Speaking of LinkedIn...

I am speaking a lot about LinkedIn these days. A lot. Everywhere I can, in front of groups, teaching in small virtual classes, and offering suggestions to those in my leads groups. LinkedIn, for me, is a PROVEN a way to access any number of the 55 million businesspeople around the world seeking community from the expertise that people truly engaged in social networking can provide.

And what's in it for him? you might ask, why the heck does he spend the time speaking about LinkedIn?

Because it opens lots of doors to generate new business and get my brand out there. As an example, a large nonprofit umbrella organization asked me to teach my hour-long "LinkedIn for NonProfits" to its member organizations and as I spoke and showed my LinkedIn profile, they saw the types of work I do.

The next week they called me in to advise on a much-needed redesign of its online donation and class registration, a project I won in December. Finished on time and within budget, they were thrilled with the end result. So much so that they referred me to a couple of other potential clients.

That's reason enough to evangelize on LinkedIn. The network grows...

BTW my LinkedIn profile can be found at www.linkedin.com/in/marchalpert

blog block

From time to time people create new phrases that actually describe something I have witnessed yet searched for a term for its correct and concise description.

Blog block.

In the meeting this morning some of my colleagues expressed a reluctance to start their own blog as a means of marketing themselves. As if they were not capable of this (not the case), they had a block preventing them from starting, like the dreaded "writer's block."

My blog block comes from time to time. But in my case I want to express something and keep a regular schedule blogging but don't know quite what or how to say it in virtual words. Or I know I can't say it completely effectively and then just move on to something else more tangible.

Blog block.

I wonder if some of my colleagues and fellow bloggers also experience this, as misery LOVES company--do you ever get blog block?

Would you like to save $4000 a year?

It pains me to meet a nonprofit to find out that their credit card rates and other online donor services are so out of the market that they could realize savings of $4000 a year, that's a 50% savings! It happened again last week in Stamford.

Not that they are foolish or asleep at the wheel; on the contrary. It's just that my trained and objective eye can find new ways to give them the same functionality (actually better!) for less.

Once a controller came up to me after a presentation meeting at which I won their business and said, "You don't realize what you've just done-you saved us enough money to take one of our staffers and make her a full time employee."

Now that's good for the employee and for the organization. And it makes me feel good too, that I am able to help out in a new way.

What can we do for you?

what NOT to do

Phishing and other scams are prevalent. I receive them from time to time.
In this real life story, one very intelligent friend of mine was duped, and her mistake is everyone's lesson in what NOT to do.

She received an email from Yahoo, her email provider, asking for your password, and thinking it was official, she replied. Mistake.

Yesterday morning I received this email from her (so did ALL her other email contacts, business and personal); typos in the quoted section appear as I received it:

I am in a hurry writing you this message i am sorry i didn't inform you about my urgent trip to London, i don't have much time on the pc here,so i have to brief you my present situation which requires your urgent response actually, I had a trip to London but unfortunately for me all my money got stolen at the hotel where i lodged due to a robbery incident that happened in the hotel.I had been so restless since last night cos i have been without any money moreover the Hotel's telephone lines here got dissconnected by the robbers and they are trying to get them fixed back i have access to only emails at the library because my mobile cant work here so i didnt bring it along,please i want you to help me with money so please can you send me 1,200 Pounds so when i return back i would refund it back to you as soon as i get home,I am so confused right now and dont know what to do,Please you can have it sent through Western Union Money Transfer so will get it immediately its sent but let me know if you can help me then i will make findings.please let me hear from you so i can give you my the address and name where you can send the money to today please.Its really urgent for me as i dont know what to do right now than to leave here soonest you send it to me and i'll pay you back immediately i get home..Thanks alot for your kindness,

I will really appreciate your quick response.

Best Regards
(I deleted her name to protect her innocence!!!)

I thought that a professional writer (which she is) would do a better job writing this and her husband would have sent the money if this were indeed a real situation. Besides we knew she was home and not in London.

But the annoyance of having to admit her error and the consequences to all her email contacts ruined her day. And don't you think she felt her online security was violated? Humor: she did admit that as a result of this scam email, she never knew she had so many friends who cared so much about her...silver lining?

Even if it seems official, forward that phishing email to abuse@(your ISP).com. They will track the bad guys down if they can. If they have time to...

So tell your friends, your kids, you parents, that what appears to be a legitimate, official-looking request for your email password is actually a scam designed to find one dummy in your email list who might just send the money to help you out in a panic, and enrich a scammer.
Be safe.

Spotlight on...The Friends of PS 169

This spotlight is on my new client The Friends of PS 169 in New York City. For over 50 years, they have been ensuring inner city special needs kids can go to summer camp in the country.

