I wrote about this several weeks ago when I got an email from Namifiers.com, a nametag supplier with whom I'd done business a year or so ago, but here goes again!

How have your sales been? Are you keeping your collectors up-to-date with what you've been working on and the ways they can buy your new work?

How's the traffic in your booth been this Spring? Do lookers stop and give your work serious thought, or do they hurry out and to the next booth?

When someone makes a substantial purchase, do you get his/her contact info so that you can keep a relationship with him/her?

I'm beginning to believe the businesses that are failing are often going out of business due to what they haven't been doing. I'll give you some examples from my own life.

• Last year, we had a neighbor's son, a fledgling landscaper, come do a small job at the front of our lawn. We also asked him to price a job we were considering. We told him to check back with us, that we were very interested in having him do the job. HE NEVER ASKED FOR THE BUSINESS. We see him at his parents' house. He waves and is friendly, even stops to talk. But he never asked for the business. And we are ready, willing and able to have the job done.
• A roofer did some work for us in October. He priced another job for us. We called him several times telling him we were ready for him to do it. HE CAN'T FIND THE TIME TO WORK US INTO HIS SCHEDULE.
• We've been taking our car for regular maintenance to a local business for many years. The owner sold the business. When we called the business to see if they could buy new tires, the new owner's wife told us they had to order the tires and there wasn't anyone to put them on, that we could go to XYZ business farther away.We went ahead and had the owner's wife order the tires and have her husband & son come to the business a few days later to put the tires on our car. That was three weeks ago. This past weekend, Bill Ronay noticed a vibration in the steering (he's good at noticing such things). So today, he went to the business and asked that they rebalance the tires. The man at the desk - not the owner - told Bill Ronay that it would be an hour or so at least. And that if a paying customer came in, Bill's job would be pushed back for that person. We'll take the car in and leave it until someone is able to make the tires right. And then, we'll find another business to go to.
• Yesterday, I was on the internet and began to order a garment from a company I like. I did not complete my order. This morning, I got an email from the company asking if they could assist me in an order, that they saw that I came, I looked, but I did not place the order. I emailed back, telling them what my issue was. They immediately emailed back with suggestions.

The landscaper, roofer and car care companies may all go out of business, and blame the economy. I understand that my jobs will not make or break them, but if they don't pay attention to me, are they paying attention to others who want to pay them for their skills?

Will I buy a garment from the company who immediately responded to an uncompleted order? You bet I will. I love the maker's garments; I just had an issue with the one I was ordering yesterday.

Think about those who have purchased from you lately. Give them a call or drop them an email or ebroadcast. At least ASK FOR THE BUSINESS. It may not be the economy that is throwing your bottom line off.