Many years ago I went car shopping with my dad. After meeting with the salesperson and kicking the tires on a potential new car, we left the dealership. The first thing my dad said as we left was that salesperson never took down his phone number. He wouldn’t be able to call my dad to find out if he wanted the car. Of course, we purchased a car at a different dealership.

I am part of Business Network International, the largest business networking group in the United States. Currently I am serving as the Growth Coordinator for our chapter. When a visitor walks into a meeting, I don’t just shake hands; I walk them to the meeting hoping they will come back and join.

Many individuals are under substantial hardship as a result of the Covid 19 pandemic. Federal, state and local governments are looking for ways to provide relief. One interesting example is the city of Tenino taking the step of issuing their own town currency, up to $300 per individual, for those demonstrating negative impact from the pandemic.

Throughout the history of our nation, local governments have taken the step of issuing currency, in one fashion or another, in an effort to work through difficult economic times.

A number of times I’ve touched on the topic for effective speaking. At times, and I try to apply the lesson to myself, I shared individuals there’s a reason TED Talks are limited to 18 minutes, most listeners struggled to stay focused for much more than 20 or for a maximum 25 minutes. TED Talks are a collection of well presented speeches based on the premise of presenting ideas well worth spreading.

I received an email the other day that read like a cold temperature of 25°.  My first inclination was to type a harsh response justifying my situation and explaining why my “opponent” was completely off target. Instead I employed a strategy I’ve used to respond differently, even though it is hard. 

King Solomon wrote, “Fools give full vent to their rage, but the wise bring calm in the end.” (Proverbs, 29:11, NIV)

When drafting a difficult email, particularly when frustrated, I draft my response in a Word file. This keeps me from inadvertently hitting send too early in a way that may embarrass myself or harm my ministry or business situation. I’ve heard of too many circumstances where someone hit the send button inadvertently and gave the sender good reason to regret the move.

Regular readers of this blog know that I suggest that all marketing should lead with the benefits and follow with the evidence. The evidence may be the study verifying the need for your product or service. 

Frequently, I receive marketing emails which includes some vague phrase like “studies show” without any attribution. My first thought is so what?