Gwyneth contacted me to arrange a telephone appointment for her employer, a potential vendor or strategic partner. She wrote an excellent letter, shown below, and I would gladly have arranged to talk if time permitted. My reply follows her letter: this is one way to say no, without actually saying no, because few people ever follow up after 90 days. They should, but they don't.
From: Gwyneth Rogers
Sent: Thursday, January 06, 20— 1:02 PM
To: Willilam S. Frank
Subject: 15-minute phone call with Wayland Keppel
Dear Bill:
My name is Gwyneth Rogers. I work for Wayland Keppel at eCareer Publishing. As you know, we've been trying to reach you to determine a good time for you and Wayland to speak.
So that we don't play phone tag, Wayland asked me to follow up on his email to you and to schedule a 15-minute phone conversation between the two of you.
I will be contacting your office in the next day or so to confirm a convenient time for a scheduled call. However, if you have your calendar handy it may be easier to simply reply to this message with a couple of time slots that would work for you.
Wayland is on Eastern Standard Time and will try to make himself available at your convenience. I will in turn reply with a final confirmation.
Feel free to call me or reply to this email, whichever is most convenient. I may also try to reach you by phone in the next day or so to firm up a time.
Have a great day!
Sincerely,
Gwyneth Rogers
Administrative Assistant
eCareer Publishing
Thanks, Gwyneth,
I am overcommitted right now and can't talk to Wayland. If you'll put me on your calendar and check with me in 90 days, things may have improved.
Thanks for contacting me.
Best wishes,
:B