Love on the rocks.

Parts 1 and 2 have brought us to this stage of my better-bank-deal quest.

Thank you so much for reading and responding!

Today the plot finally crystallises.

Bert

As Sheryl the Specialised Case Manager presaged, Bert the Bank Manager and I had ‘fruitful conversations’ (via email).

Alas, the fruit was small, hard and bitter:

1. No relief on annual or monthly fees.
2. A total annual interest saving of … wait for it … $126.

Barry

I told Barry the Twitter Team Guy.

No response.

Con

Con the Home Loan Officer rang me once more for good measure, but to no effect.

Sheryl

I had an email chat with Sheryl (pleasantries removed to save space):

Hi, Sheryl,

Just thought I’d have a quiet word with you while I deliberate.

Do you feel happy with how this resolution is panning out?

Hi, Paul,

I am only happy if you are.

I can see that Bert is trying his best to assist you but ultimately the decisions will lay with you.

So Paul, are you happy with the way this is panning out?

Having achieved a mere 6.3% of my target saving of $2,000 I feel rather deflated.

I can’t tell whether this is truly the best ABank can do, or whether it’s the best they can do for a ‘little person’ like me.

After all this time and effort and drama, a saving of just $126 per year seems pretty paltry.

It doesn’t really inspire me to forge a 40-year alliance with ABank that showers us both in riches.

I think I may have to wait to see what the Choice initiative comes up with.

If it turns out that you guys really have done the best you can for me, I’ll accept my $126 with grace and apologise humbly for wasting everyone’s time.

If, however, Choice turns up a raft of significantly better deals, I’ll probably feel very let down that you guys couldn’t do likewise for me ahead of time.

Does this description of how I feel make sense to you, Sheryl?

To be honest saving money and discussing lending matters via email is not as effective as a verbal conversation… would you consider a conversation with Bert? This may lead to further options.

I assure you we want to help and we are doing all that we can at this moment. We would love to see you as one of our long term customers so I think it is time for an actual chat. Your thoughts?

As a writer, verbal isn’t my forte.

That’s probably why I’ve failed in all phone and face-to-face discussions to date.

I understand that much business is conducted this way.

I don’t understand why these ‘further options’ can’t be put in print. When I first took my loans, the terms were written in great detail.

Unless, of course, you’re talking about a negotiation – which I find even less desirable.

My readers have been following this story with interest.

As I feel confused and dispirited, I’ll seek their objective advice before getting back to you.

I do realise you’re trying, Sheryl.

I suspect I’m simply unsuited to your systems.

Paul

I’m tired, disheartened and torn.

Should I:

a)    Accept my modest fate.

b)    Battle on via email or Twitter.

c)    Pick up the phone.

d)    Send the wife in.

e)    Turn this into a novel and pay my loans with the proceeds.

f)     Change banks.

g)    Try something else (describe).

Unless you (or Choice) come up with something significant,

this could be …

The End

Paul Hassing, Founder & Senior Writer, The Feisty Empire

Where have all the comments gone?

We love hearing what you have to say, and stories you might have, so fear not, you’re still able to comment!  We’ve moved the party over to our new place, The Pulse.  Come and join the conversation on this post here.

All this hit my letter box in just two days!

I must get a proper NO JUNK MAIL sign.

Each time my home-made one falls off, I have a Brazil moment.

Someone, somewhere, must benefit from this bumf.

But who?!

• Client companies?
• Ad agencies?
• Graphic designers?
• Printers?
• Paper mills?
• Plantation foresters?
• Walkers?
• Dogs?
• Customers?
• Australia Post?

Certainly not me. How about you?

Do you like receiving unsolicited print advertising?

Is (or was) it part of your business marketing mix?

Captive Audience

Keep Australia Beautiful and Eco Voice want us to read catalogues online

A fine idea. So far, they have … six.

Either it’s early days, or we really like ads in our letter box.

I’ve heard older people look forward to them as bona fide reading materials.

Perhaps the appeal is more widespread.

Perhaps I’m missing the point.

Here’s Australia Post’s take, with a handy link to Do Not Mail.

I wish they cared as much about their rubber bands.

My Do Not Fax registration ran out recently, but that’s another story.

Sign of the Times

With regard to stickers, I could move to Willougby where they’re giving ‘em away.

