[Dixielandjazz] FORTUNE ADVICE - Bandleaders

[Stephen Barbone]

Below is some of the best advice you will ever get. One change I make
when doing this is to connect with past and present clients. Even our
wedding clients. (Yes they refer). Plus a few that we haven't sold yet.
This year's mail 271 cards, (I start early)

My "note" is on a fold over card stock, with a picture of a little boy,
sitting in an old farm wagon, holding out a clarinet in upraised palms.
If you want to see it, send me your snail mail address.

Cheers,
Steve barbone

FORTUNE SMALL BUSINESS NEWSLETTER
December 2003 EDITOR'S NOTE

Even with the economy starting to rebound, entrepreneurs can't be too
proactive about reaching out to customers. And there's no better
opportunity than the holiday season to reconnect with those who haven't
used your services for a while. Make sure that when you send holiday
cards to clients this year that you TAKE A MINUTE OR TWO TO WRITE A
HANDWRITTEN NOTE, urges Andrea Nierenberg,
author of Nonstop Networking (Capital Books Inc.) Besides thanking them
for their business, use a search engine like Google to find out what's
going on at their company and offer congratulations on any good news you
discover. As obvious as this may sound, so few people actually make an
effort to do this -- even for their top clients -- that you'll really
stand out. "Unless you take the time to write a few words, it's just
junk mail," says Nierenberg. On the other hand, she says, investing in a
more personal approach will often pay off in a nice bump in sales come
January.