I’ll never forget what happened one day when a client (let’s call her Sally) sent an e-mail to one of my co-workers, Bill.

“Hey Bill, do you think I could get a couple of tickets to the Jimmy Buffet concert in April?”

(Now, you have to understand that if you were a reasonably big client, and you bought a lot of advertising, it would be an easy wish to grant.)

So Bill began to forward the message to his manager for permission. He wrote, “What do you think?” and expected a reply like, “Sure, no problem. Tell Sally I said HI.”

A few days went by with no reply from the manager. Worse yet, Sally and Bill had not talked in as much time. Then it got bad. On Friday afternoon a fax came in for Bill, with a letter demanding the cancellation of an upcoming large ad campaign… signed Sally.

Bill could not believe it. “How can this be?” he asked me, “One day she’s happy and wants to go see Jimmy Buffet. The next thing you know she’s canceling her campaign!”

So Bill and the manager investigated, and found the problem: When Bill wrote “What do you think?” in an email, he accidentally hit REPLY (instead of FORWARD) and sent the message back to Sally.  It was clear that Sally must have mistaken the “What do you think?” comment as a sassy, almost smart-aleck comment.

Fortunately, the relationship eventually got repaired, but not before Sally had already committed her campaign dollars to a competing radio station.

Fast forward to 2012… Have things changed or gotten worse? Mobile phone carriers report that today people use mobile data FAR more than they make phone calls. At home, people are shutting off their landlines and throwing phones into e-waste.

Face it: Our long and meaningful conversations have become short and snappy tweets and facebook updates, all too often clicked in a rush at the stoplight. Never has it been more important to choose the rights words, deliver them to the correct person / audience, and carry the appropriate tone.

Please share your thoughts and comments below.

by Thom Hiatt

So there you are, sitting in your recliner, watching the news, and you hear it… The rapping at the door… “Knock knock knock…”

You open the door and find a cute, sweet, smiling little girl. Let’s call her “Ms. Cutie Pie.” Her uniform is pressed, her golden locks are brushed, and her script is polished. And here it comes…

“Would you like to buy some Girl Scout Cookies?”

“Ugh,” I silently gasp as the joyous musical tune of the beautiful moment comes to a scratching halt in my mind. “Cutie Pie asked a YES / NO question,” I say only to myself, “When are they ever going to learn?”

Everything was perfect until that moment — until she gave me a 50% chance to turn down her sale. (Cutie Pie also never bothered to tell me the benefits of buying her cookies.)

In business, or better yet in sales, a ‘yes / no question’ gives the buyer a 50% chance to say yes, and worse, a 50% chance to immediately say NO. Right out of the gate, our customer at the door is asked to make a final decision, one way or the other, and there-in lies the problem.

We suggest a more tactical approach that, in our very-un-scientific-but-based-on-opinion-and-experience research, we believe would increase the national level of annual Girl Scout Cookie sales by 200-500%.

In the “Cookie Sale of my Dreams,” Cutie Pie walks up to the front door with an accomplice… NOT HER MOTHER, but rather another scout, perhaps a Brownie. Cutie Pie is dressed as usual, and her accomplice is holding a large, but manageable color poster board showcasing delicious photos of the five most popular cookie flavors. It’s not complex and it’s not overwhelming. It’s just 5 professionally-shot photos of yummy cookies arranged on classy plates next to sweating glasses of refreshing milk. On the corner of each pic is the respective “logo” of that cookie, i.e. Thin Mints, or Tagalongs. At the bottom of the board it reads, “Your support improves our future!” or something else cute and motivational.

The accomplice simply acts like an easel, standing tall, and holding the poster board for our customers to see clearly, especially for our sight- and hearing-challenged customers.

Cutie Pie rings the doorbell and the customer opens the door. Cutie Pie says in a non-script-sounding tone, “Good afternoon, Sir. My name is Cutie Pie, and this is my friend Easel. We are members of Girl Scout Chapter 3421 right here in Springfield. Each year our cookie sales help us go to camp, do crafts, and learn to be better citizens. Which one of our delicious cookies is your very favorite?” (A CHOICE question, rather than a WAY OUT.)

Customer is drooling over the photos, “I like the Thin Mints.”

