What's in YOUR Wallet?

The letter came from the University of Toronto, which was conducting a survey to help my Dad find some “unclaimed funds.” I know what you are thinking, and I thought the same. Has to be a scam, right? But this was the?second?notice I had received about the same “unclaimed funds,” and something about the notice seemed legitimate.

I filled out the survey - a simplistic market research tool - asking if I would rather have $35 today or $40 next month. I was asked about 24 variations of “less money today OR more money at a later date.” I hope they found my responses helpful, since I really put?no thought?into my answers, but just wanted to finish quickly so I could begin tracking down my Dad’s unclaimed funds.

SHOW ME THE MONEY!!!

This was not one of those emails that said I was the relative of a long lost Nigerian Prince. Nor was it a story about some dignitary in a foreign county who left me an inheritance. Everything seemed above board, and when the letter explained where the funds were from, it seemed reasonable. My father?would have had?financial dealings with those companies.

This was about my Dad, a 90 year-old man with Alzheimer’s Disease who hasn’t handled his own finances in may years. I take care of his short term bills, and my oldest brother handles all the long term investments. Together we keep a vigilant eye on expenses, trying to stretch Dad’s assets into the future. My Dad’s mail is sent to me, and this letter was one of the many “calls to action” I have received on his behalf over the years. Most of them I ignore.

But money is money, and it was?for my Dad, so I pursued the clicks and links as directed. The market research agency had received my completed survey and sent me next to?Missingmoney.com

WHAAAAT? Are you kidding me? There is an organization that is set up to help people like me? Looking for dollars? For people like my dad? Dollars that have somehow been stuck in some financial “no-man’s land?”

Yes! Here’s the website's headline:

Lo and behold, my Dad actually had 6 unclaimed funds: five in Ohio and one in Massachusetts (where our family lived when I was in high school). In each case, I was then linked to the state’s commerce department, where I could file a claim to receive the 'missing' funds.

Before you get over-excited that there’s a million dollars waiting for you to just snatch it up, let me share circumstances of these “unclaimed funds.” One is an insurance payout for one of those class action lawsuits, where the plaintiffs split millions of dollars, but each person only gets about $1.79 after the legal fees are deducted. Probably not worth pursuing, but I won’t know, since the amount of the funds was secret until I sent in a claim form.

The other five claims were undeposited DIVIDENDS from 3 major corporations that were in my grandmother’s estate. The address they had for my Dad was a law office that had not been accurate for 15 years, but his lawyer did remember that they were once situated at that address (2-3 mergers ago). I have since enlisted his legal help to track down these dividends and collect them for my Dad’s account. After all, they belong to Dad more than the Unclaimed Funds department of Ohio. At the very least, he is the rightful heir to my grandmother’s estate (long since settled and disbursed amongst the family).

I won’t know the answer until sometime next week, but at the end of the day, for just a?TINY bit of effort, it appears that there could be a payout of about $3000. Not too shabby for answering a few market research questions.

{Please be aware that you don’t have to go through the survey from the University of Toronto, if you are looking for unclaimed funds for yourself or a loved one. Just click on?www.missingmoney.com?and look for funds in states where you have lived. Understand that I am not affiliated?in any way?with this website, and encourage you to get your own legal counsel to pursue any “$$$ bejillions” that are out there waiting to be claimed. Good Luck.}

But the whole process made me think. How many assets do you have in your solo business that you are?not?using? I’m not talking about inventory, office supplies, equipment or real estate. I’m talking about?marketing?assets like your list of contacts, your relationships with current and past clients, your reputation, your ratings, your reviews. Did you know that you own those assets and they are the?most powerful?parts of your marketing system?

One of my coaching clients recently analyzed her “Mail Chimp” data and discovered she had 700 names and emails. Talk about finding hidden wealth!!!

This list was?PURE MARKETING GOLD!?She had a direct link to these potential clients who had requested pricing or services from her in the past eighteen months. After her charming personality and her artistic skills, this list was her?#1 ASSET, and one that was poorly utilized thus far.

We spent time discussing this extremely valuable asset and how she could use it to strengthen relationships and attract more clients. I’m going to share that list of ideas with you, but before I do, note the reasons why her email list, this asset, is so very necessary and important.

She owns it, and no matter what happens in the META-verse, or on Facebook, LinkedIn or Instagram, no one can take that away from her. She doesn’t have to pay to use it, since email and her Email Service Provider (ESP), Mail Chimp, are free. Many, many providers compete in this industry now, so if you haven’t checked who can give you a FREE account to send emails to your people, grab the?TACO Tuesday Resource Guide, and start investigating for your own business.

Her list is searchable, because she keeps it electronically. So, she can offer a promotion or a news article to one town, one county, or everyone whose last name begins with ‘R.’ (This is especially useful for promotions that surround “Talk Like a Pirate Day.”) She can easily make updates and add notes, so the database is totally customizable to her needs. Lastly, since it is measurable, she can make "growing her list" one of her SMART goals for 2022 (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Timely).

What about you? Do you have an electronic list of all the people you know; people who have inquired about your work; prospects who have asked for quotes? How about the people you have met at networking events (in person or virtually)?

Your list is?Gold, people, so don’t leave those names and emails unclaimed!

Here are 8 things you can do with the list you have:

Share the frequently asked questions about your work, in an email newsletter.

Share an article about your industry that you agree with and why it is important.

Share your back story (make it short) and why you are doing the work you do today.

Share your favorite books to read, or a list of resources that your clients would appreciate.

Share some favorite recipes and tie them to a business topic or a special day.

Show some behind-the-scenes photos and introduce members of your team.

Highlight a special client and promote their business/organization to others.

If you are a party entertainer, share goodie bag or craft ideas to supplement the work you do.

How do you do this? Well, once you have an Email Service Provider (ESP) it’s as easy as putting your fingers on the laptop keys. You all know how to write…so get busy. Most importantly, it is?NOT ABOUT YOU! It’s about?THEM, so give them information they want to know, or find helpful, not sales mumbo jumbo about how great you are. I promise you that if you serve before you sell, you will be treated as an expert, not a vendor.

If you need help, hit reply and I promise to respond to every message, personally, with some ideas, just for you!

Ciao,

Diane