Grant Directory users are ready to buy Yellow Pages have a major advantage over all other forms of advertising. It’s used precisely when people have decided to buy. They open the directory to check out options and sources. The directory doesn’t create their desire, but assists in finding the products and services they want. A typical telephone directory has 18,000 display ads – a recipe for sensory overload. Even within any category, readers encounter page after page of look-alikes, all jammed together. So it’s easy for advertisers to get overlooked. Catching the reader’s attention is tough – unless your ad differs from the others in ways that matter to readers. Find out how to get more mileage from your ad at http://www.yellowpagesage.com a smarter way to attract Yellow Page customers.

The ideal Yellow Page ad provides the answers readers want to find A great ad provides the connection between what buyers expect to learn before buying AND what your particular business offers. The more precisely a business understands its customers’ frame of mind, the better it anticipates and answers their questions. It can provide specifics, instead of the general phrases appearing in every competitors’ ads.

Avoid these common reasons why directory ads fail, so you get more mileage from your ad dollars. And a higher percentage of callers and sales.

1. Fails to provide the information directory users want Information trumps images and expensive extras, like color. Readers are looking for specific answers. Use your ad space delivering them. Words provide persuasion’s heavy lifting. If your message applies equally to the other ads around yours, you haven’t sharpened it enough. Keep honing the copy until it embodies why people prefer YOU.
2. Fades into background – doesn’t get noticed While larger ads can be overlooked, smaller ads have to work harder for the same shot at being noticed. Overlooked ads cost just as much as chosen ones. The solution isn’t about changing the size, but focusing the words to match what readers want to know. It comes down to saying something unique and relevant to them.
3. Treats the business name or logo like a benefit It isn’t. That’s probably the least relevant information, as far as directory users are concerned. Yellow Pages aren’t the way to build name recognition. But if you’ve already developed name recognition in other ways, you have a major chance of getting called.
4. Inconvenient business location Half of all users scan for location before actually reading the ads’ information. They only pay attention to businesses that are convenient (within driving distance) and easy to find. (That distance varies depending on the product or service.) So make sure your location is prominent and findable (maybe a map). Or compensate for an undesirable location with house calls or free delivery.
5. Expects more than an ad could possibly deliver This problem isn’t about the ad, but the advertiser’s frame of mind. There’s too much hype and biased statistics about what the directory can deliver. New businesses, especially, have unrealistic expectations. The longer a business is in operation, the less impact their listing has upon drawing new business.
6. Treats the Yellow Pages like a stand-alone marketing method It works best for getting new customers, to capture the “undecideds.” But relying on mostly new business is an inefficient way to operate. An enterprise also needs repeat customers and referrals to balance out the high financial and effort costs necessary to keep attracting new ones. Therefore, a business needs a variety of strategies to keep, as well as find, buyers.
7. Trusts ad size and placement to do the work Industry statistics show that larger ads and those toward the front of the category get more calls. But that over simplifies what makes people choose a particular ad. If an ad doesn’t fit the reader’s preferences or match what they’re looking for, it will be passed by (whatever its size).
8. Looks like the rest Too bad if your ad doesn’t capture the eye in the two seconds it passed by – then landed somewhere else. That’s all the attention most ads get. Look-alike ads were probably done for free by directory employees. They follow standardized guidelines and templates without much variation. And they don’t have a clue about what’s special about your operation. That’s not the best way to go.
9. Fails to track the calls so you know why people call No getting around it, if you don’t keep track of customers you can’t tell how they find you. Or what’s working (or not). Logging the source of new business shows how much credit to give to the Yellow Pages (or other marketing efforts).
10. Callers can’t get information they want That ad did its job fine. But the customer still got away because the call wasn’t answered or desired information wasn’t forthcoming. Fielding calls effectively is crucial because unsatisfied callers just call the next ad. Develop a strategy that covers all your bases An attention-grabbing Yellow Page ad doesn’t just happen. The business needs to back it up with additional promotion to get more than their share of calls. But when the directory works together with other marketing effort, they all do better.