“Oh, great choice, sir! Our Thin Mints are the most popular,” Cutie Pie says to reinforce his decision and make him feel good about himself and his choice, “You are very generous. Would you like 2 boxes, or would you rather have 3…?” (Again, a CHOICE, rather than a WAY OUT.)

“I’ll take two boxes,” he says.

“Fantastic. We will bring them to you in a week or so. Lots of people are also ordering a couple of boxes of our brand new Savannah Smiles. They are lemon cookies with delicious powdered sugar gently sprinkled all around. I can bring two boxes to go along with your Thin Mints. You can give them as gifts or keep them for yourself… If I were you, I would keep them for myself. They are delicious. Would you prefer to pay with a check, or with your credit card so you can rack of the miles and start earning your next free vacation?”

“I’ll use my credit card…”

And that’s it. Sales are doubled or tripled.

For the cute little Brownie Scouts who cannot remember the entire sales process, we recommend. “Hello, Ma’am. My mom said I can’t eat all of the cookies. So I need you to buy a few boxes. Which cookie is your favorite?”

Think about you and your business. Are you asking YES / NO questions that give your customers a way out?

P.S. It’s our understanding that the annual cookie sales are a fund-raiser, but more importantly an opportunity for girls to build confidence and learn transactional / business skills on their own.

Share your thoughts below, or write to info@mytwinbees.com

by Thom Hiatt

If you’re already an e-news master, then skip this article and get back to work. Otherwise, let’s keep rolling…

More often than not, small and medium-sized business have very good intentions for sending out regular newsletters, whether on email or in print. But intentions don’t always become reality.

Often, a business owner or manager will send out their first newsletter on the 1st of the month. She notes her calendar for the following month, plans to send the next issue, and then sets it all aside. The good worker that she is, she actually sends out the 2nd newsletter the following month. And maybe a 3rd.

Then usually around newsletter #4, somehow magically the newsletter manager is too busy to send it out. It doesn’t get done on time. She thinks, “Well, I had a big project to finish instead, and that’s good. I will just send the newsletter out a couple of weeks late.”

A couple of weeks later she thinks, “You know, it would look funny if I send it out two weeks late. I will just wait until the first of the month.”

It’s the first of the month and she’s busy again. It doesn’t go out. She thinks, “Maybe we should send a QUARTERLY newsletter instead….”

And so it goes. We see it all the time.

YOUR NEWSLETTER IS VALUABLE!

1. If you are sending quality, valuable content to your customers and prospects, then they actually appreciate your newsletter, they enjoy it, and they may even look forward to it! If you’re not sending it out, you are depriving them of that happiness.
2. Each time you send your newsletter, you are working to stay top-of-mind with your clients. When they see something from you (and even if they don’t open it up) they remember you, they think of you, and they know that you are alive and kicking.
3. Your newsletters (especially electronic newsletters) can provide valuable data and feedback that will help to improve your business.

WHAT GETS IN THE WAY?

One of the biggest “hassles” clients share with us about “making the newsletter” is coming up with the content. People have told us that they sit down for hours upon hours, laboring over topics, slaving away at the keyboard, writing drafts, editing copy, looking for images, and so on. Not only is this completely unnecessary, but it’s what becomes the biggest reason people put it off and eventually stop sending their newsletter.

SPREAD IT OUT

To get rid of the content hurdle, break it up into smaller chunks. Rather than trying to create your giant newsletter all at once, create it over time… over the course of the month.

Each week (or more often if you like) sit down at your computer and write a blog article for your website. Write about a great customer experience. Or a problem you solved. Or maybe write about the secret benefits of using your product. It doesn’t have to be perfect. Just do it. Get it done. And fix the little problems later.

After four weeks you’ve got four articles, and VOILA… there’s the content for your monthly newsletter.

CREAM OF THE CROP

If you’ve had the luxury of writing two blog entries or articles per week, you can do something really cool. Look at your website’s visitor analysis. See which articles have been most popular just from regular traffic. Grab the four big ones and VOILA… there’s your newsletter content.

SIDE NOTE: Just imagine, after one year, you’ve got anywhere from 50 to 100 new articles in your website! That’s TONS of food for Google to chew on. And that brings more visitors to your site who have searched for topics you’ve written about!

COPY AND PASTE

Now that you have your four articles from the month, simply copy and paste them into your printed newsletter. Or if you are sending e-news, copy and paste the headlines and the first two sentences of each article… followed by “read more.”