Maybe NO JUNK MAIL is too terse.

Perhaps I should go with the softer No Advertising Material Please.

I wonder if it makes a difference.

Boxed in

In one of my lean years, I tried a casual brochure delivery job.

By faithfully obeying NO JUNK MAIL signs, I had many brochures left over.

The distribution firm:

• Accused me of not doing my job.
• Ordered me to ignore the signs.
• Threatened to do spot checks in my territory.

When I later found great bundles of fliers dumped in vacant lots, I realised why I wasn’t trusted.

I also saw other ‘walkers’ in action. (Never any kids, though; unlike decades past.)

Some posted so carelessly, the merest zephyr strew their stuff across the street.

Not a good look for the firms who’d paid to feature.

I wrote to several, flagging their wasted budgets.

A couple replied, but without enthusiasm.

Here & Now

As our world hurtles to ruin, I feel the need to query unsolicited print advertising once more.

Therefore, do you:

• Make it?
• Get it?
• Use it?
• Love it?
• Hate it?

We’re at a crossroads.

Show us your papers!

Paul Hassing, Founder & Senior Writer, The Feisty Empire

                                                Must I weigh my words?

In The Agony of Price, we saw that charging for what we sell can be a tricky affair.

I’d now like to explore the conflict between discrete and continuous goods (or services).

Half a Kitten

Discrete goods come in whole units – like cars, kittens, football tickets and DVDs.

Continuous goods come in measured doses – like petrol (litres), carpet (square metres) and copywriting (hours).

You can buy half a litre, but not half a kitten. (At least not in my suburb.)

Fewer Carpet

When describing discrete goods, we use ‘fewer’. When describing continuous goods, we use ‘less’. Thus, we say ‘less carpet’ and ‘fewer tickets’.

Unfortunately for me, the division between discrete and continuous goods fails when it comes to resumes.

I see resume optimisation as a continuous service, because I charge by the hour.

Depending on source material quality, a resume can take me 1.0  to 4.5 hours (i.e. $120 to $540 + GST.)

By contrast, my clients see their resume as a discrete good. They have only one.

I consider $540 a fair price for half a day of my expert attention and 30 years experience.

Yet some resume providers charge as little as $50.

How could I possibly be eleven times better than these ‘competitors’?

93.33% Proof

Of the last 15 resumes I did, 14 of their owners went on to secure their dream job. (The 15^th would’ve too, had he listened to my interview advice.)

I can turn a box of torn notes into a two-page marvel that will get you a top job at Microsoft.

I always warn clients that I’m much more expensive (and effective) than local-rag traders.

Some see my fee as a worthy investment in a much brighter future.

Others go to jelly at the thought of my ticking clock.

I appreciate where they’re coming from; taxi meters on freeways have a similar effect on me.

That’s why I offer a free option.

What’s Mine is Yours

During my ten-year human resources career, I handled thousands of resumes for hundreds of jobs.

Each time a resume won its owner a job, I compared it to my resume. If it was better, I improved mine.

The result was a distillation of every successful resume I ever saw.

So, if a client is quavering about price, I send them my resume.

I say that all they need do is fold their source materials into this template.

By doing so, they don’t spend a cent.

The trouble is, they can’t.

Not So Easy

Their source materials are too many, too few or too poor.

They don’t know what to put in or take out.

Some have a go, but the result is a hodgepodge.

That’s when I explain that it takes expert eyes and hands to sort gems from spoil and weave them tight.

They see this, but the $50 option still haunts them.

And so they try for a middle path, hiring me for half the necessary time to ‘break the back’ of their resume.

This defeats the purpose:

1. Dream jobs demand perfect resumes.
2. Perfect resumes demand time.

Up Front

I could solve this problem by turning my continuous service into a discrete good.

I could simply say all optimised resumes cost $600, no matter what.

The timid would vanish and the true believers would cough up.

But I don’t do this, because I only charge for time actually worked.

This policy, though well-intentioned, clashes with my clients’ desires.

So, should I get with their program?

Good on You

Are your goods (or services) continuous or discrete?

Do any fall between the cracks?

What charging dramas have you had and how did you resolve them?

In for a penny, in for a pound!

Paul Hassing, Founder & Senior Writer, The Feisty Empire

                                                You’re SO welcome!

We share many stories on this blog.

