Referrals are welcome

Repeat customers and referrals are at the heart of a healthy business operation. When was the last time you recommended a restaurant to a friend? Maybe you were happy with a car wash and told a neighbor, who now frequents the same place. When someone compliments your suit, shoes or coat, you might even tell them where you bought those items, unprompted. So much business is spread by word of mouth.

Owners of businesses can’t be in all the right networking places at the right time, but building up referral sources is imperative for a professional service firm.

Recently my accountant passed away. Unfortunately, no provision had been made to complete my taxes. It was time to go looking for another accountant. Being a small business, I didn’t need a powerhouse accounting firm but I did need someone local who could get the taxes done on time. An added value would be someone who could provide financial expertise to help my business thrive.

I decided to call on an accountant who is a friend of the family. I was disappointed to learn that she wasn’t available to do my taxes. I asked her if she knew of anyone else. She told me about a CPA in Livonia, who shares an office with two others and is very competent. In fact, my source said that she often refers prospective clients to this CPA when her clientele gets too full. Her vote of confidence was reassuring. It was also a big relief because I didn’t have to keep looking. My new CPA is gaining a new customer without even having to knock on my door or make a cold call. Given that scenario, you see how important a good referral can be.

That’s why we welcome your referrals. My team at Cezat Creative Resources and I can manage your print or web project from concept to completion. We are to the print/web/presentation process what an event planner is to a wedding, conference or fundraising event.  We make your job easier by handling all the details and ensuring that deadlines are met and budgets are adhered to.

Referrals can take small business to new places. Photo by Liz Cezat.

We offer complete project management – writing, design, photography, printing/mailing, and posting online – for timely communication. Our newsletters, brochures, annual reports, websites and presentations are designed to keep your audiences informed, inspired and loyal to your organization/firm. I also offer social media – posting and blog content.

We can help you:

• sell professional services

• raise funds for a nonprofit organization

• boost loyalty from alumni and/or association members

• prepare for a capital campaign

• engage your key supporters.

If you are pleased with the services that you have received from Cezat Creative Resources, please tell your associates about us when they go looking for a small yet smart business to take on an important project that involves marketing, fundraising or B2B sales.

If you have questions, comments or want to discuss a project, please contact Liz Cezat at 734.416.5915 or send an e-mail. Thank you for helping us get the word out.

Bloom where you’re planted

I just learned today that my accountant Bob has died. I knew he was sick but I didn’t know that it was life-threatening. He was my age. He leaves behind a wife and three adult children. I also have three adult children and a loving boyfriend (and a former spouse). We both run – or did run – our own businesses. There were lots of similarities.

Photo by Liz Cezat, Mt. Ranier wildflowers.

Bob always had a smile and encouragement for me and my business through its ups and downs. He thought small business was pretty cool. I would get discouraged easier than he did when times got tough. I’m persistent and hard-working but am also impatient and, at times, pessimistic.

His passing makes me realize how fleeting life is. How we don’t know for sure how much time we really have. Although I think that I will live well into my 90s, I have no crystal ball to tell me if this is true.

The past few years – with a fragile economy – have been hard on my business. I fear that the craft that I love – interviewing, writing, sharing stories, informing audiences, and producing publications and marketing materials – is no longer valued. That’s also a death.

In the midst of death, it’s doubly important to make the most of life. I’ve been guilty of wishing that I was somewhere else doing something else. The desire to thrive is all encompassing. Bob’s death does motivate me to flourish once again with a new focus.

For starters, I will try to live with more optimism and gratitude. Life is only lived once; days wasted on despair don’t come back as a do-over. Whether it’s a long life or a shorter life … I want to make the most of each and every day. 

Most of you who read this don't know Bob, but you probably do know someone whose life ended much too soon. It is these individuals  - ordinary yet extraordinary - who have such an impact on us. Their passing often is a "wake-up call" for us to pay more attention to how we live our lives.

God bless you Bob. May you rest in peace, knowing that you have inspired me and others through your kindness, your commitment to your loving family, and your work ethic. Bob’s world – his sphere of family, friends, community and business - won’t be the same without him and that is a profound loss.