SUPER SAUCE WORKS ON HAMBURGERS, TOO
One of the best Happy Helper testimonials we’ve ever received arrived in December 2011 from Janet K. in Little Rock, Arkansas. Janet explained that her favorite ice cream topping works great on hamburgers, too! Gosh, hamburgers, of all things! We were intrigued… read more…

By using only the headline and first few sentences, we can:

1. Keep the email newsletter brief. Nobody wants to open a message and see an encyclopedia staring them in the face. Nothing gets your email deleted faster.
2. Track what’s interesting. Using the right services, you’ll be able to see how many of your readers were interested in the Super Sauce article enough to click “read more.”
3. Create new lists. Now that you know who is interested in Secret Sauce, you can create a list of just those people, and later on market the new and improved Secret Sauce to that target group.

by Thom Hiatt

WIKIPEDIA: Christmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday generally celebrated on December 25^[2][3][4] by billions of people around the world. It is a Christian feast that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ,^[5][6]liturgically closing the Advent season and initiating the season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days.^[7] In much of the world’s nations Christmas is a civil holiday,^[8][9][10] is celebrated by an increasing amount of non-Christians,^[1][11][12] and is an integral part of the Christmas and holiday season.

The precise day of Jesus’ birth, which historians place between 7 and 2 BC, is unknown. In the early-to-mid 4th century, the Christian Church in the West first placed Christmas on December 25, a date later adopted also in the East.^[13][14] Theories advanced to explain that choice include that it falls nine months after the Christian celebration of the conception of Jesus,^[15] that it was the date of the Romanwinter solstice,^[16] or of some ancient winter festival.^[15][17]

The original date of the celebration in the East was January 6 (see Epiphany) and that is still the date of the celebration in Armenia, where it is a public holiday, and for the Armenian Apostolic Church.

In the present century there is a difference of 13 days between the Julian Calendar and the more generally used Gregorian Calendar. Those who use the Julian calendar or its equivalents thus celebrate December 25 and January 6 on what for the majority of people is January 7 and January 19. For this reason, Ethiopia celebrates Christmas, both as a Christian feast and as a public holiday on what in the Gregorian Calendar is January 7.^[18]

Many of the popular celebratory customs associated in various countries with Christmas have pre-Christian or secular themes and origins. Popular modern customs of the holiday include gift-giving, music, an exchange of Christmas cards, church celebrations, a special meal, and the display of various decorations; including Christmas trees, lights, garlands, mistletoe, nativity scenes, and holly. In addition, several figures, known as Saint Nicholas, Father Christmas, and Santa Claus, among other names, are associated with bringing gifts to children during the Christmas season.^[19]

In 1980-something, I was on the newspaper staff at my elementary school. We used Apple IIe computers and a newsletter layout software to design our school paper. We printed them on dot matrix printers, and I recall the ink ribbon was a dark green color. To make the headlines “interesting” we could choose from Bold, Underlined, or Italic.

I also worked on the school paper in high school. I was the advertising salesman, which meant that I was often responsible for the ad design / layout as well. We used Mac computers and (if I recall) layout was done with PageMaker (which was popular but no longer exists). Of course we had access to a better selection of fonts like Arial, Verdana, Tahoma, etc, and we used a black and white apple laser printer for output. (Oh, and we still had bold.)

Not too many years ago, you could pick up a CD-ROM of “1000+” fonts at your local department store, Best Buy, Costco, etc. These were good, but too many of them fell deep into the “cheesy” category.

Today, for better or worse, we have access to an even wider selection of type-faces and fonts. Most of which you simply download.

Software has made it possible for artists throughout the world to create their own fonts. And these pro-home-made fonts often are distributed for the artist’s recognition alone. In other words, FREE. And for the low-budget and downright cheap folks out there, this is great news.

Better still, cufón font technology in CSS3 allows us to create web pages using specialized fonts as text, rather than as still images. In other words, back in the day, if you wanted a web site to show an artistic font, you had to save the words as an image, and embed the image into the site. And that’s bad because it takes longer to download, it’s not often searchable, and you cannot copy text from images (easily).

So this new web site tech lets us use a “web font” and display it to the user, as searchable, copyable, fast-downloading text. The navigational type on this site, for example, uses a web font.