It’s so nice when one has a happy ending!

Previously on Small Business Owner …

In June 2009, I described my struggle to avert the Yellow Pages juggernaut.

Seems I wasn’t alone.

We thrilled as Steve@Sensis kindly (and bravely) fielded our questions and illuminated the path to freedom.

Despite a January 2010 false dawn (in which books arrived against my registered wish) I’m now officially off the list.

I even have written proof of this joyous happenstance:

Happy Day

This card arrived last week.

It’s the best thing Sensis have ever sent me.

I achieved a paperless state via this site:

www.directoryselect.com.au

It’s simple and elegant and it works much better than a phone call or email.

I’ll have to do it all again in three years, but I’ll take the win for now.

Hip Hip …

So it’s hats off to Sensis.

They listened to their public and took effective, positive action. Eventually.

I no longer feel annoyed at this crowd due to one of their products.

This frees me to enjoy other Sensis offerings, like WhereiS – which is very handy.

What’s more, Sensis have just launched a Yellow Pages app.

This excites me, as it provides even less reason to fell a forest each year.

It also shows Sensis are more hip to the groove than I thought.

Lining Up?

I believe future firms will live or die by this kind of flexibility.

I also see this episode as another pointer to the demise of print publications.

You may disagree, but when was the last time you held an encyclopaedia?

It’s probably safer to say that businesses who go digital to keep pace with customer preferences are more likely to be around ten years hence.

That includes us.

… Hooray!

I’m happy with this ending.

I know others are too.

Are you one of them, or not?

Drop us a line!

Paul Hassing, Founder & Senior Writer, The Feisty Empire

Today we welcome back Malcolm Owens to Small Business Owner. Following some recent experiences and observations Malcolm is keen to share his insights with you and get your thoughts.  Welcome back Malcolm. 

Please do not complain to me about a tight market, poor sales, dwindling store traffic and reducing profits when the biggest problem in your business could be you.

How do small business operators expect to succeed and make money when, in some cases, it appears that they are doing absolutely everything possible to lose the sale?

Here’s a couple of examples.

Example 1.  My passion and hobby is restoring classic cars. I contacted a specialist about replacing all of the rubber seals (doors, windows, headlights etc). This costs $1500+. I contacted them and asked if they have a ‘car pack’ for my type of car.

They emailed back a price list and said work it out and let us know. I asked them because I didn’t know what I wanted! If they had spent five minutes cutting and pasting a list and said ‘here’s what you need’ I would have given them my credit card details the same day.

It wasn’t about money. I would have paid what they asked. They deal with a specialist market and limited customers yet they were not prepared to do the bare minimum to secure a sale. I have 7 classic cars, surely I could be considered as a reasonable prospect?

Example 2.  After Christmas my son had cash and wanted to buy a flat screen TV. We went off to a retailer offering ‘service, advice and the right price’. As one of the very few customers in the store that morning, we stood by the display and tried to catch the eye of one of the 10+ staff members. The first replied with ‘not my department’, the second was too busy taping up a box.

I went to the counter where two young men were sitting on the counter peacocking to the girl on the register. I asked for assistance and one rolled his eyes and dragged himself off the counter. I said don’t bother and left to purchase elsewhere.

For those of you that are doing a great job you can feel good that the competition is handing you their customers on a plate. For the rest I have no sympathy. Spending money on advertising is wasted if you are not prepared to do the basics correctly. Look at your business through the eyes of the customer and see what you need to improve. Most of it is easy, a better attitude and a smile, and the good news is it’s free.

What are you going to do today to ensure you don’t lose your customers?

Malcolm Owens

                                                 Happy happy. Joy joy.

Thank you for weathering my recent rants.

Having had a Bex and a good lie down, I’m in a much happier frame this week.

To celebrate, I’ve listed some of my favourite things.

Things that make owning and running a business worth all the aggro and pain.

Things that keep me at the grindstone and stop me getting a ‘real’ job.

I do hope you’ll add yours.