©2004, Lynella Grant

–Dr. Lynella Grant, an expert in visual communication. How printed materials send signals that strengthen or undo the words. Author, The Business Card Book & Yellow Page Smarts http://www.yellowpagesage.com Off the Page Press (719) 395-9450

Is there ever a wrong time to try to get free publicity for your company, product, or service?

Oh, yeah.

The “wrong” time isn’t just about bad days of the week, like Monday morning, or bad times of the year, like Christmas Eve.

The wrong time I’m referring to is more internal.

Let’s say you’re almost finished with your web site. It will be up next week, and you’re almost ready to start taking orders. Is that the time to send out a press release? After all, everything will be ready by the time the press release hits. And you do want to get your press release out as early as possible so you can capitalize on the free traffic.

Don’t do it. Do not, under any circumstances, send out a press release before you have everything in place and have tested it at least three times.

Just recently I was going to send out a release about one of my sites, but decided to wait until I’d made a minor change to the report signup form.

That “minor” change threw my entire web site into disarray and it took over five hours to get it back up. This was a live web site. I had to put up a “technical difficulties” note and work non-stop to fix the problem.

Fortunately, I had not sent out the press release, and it was a Sunday evening, New Year’s Day in fact, so traffic was slow, and most people are understanding if you put up a note saying, “It’s 6:31. I know about the problem and I’ll have it fixed tonight. The site still works, it just looks funky.”

That is, they’re understanding IF you haven’t just put out a press release stating that your cool new site is ready.

A couple of days is not going to matter in terms of long-term traffic. A big, visible mistake on your web site could matter a lot, if you’re pushing traffic to it with a press release.

Just don’t put out your press release until you’re sure you’re ready. That’s the only right time to send a press release.

Angie Dixon is a professional press release writer. Get a copy of her free report, “Articles: A Dead Marketing Tool?” at http://www.xpressreleases.com.

Link together both of people’s topmost pursuits and you’ll track down a rage that’s termed a sportsbook. Well, what could believably be more inventive… If you imagine a set of lads rooting for a given favorite local sports club, and constantly antes are arranged to complement the commotion. So very keen to get a share of the action, spectators routinely attempt to figure out who is most likely to win in the impending match. All this eventually turns into a nice little match titled sportsbook.

Sure, it is bound to seem to be addictive, though in fact sports wagering is really merely entertaining and to relate with fellow sports aficionados. You can wager a an insignificant sum of moolah and nevertheless enjoy an amazing time. Beyond this, here are a group of tips to get going sports wagering. In order to bet, you’ll want to look up a sportsbook, i.e. a setup which admits sportsbook. In America, there’s a total of no less than four states to do sports wagering officially, but beyond legal you can go for it anyplace so long as you can find a bookie AND happen to be of legal age. Included among the sports competitions you can bet money on are pro outside of college league football & college level basketball, professional hockey, professional hockey, outside of horse and dog racing. Punters may choose to risk money on the whole results of a competition, on what round a given competitor will be vanquished, and even whether a given tossed coin in a competition will come out either heads or tails.

Sportsbooks

The bookmakers put their face in statistical mathematics to help you out establish which sports club you deem is most likely to win. First, you’ll see spread, i.e. specific points leverage pertaining to a losing contestant expected to be beaten by a set number points. This describes the bookmaker’s acknowledged style of enabling evenhanded wagers for a Sports Book. For example, a customer may wager on a side expected to be beaten and and nevertheless make money on that bet so long as the contestant actually loses by a set number of points. You’ll find plenty of so many differing varieties of wagers– straight bets, where you have to choose the side which you guess will prevail or lose, teaser wagers, and many more, the straight being the best known in sports wagering.

So why not give it a go, and have lots of fun as well… But determine that you won’t get too carried away and squander your entire income on a conceit… After all you might find yourself filled with remorse till the end of your life…

PERFECT LOVE

When that which is perfect is come
Then that which is in part
Shall be done away with
The fullness of love
Once it is found
Overwhelms and increasingly abounds
Bringing indescribable joy
Pleasures full of glory
As God above
Rewrites your love story

Filled to overflowing
With innumerable blessings
Immeasurable expressions
A love that cannot be contained
Certainly such a feeling
None can adequately explain
Neither can intellects disdain.
Such a love
Which surpasses knowledge
And is full of surprises
With the power of the resurrection
It continually and mightily arises
Suddenly showing itself
Like the Spirit from above
Moving gently like a dove
Then appearing as unquenchable fire
Filling with uncontrollable desire