Some non-profit groups and even Google have gotten into the font game, too. They are not so much looking to make a buck, but rather, they want to make our online experience better, faster and more interesting.

So whether you are looking to expand your horizons and find an exciting new font for your school paper, OR you are a web developer looking to use something a little more exciting than Bold Arial, here are a few Open Source web sites with free font downloads, as well as tips on how to use the fonts in your web sites:

• http://www.theleagueofmoveabletype.com
• http://www.google.com/webfonts#ChoosePlace:select
• http://openfontlibrary.org/

I lost a $100 bet today. Here’s how…

To celebrate Columbus Day, I took my daughter to the San Diego Zoo to purchase a one-year family membership pass. During the visit, my daughter wanted to take the Skyfari tram to the Polar Bear Plunge on the opposite side of the park. We soon found ourselves in gondola/car/bucket #25 and made our way to see the polar bears.

When it was time to leave we got back in line to take the sky tram back toward the entrance. There were AT LEAST 70 people in front of us. For fun, I said, “If we get into the same car #25 to go back, I’ll give you a hundred bucks!” Of course I knew that the chances were slim at best.

Standing in the wheelhouse with only eight people in front of us, I looked up to see the oncoming gondolas. I could see that #25 was only four away. I sized up the people in front, guessing who was with whom. I soon realized I was doomed…

Moments later, my daughter burst with excitement. She must have described $100 about ten different ways.

So, later in the afternoon I produced a fresh one hundred dollar bill and presented it to her. She was over-joyed. I was happy for her, but more important to me was for her to know that I did what I said I was going to do. It was the best $100 I ever spent.

I take a lot of pride in knowing that people can trust me. If I tell you I am going to do something, in a certain way, or by a certain time, I do it.

I also don’t gamble very often. And now you know why.

Once a week, a relative calls you and asks for help with his or her computer. You’re happy to help, but it’s sometimes difficult to do over the phone. And you don’t have time to make a special trip… Well, good news…

Google has released “Google Desktop Remote” for use on the Chrome browser, allowing Person A to remotely use Person B’s computer. The program works across platforms, so even if you have a PC and your buddy has a Mac or Linux, you’re good.

Don’t understand what it means to Remote to someone’s computer? Imagine sweeping your friend’s floor, and painting his living room wall, all from the comfort of your sofa. It’s like you’re there helping him, but you’re not actually there!

Remote Desktop Services have been available for some time now, especially paid services like Go To Assist. There have also been some free services floating around, but probably not worth the necessary trust and peace of mind you have to have to use certain free services. I feel like I can trust Google, and I would have no problem encouraging clients to do the same.

To get started, both parties need to do the following:

1. Open up your Chrome browser and log into your Google / Gmail Account. (If you don’t have Chrome, visit chrome.google.com and then download / install for free.) For an opinion on Chrome, see below.
2. Using Chrome, go to chrome.google.com/webstore and search “Google Remote Desktop.” You will find the app available for free. Click “Add to Chrome” and it will begin to download & install immediately.
3. Next, a browser window displays all of your installed apps. Choose Google Remote Desktop.

• If you are SHARING your computer screen with someone else (you’re the one who needs help) you click the blue link “Share this Computer.” You will be prompted with a private, 12-digit number. You need to give this number to the person helping you. (Sharing the code can be done by phone, email, text message, etc.)
• If you will be VIEWING your friend’s screen (you are offering the help) you simply type in your friend’s 12-digit code.

At this point, the HELPER can see and control the HELPEE’s screen. In other words, Whizbang Timmy can see Dear Dad’s computer screen, move the mouse, click, type, and essentially do what he needs to do to help dad out of a bind. When one or both people are finished, they simply click the Disconnect button. NOTE: The second time you use the app, you don’t have to do all the above. You just open Chrome, and open the app here. No need to re-download and install.

We’re excited about Google Remote Desktop. Let us know how it works for you.

BONUS READING POINTS: OUR OPINION ABOUT CHROME

To access the internet, your computer needs a “browser.” Most people use Internet Explorer because most people still have Windows computers, and Internet Explorer is what usually comes built-in.

But there are other lots of choices for browsers, and some may provide you with a better experience. Lots of smart people realize this and have flocked to alternative browsers.