Favourite Things Clients Say:

• ‘I was at Joanna Maxwell’s course. I said I needed a writer and she gave me your name.’
• ‘You’re not the sort of specialist I could ever find in the Yellow Pages.’
• ‘Having read your blog for several months, I know you’re the kind of person I can deal with.’
• ‘It took us a while, but we answered all your briefing questions.’
• ‘We’re happy with your proposal; please proceed.’
• ‘You’re the expert; we’ll take your word for it.’
• ‘We really appreciate all your hard work – especially on Australia Day.’
• ‘This is a very big job; you’d better invoice us for what you’ve done to date.’
• ‘It’s perfect! We haven’t changed a thing!’
• ‘Bill us.’
• ‘I’ll take that down to accounts now. The funds should reach you overnight.’
• ‘We have many more projects like this. I’ll be in touch again soon.’

Favourite Things Clients Do:

• Provide enough source materials to let me give them exactly what they need.
• Give me a deadline that lets me think about a job, as well as do the actual work.
• Be accessible, clear, consistent, decisive, fast acting, flexible, intelligent, resolute and trusting.
• Write a glowing testimonial for my website.
• Send a thank-you card when a project goes live.
• Tell their family, friends and business associates about me.

Your Turn

Feeling the love from all the above?

How do customers make your heart sing?

Go on …

Tell us a few of your favourite things!

Paul Hassing, Founder & Senior Writer, The Feisty Empire

                                            What’s in a business name?

                                               More than you may think.

Here’s another post where we share our histories for common benefit.

Today we’re talking business names.

The object of this game is to learn how and why we named our businesses.

And whether these names have done all they should.

I’ll go first, then hand over to you.

Foundation & Empire

I got nicknamed Feisty for being inordinately enthusiastic about everything.

As I tired of 9 to 5 in Corporate Land, I fantasised about running my own show with my own rules.

One such rule was to call my business whatever the hell I wanted.

So it was with great pleasure that I registered The Feisty Empire on 8 July 1999.

I had no fears it had already been taken.

Nor that anyone would steal it.

In choosing my name, I embraced Feisty to symbolically kill off the Paul who was so miserable doing human resources work in automotive factories.

I added Empire to:

• Honour my classical education.
• Have little, inside, sole-trader jokes with myself.
• Give me a name I could grow into.

These puerile, self-indulgent motivations offered nothing to prospective clients.

Nor did my first logo:

                                                             Oh dear …

Ho Hum

Exposed to the chill winds of commerce, I quickly discovered my name and logo were … unhelpful.

Adam kindly sorted out my logo and added the brilliant Fighting Words tagline. Now my brand actually meant something to someone other than me. And so I pressed on.

The frisson I thought I’d feel at crusty accountants writing huge cheques to a firm with a funny name didn’t eventuate.

There were no huge cheques.

Instead, there were tiny jobs which took years to grow into loyal clients.

In setting up shop, I never realised I was swapping one boss for dozens. Nor that these bosses had more power and were more demanding than any I’d ever encountered.

They were, of course, my clients.

Too Late?

Having asked trusted advisors about my business name, I now realise many people find it ludicrous, aggressive, unprofessional or all three.

I strongly suspect this has cost me a great deal of revenue.

Yet, after 11 years of incessant promotion, I feel my brand and I have too much history to part ways.

I’ve tinkered with ‘normal’ names, but never with enthusiasm.

And each time that one-in-a-hundred client says, ‘I LOVE your business name!’ I think I am on the right track after all.

My services are very special, and so are my clients. So why not my name?

I could argue that anyone who doesn’t like it doesn’t deserve me.

But I’ve learnt the (very) hard way to discard such a dangerous, costly view.

So, I guess I’m succeeding despite my name. Earning repeat business from my skills and ethics.

Would I do it again? I don’t think so: not knowing what I do now.

Then again, if I knew then what I know now about business, I’d still be rotting and fretting in my old day job (if it still existed).

How about YOU?

1. What’s in your business name?
2. How did you choose it?
3. How has it helped?
4. How has it hindered?
5. Would you choose it again?

Gather round.

It’s time to play … Tune That Name!

Paul Hassing, Founder & Senior Writer, The Feisty Empire

                                      Long-distance communication is hard.

                                         Love triangulation is even worse.

A few weeks ago my bank called.

Well, not really my bank.

They wanted my feedback.

Well, not really my feedback.

At a time that suited me.

Well not really …

Get the idea?

Here’s what really happened.

Backchat

My phone did ring: that much is true.

But instead of my bank, it was an agency contracted to call me on their behalf.

They’d been told to get my views on service quality.