The Friends needed an online donation presence and it came to my attention at a luncheon in New York last fall. One thing led to another and they had 2 friends whose firms provided probono webdesign (Canfield Design Studios) and copy writing (Geraldine Newman Communications / NEWTHYNK). We added the online payment functions, and VOILA! it's up and running, accepting donations. Add mail and email blasts and some donor goodness and this should be another happy summer for a lot of kids.

Have a look at what can be done with marvelous teamwork to ensure a good cause continues its tradition of reaching out to assist those who can benefit most.
We are pleased to have had a small part int his effort.





This is the first of a series of spotlights on nonprofit clients when they have some news to share. If you want me to spotlight your organization, please let me know.

It's what we do

From time to time we get an email thanking us for what we do best: support the client....a radical concept in this world of outsourced customer support and just plain poorly run business!

We were actually surprised this week when we emailed a complaint to Suncast about a snow shovel that wasn't wearing well and they replaced the item with a brand new one in 2 business days--unusual. But we are digressing...

Such outstanding customer support can lead to referrals to new clients or to additional business with existing clients down the road. (Buy Suncast!)

This was one such week of satisfaction:
1) a compliment from a new nonprofit client for our recently completed project,
2) the offer from a client to use him as a reference at a later time,
3) a client referred us to someone starting a new e-commerce business,
4) and the best was a client supplementing the existing work we do with them with a brand new donation/shopping cart to support their product sales and new online fundraising and event planning needs in the early spring.

It feels good. My client feels good. The latter is more important than the former.

cool website

Go to www.interesting.com
It literally caught my eye when a friend sent some holiday cards a month or so ago.
(Thanks Ellin!)

You can customize fine art work on an e-postcard and it really catches the recipient's attention.
I sent some to recent University of Phoenix graduates that I had taught and I think I will start using this to thank new clients for their business. Today I have someone to send a thank-you to.

LinkedIn is a gift

If you aren't already optimizing your use of LinkedIn, you are missing a great opportunity. This is a relatively underutilized tool, as we are finding from the great people we already know and are actively linking to.

The LinkedIn site is easy to navigate and work. There are presenters who will come to your group (ask us about one guy in NYC in particular) and books (ask us about a great book that you can purchase online), so no matter how you prefer to learn about LinkedIn, there is a method out there for you.

Start at www.linkedin.com and create a profile.
Add your Linkedin profile URL to your email.
You can even post a PowerPoint presentation describing your business right on your profile! On Sunday a guy in California linked to our slide presentation. Still not sure why, but perhaps we have a prospective client on the West Coast...

Open yourself up to this online networking gift.

We already have new business directly attributable to our profile (http://www.linkedin.com/in/marchalpert)on LinkedIn and the great people we are connected to.

Fear of the unknown

Franklin Roosevelt in his 1933 Inaugural Address said

"...The only thing we have to fear is fear itself--nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror which paralyzes needed efforts to convert retreat into advance."

Fear of the unknown, the comfort of the old way, retard progress and make us fearful of change. This familiar quote (at least the first part of it; I find the second part of it much more intriguing) was printed on the wrapper on my free Starbucks coffee yesterday, free because I pledged to spend 5 (only 5!) hours to helping a community nonprofit organization.

A small commitment by each of us pays off in mighty ways, if more than just a few people make this promise. Go to http://www.starbucks.com/default.asp. Make a stand to make a change in someone's life that needs your selfless help.

Community groups and nonprofits have been hammered by the economy, Madoff, unemployment and malaise. I hear this everyday from my old and new nonprofit clients.

Stand up. Make a daring change to help for more than 5 hours, or even just 5 hours! It's more than about the free coffee. Sign up in any Starbucks store until January 25th. Do it now, because YES WE CAN make a difference, one by one.

Thanks!

First, I want to wish you all a happy Thanksgiving.

Be thankful for:

· the business relationships you have earned this past year,

· for the friends you rely on,

· for the family that surrounds you, and

· for those who are trying to make significant changes to preserve, and improve, our way of life.

Second, thanks to those of you who are my clients.

Finally and not insignificant in the least, thank you for the gift that is Gotham.

Thank you to those who have referred business to me (you know who you are and how special that is to me).

I value my entire network of business relationships, for whom I try to provide the attention and service we all deserve but seldom receive.

Have a great holiday!

reboot

It's another computer term that may apply to us, now that the summer is almost over.

So many businesses slide along in the summer, not undertaking anything new.

They reevaluate and enact changes in September, thus rebooting themselves.

Change is constant and taking a few months off that affects cash flow improvements, delaying what could have been, is dangerous.

If you are thinking of making a change in business cash flow improvement, carpe diem! Do it now. Don't wait to reboot.