<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN"> <HTML><HEAD> <META http-equiv=Content-Type content="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1"> <STYLE>.hmmessage P { PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; MARGIN: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px } BODY.hmmessage { FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Tahoma } </STYLE> <META content="MSHTML 6.00.6000.16640" name=GENERATOR></HEAD> <BODY class=hmmessage bgColor=#ffffff> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=3>Gerald, after 40 years in business, I have tried every method in both the north and south. The one you describe below has been the most effective for me. If I can't reach them by phone, I do follow up with a card. We don't call after 5:00pm.</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=3></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=3>Al Guecia</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=3></FONT> </DIV> <BLOCKQUOTE dir=ltr style="PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; BORDER-LEFT: #000000 2px solid; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px"> <DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial">----- Original Message ----- </DIV> <DIV style="BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; FONT: 10pt arial; font-color: black"><B>From:</B> <A title=mccleskey112@bellsouth.net href="mailto:mccleskey112@bellsouth.net">mccleskey112@bellsouth.net</A> </DIV> <DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>To:</B> <A title=pianotech@ptg.org href="mailto:pianotech@ptg.org">Pianotech List</A> </DIV> <DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Sent:</B> Monday, April 14, 2008 8:21 AM</DIV> <DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Subject:</B> Re: Drumming up business</DIV> <DIV><BR></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial>Gregor: One thing about reminder cards is that they are non-threatening and safe. But they are expensive and time consuming over the long haul. Be brave and use the phone. You are already paying for it, use it. Here's how it works. When you finish tuning, ask the customer how often they would like to have their piano tuned. Then ask if they would like a reminder call. If the answer is yes, then schedule that call when you get home. When that date comes, make the call. </FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial>Gerald McCleskey</FONT> </DIV> <BLOCKQUOTE style="PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; BORDER-LEFT: #000000 2px solid; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px"> <DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial">----- Original Message ----- </DIV> <DIV style="BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; FONT: 10pt arial; font-color: black"><B>From:</B> <A title=karlkaputt@hotmail.com href="mailto:karlkaputt@hotmail.com">Gregor _</A> </DIV> <DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>To:</B> <A title=pianotech@ptg.org href="mailto:pianotech@ptg.org">Pianotech List</A> </DIV> <DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Sent:</B> Monday, April 14, 2008 4:04 AM</DIV> <DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Subject:</B> RE: Drumming up business</DIV> <DIV><BR></DIV>Reminder cards work better than phone calls for me. When I call on the phone I often hear: my mom is not at home. Or: that´s my husbands decision. Or something like that. I have reminder cards which shows on the front side the same like my business card, just a little bit greater. On the backside it reads: short reminder: your piano was not tuned for more than 1 year. Pianos should be tuned each year. Then they sound best. I have immediate resonance of 10 % within 2 weeks. But most of my customers have that post card on their pinboard for a long time and one day they call me. I send this card to a customer every 12, 24, 36 and 48 month. If I get no response, I delete the customers data. I think that in the long run this is better than phone calls.<BR><BR>Gregor<BR><BR> <BLOCKQUOTE> <HR> Date: Sun, 13 Apr 2008 14:10:45 +0100<BR>From: ljinno@googlemail.com<BR>To: pianotech@ptg.org<BR>Subject: Drumming up business<BR><BR> <DIV>Hi, </DIV> <DIV>I am in the process of trying to revive my business, kids need shoes, wife needs new outfit etc.  I have been sending out reminders but its not very effective......Well what I mean is, customers, when they eventually get in touch say "I got your note" but this is very often over a year after I sent it to them!.  </DIV> <DIV>So, can any of you give me guidance on effective wording for a reminder.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Also, if anyone has a database that throws up names and addresses of customers due for tuning and is willing to share it, many of us would love to here from you.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Thanks in anticipation</DIV> <DIV>Lee</DIV></BLOCKQUOTE><BR> <HR> Invite your mail contacts to join your friends list with Windows Live Spaces. It's easy! <A href="http://spaces.live.com/spacesapi.aspx?wx_action=create&wx_url=/friends.aspx&mkt=en-us" target=_new>Try it!</A> </BLOCKQUOTE></BLOCKQUOTE></BODY></HTML>