I said I was keen to participate, as there were some issues that had been bugging me for years.

Like why statements never start at the start of each month and end at the end.

The agency girl said she wasn’t able to take that sort of feedback; she only had a set survey.

She asked if I wanted to do it.

I said yes, but that it wasn’t convenient just then.

She asked when it would be convenient.

I said in three days.

She said the survey would be over by then.

So we parted.

Lone Star

Thanks to this exercise, I’m not just a statistical anomaly, I’m an insignificant datum.

In fact, as far as my bank’s concerned, I don’t even exist.

The agency report won’t contain my non-standard feedback.

Rather, it’ll comprise responses from customers who:

1. Have nothing better to do at 3 pm on a Thursday.
2. Are happy to confine their views to A, B, C, D and 1 to 5.
3. Don’t mind dealing with someone pretending to be their bank.

I could be wrong, but I strongly suspect this service quality report is going to look quite good.

Management will have the hard data they need to confidently command Full Steam Ahead and More of The Same.

Meanwhile, back on earth, I’ve just been reminded of all the things I hate about my bank.

Maybe it’s time we went our separate ways.

Three-Way Tie

Let’s check the facts:

• A closed-question survey.
• Run by a stranger.
• That ends before I can begin.

Would you feel the love in this arm’s-length affair?

Paul Hassing        , Founder & Senior Writer, The Feisty Empire

                                                  What’s NOT to like?!

Having ranted a bit lately, I’m delighted to share a great news story.

One that counters my recent poor service and bad packaging adventures.

Surprise

I ordered some stuff from Officeworks (after my debacle with the budget mob).

When the box arrived, I was elated to read:

You’ll like what’s NOT in this carton

You’ll like what you don’t see: NO plastic peanuts, NO polyfoam.
NO loose mess – nothing that isn’t conscious of our environment.

This carton is made from recycled materials. We recycle our own cardboard and paper to form part of the recycled cardboard used to manufacture cartons.

I did like it. I liked it a lot. I bloody LOVED it!

Then I got a fright.

Shock

Lurking in the void of all the NOT-there crud was a fat catalogue I hadn’t ordered and didn’t want (see Yellow Pages for back story).

Nursing emotional whiplash, I whipped off an email:

Dear Team, I was very impressed by the message of what’s NOT in your delivery carton. However, I thought you ruined the effect by bunging in your 0.8 kg, 562-page directory.

I don’t believe I asked for this, so it seems a waste of resources that’s at odds with your admirable environmental policy.

I’m writing a blog post about this and would appreciate your point of view to ensure fairness and accuracy. Please contact me by email. Many thanks! Paul.

‘That’d be bloody right,’ I lamented. ‘Two steps forward, one step back. Sagafrassinraggafrassin … etc.’

But then I got a reply!

Awe

Hi Paul,

Thank you for taking the time to provide us with your feedback. We will be certain to pass this on to our Marketing Team at Head Office.

We have a large number of our business customers who request an additional or replacement Office Supplies Directory on a daily basis, when placing their order.

As the Directory is placed in the carton with the customer’s goods, it may be that the catalogue/directory was inadvertently placed into the wrong carton on this occasion.

If the catalogue is of no use to you or anyone else in your office, please be sure to place it in a recycling bin.

Please accept our apologies for any inconvenience this error may have caused you.

Alicia Allsopp, Manager – Customer Service Team

I was happy again. Alicia was Managing my Customer Service experience, and it was a good one!

The term ‘emotional rollercoaster’ sprang briefly to mind (before being crushed as a TV cliché). I wrote:

Many thanks, Alicia, for your swift and comprehensive reply.

I’m always on the lookout for eco-friendly firms to write about, so it’s great to see you take this matter so seriously.

If Marketing has anything further to add, I’d love to hear it.

As it stands, however, you guys certainly seem to be on the right tram.

Would you like a link to the blog post when it goes live?

Best regards and thanks again,

P.

Yay!

So it’s a big Onya Sonya! to Officeworks.

With their attitude, there may be hope for us yet.

Let’s encourage all our suppliers to think inside the box!

Paul Hassing, Founder & Senior Writer, The Feisty Empire

One firm’s quest for client hearts & minds

Thanks to my clients’ brutal feedback, the coffee served at Empire House is now beyond reproach!