Writing and flow can make your speech transformative

Good writing is the linchpin of a presentation. As a Toastmaster, I hear a lot of speeches. The good ones have a beginning, middle and end. The bad ones take the listeners along a path that leads to a fog – they don’t know where the speech is going.

Near hits are those that have a great opening, good solid points, descriptive examples and personal stories that connect, but at the point of wrapping up the speech – the speaker veers onto a tangent before ending it.

Why did the speaker throw in this extraneous element? When writing, your speech should have a  flow to it. Do the points you are making lead logically from one to another? Do your real-life examples support a point or are you just adding them for comic relief? Everything that goes into a presentation – facts, examples, humor and statistics – needs to support the message you want to impart.

A good speech is like a river, it takes the audience on a journey.
Photo by Liz Cezat; Virgin River, Zion National Park

When writing a speech, if it appears that you have too much stuff in the form of a double ending or content that doesn’t flow, you need to closely examine the extraneous elements. If an element is indeed a supporting point of the speech, put it where it belongs. Maybe it needs to go toward the front of your presentation or in the middle. It if doesn’t fit anywhere, cut it out. Think of great films and how many scenes are left on the cutting room floor.

Now, picture a river with a strong current. You want to take your audience in at one point (set the stage), and then have them travel with you along that river – learning and ideally being entertained as they go. At the end, put them on solid ground with new knowledge gained. Give your speech legs – take-away points the audience can either act on or reflect upon.

It’s true that the audience forgets much of what is said in a speech, but if you can create a good flow to your speech and have an ending that wraps up the most important points, the audience will be delighted not only with the presentation but with you as an expert.

Exceptional speeches stick with audiences for years because they’ve imparted new knowledge. Your words can motivate your audience or inspire them to change a behavior or viewpoint. With a bit more attention to content and flow, your speeches can be transformative.

If you need a professional speech writer, please contact me at info@cezatcreative.com

After the speech ... lead with the news

Get more mileage out of speeches by writing them "news style" for newsletters and press releases. (Photo by Liz Cezat)

Leading with the news is one of the best ways to get a reader’s attention. When it comes to reporting on an executive’s speech, many corporate publications and association newsletters write a lead only telling who spoke and where they spoke – rather than what was said.  Then, the writer may throw in a bunch of background information, such as the audience included members of an ad hoc committee that is working on shoring up quality standards in the industry. (ho hum).

Who wants to sift through a bunch of corporate-speak before getting to the meat of the article? If written news style (typically how journalists write for print media and corporate newsletters), the lead sentences should contain the elements of “who, what, when and where” – “why” is optional.  

The “what” would be the most important take-away from the speech. Any good speech typically has one to three main points that the speaker wants the audience to know. The other main points can be elaborated on further down in the article. But they too should come before a wordy explanation of what the ad hoc committee does.

Think of an inverted pyramid, with the most important information at the widest point (or at the beginning of an article), supported by details as you read on. The very end of the article – the tip of the pyramid – should contain the background information that is nice to have but not essential to the story. That way, if readers don’t finish the article, they still have the main take-away points.

The beauty of using a freelance writer, such as myself, is that I know how to structure the article (or press release) to get the key concepts across in an informative and engaging manner. Too often, the staff writer may actually only be wearing that hat in addition to performing HR functions. Or, the staff writer may be too immersed in industry jargon to deliver the news from the speech in a fresh, reader-friendly manner.

Take a look at your company's press releases regarding speeches and see what approach is taken. Is it "corporate speak" or news style?

Find bigger donors through social media

It’s no secret that fundraisers keep dossiers on people of high net worth when they are cultivating them for a major gift. To speed up the time frame between collecting information and getting to the “ask,” it pays to link-up with or follow some high net worth individuals online.

Many high net worth individuals have staff or assistants who do their social networking for them. You may need to go the circuitous route: follow their companies, their spokespeople or their foundations. Chances are they don't have a Facebook page but check anyway. Some may be on LinkedIn. Their foundations or companies likely have a Twitter account. These high net worth individuals can be tracked online in some fashion.

For universities, alumni are a major group of supporters. If you are a fundraiser at a college, join your organization’s alumni group on LinkedIn. Glean information from alumni about their allegiance to their alma mater, find out how many received scholarships and frame a question about whether they would support a student through a scholarship. Make the initial “ask” in a conversational manner rather than a formal request. Then follow-up with a phone call, e-mail or personal visit. Don’t put someone on the spot on a visible communication stream.