The three biggest “players” in modern browsers are Internet Explore from Microsoft, Firefox from Mozilla, and Chrome from Google. I personally prefer Chrome because it is light-weight, fast, and secure. Prior to Chrome, I used Firefox. And prior to Firefox, I used Internet Explorer… not because I liked it, but because that’s about all there was.

If you are still using Internet Explorer, I encourage you to give Chrome a try. Not only do you need it for the above-mentioned remote desktop app, but you might just create a better, faster, and safer online experience for yourself.

Thank you, Steve, for your wisdom, your vision, your contributions, dedication, and for putting your heart and soul into your important work. You have helped the world is so many ways, and we will miss you.

(No, this is not another article about telling your kids not to chat online with strangers. It’s about you, the adults. And what YOU are putting online.)

We manage dozens of web sites. The level of responsibilities varies, and in many cases it’s simply a matter of updating information on the site.

Yesterday a client wrote to us requesting to add a simple button / link that would go from one page on her web site to an external resource. The external resource is a “volunteer scheduler” of sorts and allows people to sign up and fill various roles needed to execute an event. In her case, it is a weekly event.

So we installed the button as requested, and then tested to make sure everything worked properly. During our test, we quickly realized that the external scheduling system was displaying volunteers’ first and last names, and a log-in was not necessary. I immediately contacted the client and suggested she use an alternative, more secure method to assist volunteer sign ups. I wrote:

Stacy, The button has been installed, however, we might want to do things differently. I can see that Joelle Marlenti is volunteering on October 8th at 9 a.m. Because of her role, and because this is a family event, I assume she is a minor and that her family will take her to the event, and stay with her while there. I assume her whole house will be empty at that time. She has a unique last name, and I know her approximate location because of the location of your organization. After looking around online for only three minutes, I see that her parents are Tim and Sue. They live at 1967 Caminito Benne. Their home phone is (555) 436-3255. Tim works at the Springfield News, and Sue works at the Natural Selection Cafe. I can see their house on Google Maps, and I can see on Zillow that an identical house is for sale across the street. The house for sale has photos throughout the house, which means I can assume the overall floorplan of the Marlenti’s home. I know where the master bedroom is, the entertainment center, the home office, etc. Easy in, easy grab, easy out.

Needless to say, she responded quickly and we removed the button. She is currently looking into other options that are more secure. Granted, if the volunteers used only first names, nick names, etc, the situation would be a lot better, but not perfect.

I am writing and sharing this article for your benefit. First, you should take note of what you and your kids are putting online. Second, you should keep an eye out for what others are putting online. And third, if you run an organization, you should be sensitive to what information you are distributing.

What you are putting online:

Don’t write on your facebook page, “My wife and I are going to the movies tonight! Can’t wait! So excited.” Instead, wait a few days and write, “We saw Raiders Return last week and really enjoyed it. Highly recommended!”

What others are putting online:

Be aware of how your company or organization lists you in staff directories, etc. Also, make sure that your event and meeting notes are not publicly accessible. Even a PDF file is searchable and often contains detailed information about who you are, and where you will be, at what time. If these docs must be online, be sure they are in a password protected area. PDFs should be locked with their own passwords as well, etc. Change the web site passwords once a month or quarterly.

This situation is particularly common with Churches, Schools, and Non-Profit Organizations. Not only do they conduct numerous events with lots of volunteers, but they also live life with a certain innocense. “We’re good people. We are surrounded by good people. We do good work for the community. Nobody would harm us.” Sure, I am painting with a broad brush, but believe me, this is truly what I see most of the time.

Simple Steps for Safety

1. Google yourself. You’ve heard it before, but you should do it, and do it often. If you go by Mike, also look at Michael. To make more specific searches, wrap phrases with quotes. To search for Mike Smith in a PDF, google: Mike Smith filetype:PDF.
2. Take a moment and sign up for a Google Alert. It’s free. You simply tell Google, “Whenever you find ABC anywhere online, send an email to me at this email address.” Of course, once you’ve been alerted, it’s sort of too late. However, at the very least, you can contact the source and request the information be changed or removed. If they comply, it should be just a matter of weeks before it’s mostly gone.
3. Where information must be online, try to make sure it’s minimal. If there’s only one Mike on the Committee, then no need to use his last name.
4. Try not to publicize your upcoming / current schedule on facebook and other social media. Instead, use social media to reflect on past events.

Stay safe out there, and thanks for reading. Let us know your thoughts, and other suggestions.