Such a feeling arises
When I’m with you
I need not to think
I know what to do
My heart is gripped
My soul fully employed
My faculties glued
My senses awakened
My world enlarged
My energy charged
Carefree as the wind
Riding the waves of my emotions
Tranquil as a peaceful river
Joyous as a flowing fountain
Ready at a moments notice
To scale any mountain
To cross any sea
To be with the love of my life
Through whom I see

Through you I see clearer
Through you I hear more
Through you I feel deeper
I’m gripped to the core

Spreading my wings like an eagle
Fearlessly bold
Able to roar like a lion
And shed tears young or old
Childlike in faith
Not holding back
Standing steadfast and strong
When under attack
Throwing caution to the wind
Eliminating excessive reasoning or spin
Realizing you are my breathe of life
And beside you I always win!

Happily ready
To get rid of the old
And make room for the new
For heaven above
Has shined brightly upon you!
Countless synchronicities
Have already occurred
Surprising my soul
Enlarging me beyond measure
Captivated entirely by you
My priceless dear treasure

You make me inwardly whole
To me none can compare
With the glory I see in you
For this reason I declare
My heart is for you
Whatever I must do
To prove myself to
That you I may woo
Satisfactorily without rue

Though trials may come
And tribulations arise
All will be well
When I look into your eyes.
For such a love
Truly I have never felt
As I do for you
You are more precious
Than life itself
My dream come true!

Amazing love
How can it be
That God above
Would so favor me
Giving me such a prized opportunity
To be a steward of your love
To cherish every moment
Treasure every experience
Hold dear every tear
Marvel in each new year
Serve you in innumerable ways
Bless you all my days
Surprise you by what I write and say
Love you each and every day

Imperfect as I am
The love within my heart
Remains flawless and perfect
For you my darling
The agape of God
Upon which no demon can trod
No demoralizing occurrence defeat
Joined together in such love
We shall not be beat
Nor ever repeat
The sorrows of yesterday
For a new day has dawned
The Son is shining
The hosts of heaven
Going before us and aligning
Our present and future
For the best is yet to come
As we yield
To the inner workings of the Spirit
Love’s perfection shall fully come
To saturate every area of our lives
To put an end to incessant strife
Familial frustration and division
Thwarted dreams and soulish screams
For the best is yet to come
As we lift high the banner of love
And with it wholeheartedly run
Manifesting His love in our own lives
Then carrying it to the nations
This perfect love
Will rearrange all situations
Bringing heaven to earth
Giving new birth
Divine design
Dream fulfillment
Causing every skeptic to be silenced
And all to hear it!

So arise my love
Come away
And draw nearer now
Let perfect love show you how
Trust your heart
Feed your faith
Starve your doubts and fears
For this is your God given year
A year of appointment
A year of anointing
A year of arising
A year of destiny unfolding

Perfect love is rushing toward thee
In numerous ways
Open your arms wide
Lift up your eyes
Trust in Christ within thee
And do not despise
What the God within
Is capable of accomplishing
Reorchestrating
Repositioning
Realigning
Refining
Reflourishing
Rebuilding
And renewing
For perfect love and thy destiny
Is simultaneously brewing
Breaking forth
Shaking thy world
Both within and without
For as it was with the children of Israel
Enslaved in Egypt
God is bringing you out
Into a wealthy place
Into a dwelling place
Where your heart can take rest
And you can arise
To be your best!

So get ready my love
The God of heaven has spoken
His word for you remains true
And shall not be broken
Perfect love is fearless
It never fails
And in comparison to it
All else pales.

This is your finest hour
An hour of love, wisdom and power
A season of suddenlies from heaven
Full of remarkable blessings
Countless lessons
Insightful instruction
But most of all
Perfect love’s invitation.

by Paul Davis – poet and prophet

Paul Davis is author of Breakthrough for a Broken Heart a book telling us “How to overcome disappointments and blossom into your dreams!” He is a minister, life coach (relational & professional), dating expert, popular worldwide keynote speaker, creative consultant, humor being, adventurer, explorer, mediator, liberator and dream-maker.