On Twitter, search for: family foundation, CEOs, and board of directors. These categories could produce some surprising new sources of donors or advisers who work with high net worth individuals.


Get creative about finding your supporters online. Do you follow prospective supporters and funders? Have you made a successful “ask” of someone who you met on social media? Share your story.

A potential donor inquires about supporting the Heidelberg Project in Detroit. (Photo by Liz Cezat.)

13 ways to make life better in 2013

Irma Thomas, Soul Queen of New Orleans, performed rousing spirituals at Noel Night in Detroit. 

Photo by Liz Cezat.

These “daily living tips” can apply to both your personal and professional life. I’m a bit rusty practicing some of these, but know they have the power to keep me grounded and also soar. I debated about whether to put this on my professional or personal blog, but decided on the former to give you a sense of who I am aside from being a writer and marketing consultant.

May this be a great year for you and those you are closest to. Here are my top 13 tips:

1.     Love. It’s the most important thing in life.

2.     Fix things that are broken. (Your relationship. Your car. Your computer. Your house. Your clothing. Your skis. You get the picture.) The more things are left broken, the harder they are to repair or replace – cost-wise and psychologically.

3.     Find your strengths and skills and apply them daily. It will give you a sense of accomplishment.

4.     Eat vegetables. It helps ward off disease.

5.     Find a sport or exercise that you like and do it regularly. I’ve been swimming three miles a week for nearly 30 years. A woman that I met at the fitness center has been running 20 miles a week for 25 years. Your exercise regimen doesn’t have to impress anyone, it just needs to make you feel good & stay fit.

6.     Pay attention to your money. I’m reading Suze Orman books so I don’t fear money management.

7.     When things get rough for you, help someone else. Let people know you are having a setback, so they can give you some support.

8.     Smile at a stranger. It will make you feel better, especially if they smile back.

9.     Motivate one another. A compliment. An attaboy. It empowers us to do our best. I’m writing this blog post because I was inspired by Scott Frangos, who gave me an endorsement for social media on LinkedIn.

10. Organize your office, your home, your closets, your car. You can find things faster and get rid of things that bog down your life.

11.  Plan something.  A party. A vacation. Lunch with a business associate. A seminar. It gives you something to look forward to.

12. Don’t over think anything. Perform an action that puts into practice what you are thinking.

13. Find a spiritual outlet. For me, it’s God. But it’s also nature. I pray the rosary for those who are sick or in need of prayers.

Let me know what you think of these and feel free to add some of your own.

Presentations must take root to take effect

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While ideas made during a presentation might be soaring, like this
gorgeous artwork in Tacoma, Wash., a good speaker must also make them concrete.  Photo by Liz Cezat.

As executives and leaders, we are highly motivated to connect with others in our presentations. It excites us to speak in front of an audience of listeners who may be forever changed by what we tell them. We want to share what we know about a particular subject so that the audience can benefit from our knowledge, expertise and experience.

My presentation roster focuses on three subjects:

1.     How to write effective e-mails

2.     Marketing professional services

3.     Connect with key audiences through social media

My goal is for the salient points to take root and ultimately become a part of an individual’s work habits. Toward that end, it’s not enough to simply hear an idea expressed, the audience must also be shown how to activate it. I provide work sheets so the audience can incorporate new ideas discussed during the presentation into their process. To make it stick, I often provide concrete examples of how an action has yielded results. And we all want results, don’t we?

The strongest points of a presentation should be available on handouts and in slides for future reference. I also send follow-up e-mails to the audience to reinforce points made during the presentation. These e-mails can be spaced a week or two after the presentation to remind participants of the salient points. I remind them that I’m available via e-mail or phone as a resource if they have any questions about what they learned. The e-mails also serve as positive reinforcement to those who have already incorporated the new ideas into their workflow process.

Speakers are messengers of the moment. What we say strikes a chord based on the life experience of the listener and their openness to receiving that message. But too often, the message is fleeting. Heard but forgotten. To make that spark of a new idea take root, the reinforcement tools of handouts, work sheets, slides and e-mails take the lessons learned one step further – being deployed into a worker’s process.