personal e-mail accounts and have chosen names that reflect our personalities or interests. A number of these names are tongue-in-cheek or just sarcastic. This might be the first contact you have with some of your clients, and you certainly don't want to give the wrong impression.

Just as you have dressed up your home address either by using an alternate address such as a "suite" at the local Mail Depot or renaming your apartment building as a business park, you should consider an alternate e-mail address for your business. This is not as daunting a task as it may seem. Different options are readily available and quite affordable.

Ideally, you will have a domain name for your company and can set up e-mail through this. It is easy for your contacts to remember an e-mail address that contains both your name and your company's name (John.Doe@ABCWidgets.com). They might not associate your hobby with you and your business if your address is basketballnut@aol.com. Make it easy for prospects to contact you and keep your e-mail address somewhat intuitive.

If you have not set up your own domain, it might be an expense to consider. You first need to register a domain name. The cost for this service is approximately $15-35 per year. Next, you will need to find a hosting service. A quick search on the Internet will yield numerous companies to choose from. If you are just going to use your domain for e-mail, the cost for hosting should be about $10-15 per month.

Even if you choose to not set up your own domain, it is much more professional to use your name with your current e-mail account than a nickname. Most ISPs (Internet Service Providers) allow you to set up more than one mailbox. Choose a name that incorporates either your company name or your own name.

If the name you prefer is taken, try another variation. For example, if your name is Susan Smith, you can try:

smith@msn.com

susansmith@msn.com

ssmith@msn.com

smithsusan@msn.com

smiths@msn.com

If none of these is available, add a special character to the name. One of the more common characters to add is the underscore. For example:

susan_smith@msn.com

Whichever option you choose, you can be sure that the image you are creating is professional. You now have a credible address to use to correspond with your prospects and clients. Save the other name for friends and family.