Part 3 of 3 (Action)

Read Part 1 and Part 2 

Armed with a mother load of intelligence from my first client survey, I asked my trusty business coach, Winston Marsh    , what I should do with it.

Here’s what Winno said to me (in his uniquely forthright style):

Thank everyone for participating and give them a summary of the results.

All too rarely we ask people for their opinion. And then we don’t tell them what we find! They appreciate hearing back and often respond with even more valuable information.

And sometimes, just sometimes, they’ll add value … like some work.

Winno was dead right. Every respondent I got back to was grateful for the contact. Most did indeed give me more feedback. And two of them starting talking about new work projects!

Create something of value for yourself by creating something of value for them.

The survey comments tell me you haven’t been giving your clients reasons to use you. And they certainly haven’t been sitting around thinking, ‘Hmmm, how can I give Paul a job?’

You have to create something that’ll get them business, which will then mean work for you. You’ve gotta create a big fat WIIFM for them so that they say, ‘Hey, that’s a great idea! It’s worth investing in Paul to get a result for me.’ That’s leverage.

The question is, what can you do to help them and, in so doing, help yourself?

In response to this suggestion, I codified my new corporate blogging service into a two-page business case. I then emailed it to all my survey participants, other clients and prospects.

The response was staggering. Better than anything else I’ve ever tried. Thanks, ideas and leads came pouring in. I’m now preparing two blogging quotes, with many more nibbles on the line.

Stay in touch.

These people have been good enough to respond; they deserve a little extra thought and consideration from you.

If you stay in touch and ‘love them’, they’re gunna love you back – though you’re going to give without expecting return.

It’s the law of mutual reciprocity … do something for others and they’ll want to do something for you. And being in touch means you’re not outta sight, outta mind. When times do turn or a project comes up, you’re gunna be right at the forefront of their minds.

Wise words! Winno had been telling me for years that I needed to stay in touch with my clients. Yet as a reclusive writer, I thought I could get by with little or no contact.

I also thought that contacting my clients without an explicit, work-related reason was actually bothering them. How wrong I was!

After giving me his responses, Winston referred me to one of his articles: ‘Loving Your Clients’. I was going to provide a link to this article, but after my latest experience, I firmly believe it deserves a full reproduction here.

Think of it as your holiday reading. 

Paul Hassing, Founder & Senior Writer, The Feisty Empire 

Winston Marsh’s Theory of ‘Loving Your Clients’.

Stay in touch with your database at least six times each year. Now, that is sometimes a little daunting for most people because thinking of six reasons to contact people over the year and, more importantly, creating the contact letters or e-mails is difficult for many of us.

After all, many of us do find writing those letters and e-mails a challenging task; we’d rather do other things.

So, my suggestion is quite simple. Take a day off every year, and with your PA or the rest of your team members, think about the contacts you’d like to have with your client base and then spend the day putting them together, stealing letters from places, writing others, thinking of great things you can do, and then you’ll have them as and when needed, because the number one problem in contacting your database is that you don’t have anything readily available to use.

It’s got to be created, and I know there are other things you’d rather do. So, having them pre-planned and pre-written will make it a breeze.

My suggestions are very simple. Let’s give you an idea of the sort of things I would have you use to stay in touch with your clients.

First of all, the Happy Birthday or Happy Anniversary note. You know, it’s quite amazing, we’ve asked hundreds and hundreds of professionals if they send birthday or anniversary cards and guess what? Less than 6 in 100 do. Yeah, that’s right, 6 in a 100. Well, why not? Well, perhaps they think that everybody else does it so they’re not going to do it.

Be smart. Do what everybody else doesn’t do and remember those important days, birthdays and anniversaries. And that’s why your clients will be delighted to receive a note that says “I’d like to shout you dinner on your birthday”.

Remember, there’s a way you can get restaurants to give you free meals to gift to your clients. If you’d like further details, just let me know. Does it work? You betcha bippy. Gangbusters.

Next, you’ll want to wish them all the best in the festive and other seasons. “Have a Merry Christmas”, “Enjoy Easter”, “Have a great barbeque on Australia (or Waitangi) Day”.

You see, most of your clients celebrate these days and, obviously, you’d want them to enjoy the very best for them and their familles, so write and tell them that.  Maybe you can enclose a little gift, as well, not just a crummy calendar.

