As an aside, you might make a stronger impact as a real estate professional by using a company domain in your e-mail address, rather than a service-provider's generic label. Instead of the example above, you'd make a better impression with joe.broker@greatbrokers.com. The cost and effort required to set this up are modest.

Remember the attachments

Because your recipients often store attachments to e-mails in a separate location on their computers, it's important to organize and name files in an intuitive and descriptive way. I'd be willing to bet that you've seen an attachment like this: "0596867478.PDF (10MB)." How is that file name useful to anyone? Just like in e-mail subject lines, you should use file names that are clean, clear and consistent.

Further, your recipients need to be able to open the files. The easiest way to accomplish this is to stick with common file formats. Also, when upgrading your software, make sure the new format is backward-compatible -- in other words, your new files will work with the old version of the software (which your recipients may still use). This is a common problem, even with industry-standard product suites.

Also, large files sometimes encounter transmission problems. As broadband capabilities expand, this challenge disappears, but anything you can do to keep file sizes small helps expedite your communications.

In most cases, large files are the result of scanning dozens of pages of documents in one go and creating a single file. Even for recipients who can receive the file, this method requires flipping through the virtual pages to find information. This is inefficient and usually unnecessary. Take just a few minutes to separate the document based on specific information.

Moreover, organizing and naming your attachments in a logical, clear way gives you instant credibility and garners appreciation from recipients. If you have disorganized clients, you make them look good while also increasing the likelihood of fast and accurate responses.

It's worth noting here that it can be overwhelming to receive large amounts of information unexpectedly, even if it's well-organized. A good way to prevent this is to send a brief, introductory e-mail that summarizes the project and notes that more information will follow.

Effective e-mail communication should be easy, but it can nevertheless be difficult to implement. We constantly multitask, and our minds are often distracted. This can lead us into a state of unintentional sloppiness. Carefully considered communication can be rare and refreshing.

Seemingly trivial adjustments to your e-mail communication style can be a catalyst for greater success. Your clients and partners may get better service, and your lenders should appreciate your professionalism.

Erik Svanholm is an underwriting associate with Western Capital Partners LLC, a private, self-funded bridge lender specializing in flexible solutions for challenging situations. Western Capital provides quick-close financing from $750,000 to $7.5 million for a wide range of loan types, including single-family and multifamily residential; land acquisition and entitlement; development; income property; condo-conversion; and distressed property. Svanholm can be reached at esvanholm@gowcp.com or (303) 860-1829. Visit the company's Web site at www.westerncapitalpartners.com.

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