Paul’s compassion for people & passion to travel has taken him to over 50 countries of the world where he has had a tremendous impact. Paul has also brought revival to many in war-torn, impoverished and tsunami stricken regions of the earth. His nonprofit organization Dream-Maker Ministries is building dreams and breaking limitations.

Paul’s Breakthrough Seminars inspire, revive, awaken, impregnate with purpose, impart the fire of desire, catapult people into a new level of self-awareness, facilitate destiny discovery and dream fulfillment.

Paul can be contacted at: RevivingNations@yahoo.com – 407-967-7553 or 407-282-1745.

For additional info:
http://www.CreativeCommunications.TV

http://www.BreakthroughSeminars.org
http://www.DreamMakerMinistries.com

Marital toys are superb; dildos are one thing that won?t ever have a a moan spending minutes with yourself until it gets you off. Sexual toys have been all over for decades, from the cucumber in the olden times through to the sensational and advanced marital toys available online today.

If you yourself feel that your xxx life is in need of some urgent attention then vibrators are just the trick to add that extra spice you yourself are looking for. You might use sensual toys with your girlfriend or on your own and the sexy fun is endless, just use your sexual fantasies. Hit the right spot with G Spot Massagers from Sex Bomb.

At times it will seem that sensual aids are only produced for females, well if you have ever been to a huge sex e-tailer you yourself would happen upon many dildos for guys. Sex stores stock everything from penis sleeves to penis pumps. Boys sometimes think embarrassed about getting sensual aids for themselves, though with the world wide web now readily available to every one of us you might well save any embarrassment and buy online and get a penis ring dispatched in plain packaging. If you don?t know which sex toy to use first you can forever chat or write to the customer service guys for their marital aid guidance.

People often ask me if I think they have what it takes to be an entrepreneur. There is no “one size fits all” quality. Entrepreneurs each have strengths in different areas. Some of them are amazing operators who make remarkable things happen on a limited budget. Others are geniuses in their area of expertise and they transform their entire industry. Still others have a knack for finding a hole in an existing market and successfully exploiting it to turn a profit.

Some of the most successful entrepreneurs I have seen are re-arrangers. They take existing solutions (sometimes from other industries) and they apply them in new ways/scenarios to create value.

If I were forced to pick one quality that is indicative of success in business it would be this ability to find new uses for existing solutions. Far too many people believe that you need to have the next big idea in order to start your own business. That is not true. It is equally effective to apply an old idea to the next big problem. Here is an example:

As part of one of my previous jobs I ran an apartment cleaning business. We cleaned over 1000 apartments in New York City. As part of a larger company, we had specific standards we were required to follow (in order to maintain brand integrity). One of these standards was that our apartments would not only be clean, they would be “hospital clean”. This required us to use cleaning products that were specifically developed for us. Theses products cleaned well and killed germs better than any other chemicals on the market. The challenge for our operations team was that our apartments were in many different buildings scattered all over the five boroughs of New York. The cleaning staff was required to travel (via public transportation) from location to location. How could they transport their tools and cleaning supplies from place to place?

The answer came from a trip to the airport. Roller-boards (suitcases on wheels) had been used by business travelers for years. We purchased a few pieces of luggage and adapted them to our challenge. Within eight weeks we had refined this idea to the point where the cleaning staff could carry the supplies they needed in a rolling bag the size of a large briefcase. This “lightening bolt” struck when one of our operations managers was taking a relative to the airport. Everyone was pulling their own bags – even children. These bags would have been too heavy for them to carry on their own if they didn’t have wheels. He thought to himself, “that’s what we need”.

Sharpening this skill takes practice. Here are three ways to begin to develop your powers of rearrangement.

View each problem as mutually exclusive. Many times we complicate situations before we solve them. Take apart each situation and you will discover several smaller issues that can readily be rectified. Each small issue you resolve will have implications. Sometimes these will take you in a slightly different direction than you expected. See if you can still get to the desired end result even though you are heading down a new path.

