Fly with me

I had a Brazilian banker a number of years ago who tried to help me understand the vagaries of financing in Brazil (during my previous incarnation as a corporate treasurer). When explaining something particularly creative, he said, "Marc, Fly with me. Let's see how we can make this work together."

I always remembered that.

When I see a potential client, as happened yesterday, who knows conceptually what she wants but not necessarily how to bring together all the mechanisms to accept online donations and sell items in a shopping cart, we "flew" together. I left feeling she really "got it" and she was all smiles as I left. I think she was experiencing the natural high of an executive director imagining more donations in a brand new way.

Tune in next week to the continuing saga of "Fly with Me."

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.

Upsetting

It's upsetting that some people out there purport to be helpful in givng you the ability to accept credit card payment, when in fact they are charging outrageous prices. Namely, (well, I won't really name names...)
1) There is a .com doing so at 5.5% on each transaction. That's DOUBLE what it should be!
2) There is another.com doing this for nonprofits alone, at 4.75% (a bargain, huh?)and they mail you a paper check once a month. That's not fair! They are earning money on the nonprofit's donations!
I am sure there are more.

Questions? Ask us.
Caveat emptor!

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!