I’m hoping to be running the London Marathon in April 2008. I’ll find out in late or early November… but anyways, since signing up I’ve received letters from like 10 different charities asking me to run in support of them.

I’ve had a hard time decising between them all because really how do you say yes to one cause and no to the other, when they all need help… know what I mean?

But today I got a letter from the Children with Leukemia foundation that really stood out. All the letters I’ve received from other charities have just said run for our team, help a good cause, blah, blah but this letter was different. Here’s a small excerpt:

Even though you don’t as yet know whether you have a place to run, you may want to start your training. We have enclosed three training plans that we hope may be of use to you.

You should hear from the Marathon Office at the beginning of December as to whether you have a place via the ballot. Until then, (or even afterwards), if you have any queries, we are only too happy to hear from you.

I thought that was pretty neat. They’re sending me something helpful and useful and not straight out saying choose us. It’s very subtle and definitely stood out from the pile of other letters I’ve received.

In marketing and business, I’ve always believed in giving. It’s a known fact that most people have developed ad blindness and tend to run at the first sign that someone’s selling something.

Instead, if you concentrate on helping people, you will instantly stand out in their minds and they will be more likely to buy or support you and your business.

This lesson was one I learned with my first business. I didn’t know much about marketing at the time but by instinct I knew that I should be nice, polite and do that little bit extra no one else seemed to be doing. My business grew quickly as a result.

When I started my online business I learned from people like Ken Envoy and Alice Seba that giving is definitely the way to build an online business.

I guess it’s pretty much common sense, people do business with people they like and that treat them well. My mom always said remember your manners and you’ll be fine

This entry was posted on Thursday, October 11th, 2007 at 5:29 am and is filed under Marketing. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.