Start at the end result and work backwards. Too often people get caught up in solving a problem in a particular fashion. Identify the desired end result first then think about it deeply. As you reflect upon the end result begin to list the different ways to achieve it. List everything – even the processes you view as “crazy”. This will help you expand your thinking to the point where you might just apply an old solution to a new problem.

Bring in people who know nothing. Many big businesses use “cross functional teams” to solve problems. This is nothing more than bringing in people from other parts of the business to look at the situation with a fresh set of eyes. You should do the same thing in your business. Ask your accountant to look at your distribution system. Ask your attorney to take a shot at solving your customer traffic issue. Talk to your UPS delivery person about your fleet management concerns. Good ideas come from many different places. You may not receive the exact answer you are looking for, but you could receive some clues that will get you to the end result.

In the end, starting a business requires solving a million little problems (and a few big ones). Successful entrepreneurs are energized by this process. You can develop the skills of the re-arranger. All it takes is an open mind and the desire to succeed.

David Lorenzo has more than 20 years of business experience as a successful corporate executive, entrepreneur, strategist, author, and speaker. He has worked with and mentored some of the world’s most successful businesspeople while helping lead many large organizations to unprecedented success. His latest book is titled: Career Intensity: Business Strategy for Workplace Warriors and Entrepreneurs.

Mr. Lorenzo’s experience in starting new business enterprises and repositioning under-performing business units, along with his ability to implement innovative performance improvement solutions, makes him one of today’s most sought-after trusted advisors.

Mr. Lorenzo is a participant in the Wharton Fellows Program at the University of Pennsylvania, a management think tank that meets regularly to analyze and address timely business issues. He received his MBA from the Lubin School of Business at Pace University, and he received a Masters of Science in Strategic Communications from Columbia University in New York City.

Dave’s blog is http://www.careerintensity.com/blog

Seasonal MLM Recruiting.

That is a very powerful concept in MLM.

Are you aware of it?

Network Marketing Seasonal Recruiting. HOT CONCEPT!

It is when a particular season in the year can bring an awareness of something that timing may be bad for in other parts of the year.

Like right now.

Right now, one thing is especially on people’s minds:

Change.

It is the new year, and for the next 6 weeks or so, many people will be looking to make changes and to not repeat last year, this year! And it is a wonderful recruiting time, and you hold what we call a ‘Seasonal Conversation’ with folks.

The Secret to A Network Marketing Business in 2006.

We all know that the secret to this Network Marketing business is EFFECTIVE CONVERSATION. We have been teaching that for 19 years. As well as effective Communication. We are in the business of Communicating with people, and you can hold a ‘Conversation of Change’ with people right now that will go hand in glove with their thinking.

It is a fact that the first of the year that athletic clubs get a flood of memberships that last for maybe 60-90 days, and rarely seen again. That is human nature. But you can help people keep that change in their life, whether they want more money, freedom, time, security, control, or whatever.

How?

By asking some simple questions and making some statements during a conversation.

The MLM Business Building Concept.

INFERNO SECRET:

Turn a Conversation into an MLM Business Building Tool.

When you are chatting with someone, here are some ‘MLM Magnetic Questions(tm)’ you can ask:

1)’What about last year are you not going to repeat this year?’

2)’In one word, how would you describe last year?’

3)’What kind of New years resolution do you have for 2006?’

4)’What would be the one thing you would want to change this coming year in your life?’

5)’What kind of raise do you think you will get in 2006? Why so little?’

6)’All I have heard lately is, I am not going to let this year be like last year. Thank God it’s over. How about you?’

7)’You looking to change anything this year about your life? Why?’

8)’How would it impact you and your family to have the best year financially this year than you have had in a long while with a home based business?’

9) ‘What are your plans for 2006? Any changes? What about financially?’

10) ‘What kind of year do you want to have in 2006? What is going to be different?’

Success Possibilities in Direct Sales and MLM.

This will lead you into a ‘Conversation of Success Possibilities’ with you and your potential prospect, and push a Hot Button that may be cooler the end of February.

After the question or statement:

‘You know, I have run across something that is going to help me create the change in my life this year I have always looked for, and I am not sure, but it possibly could help you. When can we chat? I may need your help as a friend.’

If you are going to be talking to folks anyway, why not do some ‘Seasonal Recruiting?’

