The Magic of Auto-scheduling
Is this cool or what? I am writing this on Thursday afternoon. If all goes according to schedule, Constant Contact will send this through the ether to your e-mail box on Friday morning as I am driving to the Mass. Assoc. of Chamber of Commerce Executives annual conference in
Chamber Connections
If there is one single thing about the Chamber that lights my fire, floats my boat, sends me to the moon, makes my heart sing, gets me to cha cha cha with Lily Lu, it’s to hear about or witness Chamber members connecting with other Chamber members. Being a Chamber Connector Extraordinaire is why the Board honored Jean Carbone of The Basket Jeanie as Chamber member of the Year at the 2007 Achievement Awards Banquet. The sum is greater than the parts. One joint venture can lead to new ideas for products and services that benefit the connectors and their customers.
Speaking of connecting--When you send me an item for the newsletter, I try to put it in my newsletter folder right away. Then I forget about it till it’s time to write the letter. Today, I was delighted today to find myself adding item after item after item to Chamber Connections recounting how members looked to each other as resources, as beneficiaries, to buy products or services or to co-sponsor events.
Speakinf of promoting all of you--For a long time now, I have encouraged Chamber members to let me know when they are doing business together. At first, it was the vendor who sent me the Connecting news. This past year, however, I made a shift in my approach. Because I am a firm believer in the power of third party testimonials, now I prefer to report those connections from the customer's point of view. When I learn of a Chamber Connection from the vendor, I ask the vendor to have the customer “testify” in an e-mail to me or if s/he is uncomfortable doing that, I will do the asking. Let me show you what I mean about the difference in impact and you be the judge of which is more powerful and more likely to get other Chamber members to also use the vendor's services or products.
News from the vendor?
OR
Kudos from the customer? Nancy Oakes at Dragonfly Inc: “When our company needed a new widget, we turned to the Estes Company for help. Not only were they able to create a widget to meet our unique requirements, it was delivered on time and on budget. Molly Tierney of Estes was terrific!"
I would like to add my own kudos today to Mike Morris of Fitness Together/Arlington for making the effort to involve as many Chamber members as he could in the February 6 health fair he has organized, even recruiting a new Chamber member, ChiroCare Associates, in the process, and to John Archer of Precision Copiers who came to the rescue of Right Turn by figuring out how to fix the problem without the need for costly repairs.
Chamber Connecting is about building community one relationship at a time. All of you have the chance to do just that next Wednesday night at our after-hours event taking place at The Computer Cafe. While the deadline has passed to be part of the wide screen promotion and the trivia contest, come and network and take the trivia challenge to learn more about your colleagues.
We hope to see you there!