So, it’s a nice thought to write and say something like “Ho, ho, ho, it’s Christmas time again” or “What you up to Doc at Easter?” And remember, too, I’ve used Christian festivals as an example, and in our diverse society, you should take into account the special events in the lives of people with beliefs that are different to yours.

You sure as heck are going to get their attention when you remember these events, and you’ll be remembered positively. I love a note to clients that begins “What does this news mean?” From time to time, there’s going to be things in the media or mentions in Parliament about events or developments that may affect your products or services.

So, what you’ve got to do is anticipate that people, your clients, will be thinking about the implications of that news. So, wouldn’t it be great for them to receive a letter, or an e-mail, while the controversy is raging which says “You can sit back and relax because here’s what it means to you, and if there’s any other changes, I’ll be in touch”.

You’ll feel good knowing that your clients trust you to make sure that the real facts and implications are under control and that you’ve got a watching brief for them.

Another great contact is what I call the “just wanted to stay in touch”. You see, building a business relationship is like building a romantic relationship. You’ve got to stay in touch and tell them that you love them, just because you do.

That’s why it’s great to drop clients a line from time to time with no business motive in mind. Yes, that’s right, no business motive in mind other than to stay in touch. You might tell them about a great restaurant, a good book, a fabulous film or a terrific place, just as you would a friend. A letter that begins “I must tell you about this fantastic restaurant before I implode” will certainly be compulsive reading.

An invitation to a seminar or a workshop is a great, great contact. If you do want to build a meaningful relationship with your clients, you’ll want to invite them to a seminar or a workshop where you or an interesting speaker or two gives them the low-down on stuff they want to know.

And, of course, it doesn’t always have to be a workshop or a seminar, it could be an invitation to see a first release movie or a night at the local theatre company’s dramatic production.

Have your personal assistant organise the event, get the invitations out and make them compelling so that your clients will want to come. They’ll love you for it.

Another contact that works gangbusters is a postcard from overseas. Because you are good at what you do, you get to travel overseas, both on business and pleasure. And when you’re there, no doubt you’re going to see and hear things of interest to your clients, so why not send them a postcard?

You can pre-prepare it before you go actually, which says something like “I heard a couple of great ideas at this international conference” or “When I was in such and such, I saw this sensational way of doing this”.

Mail it to them with pretty stamps from the place you’re in and they’ll love you for it. Naturally, from time to time, you will need to write and tell them about a great new product, something that’s just come out that may be of advantage to them or their family.

Don’t just send them a boring, glossy brochure, make sure you accompany it with a letter that is down-to-earth, personal and highlights the benefits.

Another item in your staying in touch arsenal is the occasional review of where they’re at with your product or service. You’ll want to write to them and suggest that they pop in and see you or make an appointment with you, or you go and see them, to review where they’re at with your product or service to see if their circumstances or needs have changed.

It may not necessarily generate more business, but it’ll show them that you care.

And, naturally, from time to time you’ll want to send a referral seeking letter because you and I both know how important referrals are. You can ask them today and they know nobody, but sometime in the future, because life is a passing parade, there’s going to be somebody that they want to refer.

So, you need to write to them occasionally and say “It suddenly occurred to me that you might know somebody who …” or “How would you like a night at this plush hotel for you and your partner absolutely free?”

Stay in touch, too, by becoming a ferret for facts that will interest your clients. You see an article in a magazine or a newspaper or you hear something of interest, copy it or relate it in your letter and send it to them saying “I thought you may be interested in this”.

You know, when you think on behalf of your clients, you really are doing them a service because although you may have seen it in the newspaper or read it in a magazine or heard it on the news, they might have missed it. It just shows that you care.

And don’t forget, you’re going to send them your newsletter every so often or your e-zine on a regular basis. All part of being in touch.

And, finally, for those important clients, there’s one really great contact you have to have and that is the “How’s thing?” call. Yes, that’s right. Every day, pick up the phone and ring a client you don’t need to ring and simply say, “How’s things?” You’ll be amazed at how well that works in building the relationship.

But, of course, if you stay in touch with your database at least six times a year, you’ll build that relationship, and when you build relationships, you become a legend in other people’s minds.

Thank you very much, Winston; I couldn’t have said it better. What I can say, from experience, is that your theory works! Best regards, Paul.