This is the season for CHANGE.

I suggest you might change what you are doing and talk to people about what is on their mind, and what they want to:

CHANGE.

One of the best ways to change your life in 2006 is MLM and Network Marketing.

blessings…doug

(c) 2005/ all rights reserved PassionFire Intl

Doug Firebaugh is one of the top MLM Network Marketing Trainers in the world. Over a million people a month
read his training ezine. He spent the last 7 years traveling the world speaking and training on Success.
He lives in Birmingham Michigan, and you can receive a FREE subscription to his training ezine- The MLM
Success HEAT- at:
http://www.passionfire.com/pf_heat_9.html and
http://www.passionfire.com

Strangely the Samsung i640 never sold particularly well, which is a pity as it is a very nice little phone. For the money the Samsung i640 is reasonably well featured. With the i640 Samsung have produced a good all rounder intended to be appropriate for a very broad range of users.

For a mobile handset in this class, in terms of weight, the Samsung i640 scores well against its competitors at 148 g. In terms of colours the i640 is only available in Silver. The Samsung i640 has support for 2G GSM 900 / 1800 / 1900 and 3G HSDPA 2100. A 2 MP, 1600×1200 pixels, video; secondary VGA videocall is integrated into this mobile phone camera. A WAP 2.0/xHTML, HTML, RSS feeds compatible browser is also included. In terms of the the display the mobile phone is fitted with a 2.4 inch screen, which is a pretty average size display taking into consideration what else you can get for the money. The display is a TFT, 65K colors. The Samsung i640 is has bluetooth, meaning it very easy to integrate with devices, like hands free sets or even a music system. The battery shipped with the i640 is a Li-Ion 1000 mAh. The Samsung i640 has a battery life of 250 hrs reserve time and talk time of 6:00. Polyphonic (40 channels), MP3 ring-tones are enabled on the Samsung i640 as well as a vibrating tone. Additional features of the Samsung i640 include:

The i640 is one of the most recent mobile handsets, however it remains possible to find a bargain on this mobile phone. The most popular place to buy a mobile today is on the Internet. Shopping online can allow you to take advantage of significant cost savings, incredibly it is possible to get a Samsung i640 with 100% cashback , which, in theory should not cost a penny.

So how did you do? Really. No “nicey nicey” banal comments please on how it was “great”. What really worked – and why? And what really didn’t work – and why not? What role did you have? In the success? In the failures?

After a project or an event, it’s rare that anyone, either individually or as a team, sits down to reflect on what has unfolded.

Ironically, the learning from an event comes primarily from the debrief rather than from the event itself. That’s worth repeating because it is so profound and so often overlooked: the learning from an event comes primarily from the debrief rather than from the event itself.

It’s a delicate art to conduct a retrospective that’s powerful and useful and not a destructive critique.

Most of us don’t bother with a post-event analysis. But even when we do, they can be painfully horrible affairs: a combination of passive-aggressive politeness with no one willing to mention the “dead moose” (or “dead elephant” or “dead kangaroo”, depending on your country of origin) that is in the room. (For those unfamiliar with the phrase, we’re talking about the thing that’s big and rotten and getting in the way of everything).

An After Action Review (AAR) is focused primarily on learning and building community. It is founded on two related principles:

• This is not to judge success or failure (and hence apportion blame) but rather the focus is on what can be learned for moving forward.

• There’s a belief (what Norman Kerth calls the Prime Directive) that regardless of what’s discovered, the participants understand and truly believe that everyone did the best job they could, given what they knew at the time, their skills and abilities, the resources available, and the situation at hand.

With that in place, there are five simple and profound questions to ask.

1. What did you intend?

• This can be a simple restatement of your objectives. What were you trying to achieve?

2. What happened?

• This is useful for just getting a sense of what really happened. You can rest assured that your perspective of events is only one of the versions.

• The objective here is to collect both “the facts” (such as costs, number of people involved, figures, etc) and differing opinions on what worked and didn’t work, what circumstances influenced what happened, and other factors.

• When commenting on others’ roles, capture specific behavioural events (what they did, what they said) rather than your conclusion about what they did (X did a poor job because…).

