Dec 04

Of
course, you may ask, what does all this have to do with
effective marketing, the usual subject of these Bullets?

Nothing,
really.

And
everything.

As
Malcolm Forbes was fond of saying, "In all thy
getting, get understanding."

It's
vital for all of us to understand that our prospects
and customers are people, too... and people like
to connect with others who are unafraid of showing a
little humanity, of taking some time now and then to
share a laugh, feel some warmth, express some sympathy,
do a favor, help a charity, be a friend. Whatever your
product, however impressive your expertise, people will
never care how much you know until they know how much
you care.

Every
now and then, toss a few pebbles of caring into your
pond of contacts. Those ripples of friendship will spread
and unfailingly return to you in waves of appreciation
and loyalty.

Especially
at this time of year, we all need to rediscover, like
Scrooge in "A Christmas Carol," the giddy
delight of perpetrating on unsuspecting humanity some
random acts of kindness, some senseless acts of joy.

*
* * * *

If
you would like to share Shaya's story of joy with anyone
you know, you certainly have my permission to forward
this e-mail to as many people as you wish, to spread
a little cheer yourself and honor the spirit of the
season.

I'd
like to tell you something else that's very special about Gary.
Every Thanksgiving he sends a large, solid gold coin to someone
who has affected his life in a positive way.

And
one of the things of which I am most proud is... Gary sent me
one of these coins back in the 90's. Unfortunately, due to earthquakes,
floods, hurricanes, and the other discombobulations of my life,
I no longer have that coin. But, to me, that doesn't really matter.
What DOES matter is the memory of knowing a man such as Gary Bencivenga
held me in enough esteem to bestow me with that gold coin. That's
about as high an honor to which a person like me can aspire.