GG> In the old days (a few years ago), I used to be able to use the PC as
 GG> a fax machine and fax out thousands of letter introducing myself to
 GG> the business community (I'm an accountant).
This is still being done today....and made all the more easier with the
"new breed" of available (commercial) software being bundled with modems.
 CG> Later on, I started getting a few calls from businesses who insisted
 CG> that I delete their names from my listing. Since I only did this mass=
 CG> faxing once a year or so, and since I used different sources for the
 CG> names each time, I did not remove any names or make any notes as to who
 CG> was upset with this form of self-advertising.
Ohhhhhhhh ! Bad move ! You're not listening to your market...
 CG> Although the negative response was very small compared to the total
 CG> amount faxed out (may be 10 in 2,000), I still have some
 CG> comprehensiveness (?) about using this same form of advertising.
Consider: "word of mouth". Stop to think, "...has this stopped my
effective growth ? Will it ?" That "negative response" is every bit as
important to the thinking businessman as the "positive" results. It
means you're doing "something wrong", something that is NOT at all
attractive to your targetted marketplace. It _may be_ the delivery of
your message, or it may be "something else"...that needs to be
corrected.
Even one complaint is too much for any business to endure.
 CG> The system is cheaper than mailing the letters out and
 GG> everything is handled by the PC with little human intervention and I
 GG> have picked up quite a bit of business using this system and have
 GG> received good feedback from existing and potential clients. Is there
 GG> another was to go about this?
Well, you could try to become more selective about the fax sites that
you send-out to. This would be on-par with "selective mailings".
 CG> I tried hand delivery of the letters but this was too time consuming.
It would be !
Indeed, up here in Canada, our Canada Post had recently decided NOT to
hand-deliver handbills and other such bulk mailings, leaving that market
to be exploited by private industry. It cited that sortings were
creating (costly) bottlenecks to it's delivery system such that these
things actually held-up important mailings that demanded more timely
deliveries. As a more or less direct result, the direct mail companies
will have to find other means to deliver their clients' messages: it
remains to be seen if they will move closer towards electronic means of
deliveries or if they will (physically) expand their own delivery
infrastructures.
 CG> (I guess I'm just "scared" of some irate businessperson knowing my
 CG> telephone number (and address from the letter) tracking me down and
 CG> inflicting great pain on my home business and body.)
All of which leads me to ask the question: "What in Hades ARE you
flogging ?"...
I mean, sure I do get the odd nusiance fax here, and I may feel
compelled to call the sender to demand that my name be struck from their
list: I may even come to _feeling_ that I'll have to "go over there and
hit 'im hard with a two-by-four" in order to ensure that my name is
taken off their list. HOWEVER, I just don't have the time of day to play
"vigilante"...instead, I use the Law to ensure enforcement of my wishes.
It's amazing how effective (and co$tly !) a simple lawyer's letter can
be. Or, I'll simply sit down and either make a phone call or draft a letter
of complaint to the Direct Mailer's Association, asking for IT to
request that one of it's members be directed to "cease and desist" all
contact to my number (or address). Also very effective... For those who
absolutely _insist_ upon ignoring my requests, I simply file a complaint with
Bell Canada: Bell loves to disconnect nusiance lines, and the mere threat for
this to happen is usually quite sufficient to get what * I * want !! (If
the messages come by mail, then I'll file a (written) complaint and
demand for action with the post office. They've got people there that
can make a Mafioso dry-up and cry...)
So you see, there are choices and avenues of action available, none of
(the latter I've written about above) which I think you'd want to be
faced with. And THAT's the story behind my comment of "...bad move...".
Simply put, by _not_ being mindful of the negative reactions you are
also demonstrating that you haven't very much business accumen...and
_that's_ NOT the opinion you want floating around about you in the
business world that you (and your product) are trying to capture a
foothold.
Semper Fi
RTP
~~~ PGPBLUE 3.0 
... The standard deviation on reality has exceeded acceptable limits.
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