3. What can we learn about it?

• There will be different levels of learning here, from the very specific (“don’t wear Brand X socks – they give you blisters”) to the more abstract (“this project wasn’t close enough to my life purpose for me to be motivated”).

• Don’t forget to ask here “what did we do well that we need to discuss or else it will be forgotten?” It’s very easy to jump to “the mistakes”. It’s most powerful to start with what’s been working.

• Capture also “what still puzzles us?” You won’t be able to figure everything out. Be explicit about what it is that still is a mystery.

4. What should we do differently next time?

• This is powerful because it plants seeds for the “next time” conversation. Without these seeds, we default back to a collective memory of “this is how we do things around here” which most often does not capitalize on the collected wisdom.

5. What should we do now?

• There may well be actions to take right now: things to do, people to connect with.

• As with all actions, set up accountability: what will be done, by whom and by when.

Something to Practice:

Look back on a recently completed project or event. It might be a family holiday. It might be a project at work. It might be a date with your girlfriend or boyfriend. Thinking about what happened, write down your answers to these five questions:

What did you intend?

What actually happened?

What did you learn?

What will you do differently in the future?

What should you do now?

If you’re feeling bolder, invite the others involved in the process and have the conversation with them as well.

Michael Bungay Stanier is the author of Get Unstuck & Get Going …on the stuff that matters. A certified coach and Rhodes Scholar, he offers coach training as well as business coaching. Visit:http://www.getunstuckandgetgoing.com

The most important thing about your donation
thank-you letters is not what you say or how you
say it but
how quickly you say it.

According to Stephen Hitchcock in Open
Immediately!, for many donors, a brief thank-you
note pre-printed with just the amount and date of
the gift can be more effective than long-winded
thank-you letters that arrive long after the donor
mailed you a gift.

Your gift acknowledgement notes and cards need to
leave your office within 48 hours of receiving a
donor’s gift. Never take longer than a week. You
need to be prompt with your gratitude for a number
of reasons.

1. Being prompt is being polite. We all like dealing
with people who are thankful

2. Your donors need to be reminded that they made
the right decision in sending you a gift. They have
many choices about where they can send their
charitable donations. You need to remind them that
their donation to your organization was the right
choice. The longer you take to send that message,
the less likely donors are to feel a kinship with your
mission (and give again).

3. One of the prime reasons that donors lapse (stop
giving) is that they feel unappreciated. The easiest
way to show your appreciation is to thank your
donors quickly, appropriately and enthusiastically.

A word about thanking major donors
Donors who send you particularly large gifts in the
mail deserve a phone call or a personal visit. Which
usually causes a problem with promptness. These
donors are usually flagged, taken out of the daily
receipting and thank-you process, and placed in a
to-do pile for later follow up by the executive
director,
director of advancement or the person who signed
the fundraising letter that prompted the gift.

And that’s where the problem arises. Donors who are
taken out of the regular thank-you system tend to
be thanked in person, eventually, but much later
than is ideal. I recommend that you follow the advice
of Stanley Weinstein. In his book, Complete Guide
to
Fundraising Management, Stanley recommends
including major donors in your usual gift
acknowledgement process. Mail them the same
thank-you letter, note or card that you send to
everyone
else. That way they are thanked promptly. Then
follow up with a more personal thank you note
(perhaps hand-written), a phone call or a personal
visit.

New Handbook shows you how
Need help with writing terrific thank-you letters?
Read Boost Your Revenues and Donor Loyalty with
Effective Donation Thank-You Letters. The fifth
Handbook in the Hands-On Fundraising Series
features tips on common mistakes to avoid, a
line-by-line analysis of a donation thank-you letter,
and a
helpful list of things you can show your gratitude for
other than the gift alone. If you need to master the
art of writing the single most important letter in
direct mail fundraising, this new Handbook is for you.
It’s available for immediate download. Learn more by clicking the link below.

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About the author
Alan Sharpe is a professional fundraising letter writer, instructor and mentor who helps non-profit organizations raise funds, build relationships and retain loyal donors using creative fundraising letters. Learn more about his services, view free sample fundraising letters, and sign up for free weekly tips like this at http://www.RaiserSharpe.com.