1)
Letter of the Week: New Gorilla Letters Template
The
letter of the week this week is NOT a letter.
It's what makes letters possible.
It's an updated version of the Gorilla®
Letters Template (file name: B2-ltrs.dot).
It
solves a problem for you, and one for us.
Your
Problem: For years, we have embedded
important information in that gray boxy part
of the letter. It's at the top of every Gorilla
letter and serves as a placeholder for your
electronic letterhead, should you decide to
use it. It was a convenient place to give you
some information about the letter. To insure
that information does not print when you print
the letter, we put it in "hidden text," which
means you can view it but it doesn't print.
However,
you can view it ONLY if you have selected "View,
Hidden Text" in your Tools, Options in Word.
Evidently, most Computer Operators have never
turned this option on, and so do not know about
the extra information in the letter, which is
often only interesting but sometimes crucial.
The
new template turns on the option to view hidden
text whenever you open a Gorilla document.
Our
Problem: Unless "Hidden Text" is un-checked
in the Print Options, it will print all the
stuff in hidden text. So here comes a bunch
of stuff in your letter you didn't expect and
don't want. And that always generates a Support
call.
The
new template turns off printing hidden text.
So
by replacing your current template, you can
save yourself and us problems.
Please
click
here to download the new template for Gorilla
Letters. If you have 2.3, just unzip it to the
preset path; if not, please contact Software
Support first.
Now
that was easy, wasn't it?
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2) Other Letters Posted
Concept-Financial
Planning-Fiscal Fitness 2006
"Personal finances can sometimes be a bit
of a challenge. Did you know that nearly 90%
of survey respondents are moderately to very
concerned about their ability to meet future
financial obligations for major items?..."
Cayton-Education-Planning
For Pets
"As you might expect, my family's estate
plan covers a broad range of contingencies dealing
with the care of our property and most importantly,
our minor daughter. However, nowhere does it
discuss Sassy (our Tibetan terrier), Meme the
cat, or Timeless Edition (our 1,200 lb quarter
horse A.K.A. Jammer) ..."
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3) What's Coming
Good
stuff is on the way to you!
This
week, you have the new Gorilla Letters Template,
which as you read above solves a couple of annoying
issues.
February
9th: Pending Business Report
When you write some business, you have to get
the money transferred in, the 1035 exchange
done, the life insurance paid and issued.
Now, with the new "Pending Business Report,"
you will generate a report as often as you want
showing the Notes and Actions taken by you and
your staff to get the job done. You will be
much more able to know what is moving forward,
and where you have to poke and prod to make
certain you get paid.
February 16th: Gorilla 2.x Automated
Backup Utility
Back up to your own hard disk (not particularly
recommended), to a CD, or a USB flash or "thumb"
drive.
There's a daily version and full backup.
To make certain it gets done, we will update
the CO Daily Task Checklist which, naturally,
your CO follows with religious fervor. If so,
you can "Set it and forget it."
4) Mapping and Marketing
Below
you are looking at a map of homes for sale in
Boulder County CO in the $1-$5 million price
range. You are also looking at a piece of the
future.
For
some time now, I've been paying very close attention
to what Google®
has been doing with Google
Earth. With Google Earth (free), you can
get a satellite view of anywhere on the world.
With Google Earth Plus ($20 a year), you get
a better picture. I have subscribed to Google
Earth Plus.
Google
has released programming to anyone who wants
to add their own address data. Real estate is
a natural. This site is one of just three real-estate
sites I've been able to find. I cannot imagine
any city without one. It's just who gets there
first.
Such
maps are (or should be) of great interest to
seminar providers, especially seminar presenters
and direct mailers.
The
picture above was created by a Colorado real
estate company. If you want to check it out,
click
here and search for any type of property.
When your list appears, you will see the Google
Earth option on the right side of the list.
You will need to have Google Earth installed
to view the graphics in the download.
Now—why
do you care?
By
searching for high-end homes for sale, you easily
know where rich people live.
So
here, for instance, are the homes in the $1
million-$5 million range.
Clearly
there are clusters of high-end homes.
Below
is a closer look at that cluster you see in
the middle of the map above, right under the
city name "Boulder."
Let's
say we want to find restaurants not too far
from this area where we might hold a seminar.
By
using the "Local Search" feature in the upper
left of your Google Earth screen, you can search
for restaurants. When I did, I didn't find any
that I liked. But in checking the websites of
some of the restaurants displayed, I saw a link
to a "Boulder Dining Guide." Poking around in
there, I came up with the Flagstaff House Restaurant.
Its website suggests it would be a fantastic
site for a high-end seminar.
This
next picture shows the location of this restaurant
and a straight line which I created using the
"Measure" tool. (Tools, Measure).
Clearly
there are a lot of wealthy homes within a five-mile
radius of the Flagstaff House Restaurant.
Naturally,
we would want to check out the restaurant, but
it at least meets the condition that it is within
five miles of the area into which we want to
promote.
Pinpoint
Marketing
A
close inspection of the first map above shows
four areas where million dollar homes are for
sale. What you could do is take this map to
a local mailing house and see if they have a
list, street by street, in these neighborhoods.
That's where I would be mailing.
My
suggestion: If you have not already downloaded
Google Earth, click
here.
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5) Tip of the Week
One
of the most effective ways to build good will
is to use Etiquette Messages.
Whether you're saying thank you, sending along
congratulations or offering condolences, Etiquette
Messages acknowledge the human being behind
the account number.
It's easy to sell someone something once. The
strength of your relationship often dictates
whether or not you can continue to sell to them.
Imagine the impact on a Client when you send
his daughter a congratulations message after
learning from the news that she has recently
been promoted. That's going way above and beyond
the call of duty, and nothing can be more powerful
in terms of solidifying relationships.
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Have a great week!
Sincerely,
Bill
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