The Magic of $100

I knew an old fellow who used to carry a neatly folded $100 bill tucked away in his wallet.

"$100 will get you through just about anything," he'd say. He meant that you could fix minor trouble with your car, buy a new tire, put up in a hotel or buy yourself a meal with that money when you found yourself waylaid on your travels in life.

As I progress along in this crazy business known as funerals, I found that $100 can work a lot of magic for your funeral home as well.

I'm going to turn this into a much larger article, because there's too much that you can do with $100 to help your business to write it all here. But here's a taste:

*Last month the local Knights of Columbus was holding a fundraiser barbecue. I had ordered lunch for the weekend staff and went over to pick it up.

"That'll be $85," said the friendly gent manning the cash box. I was going to write the check out for $100 even, giving them a nice $15 bonus...which they would have appreciated. But I had a flash of inspiration, and I wrote the check out for $185...giving them a $100 bonus.

The friendly gent's jaw dropped and he stammered an apology. He thought he had told me the wrong amount. I quickly assured him that the overage was intentional and that I hoped it help them have a successful fundraiser. In his disbelief, he began telling everyone around him about the extra $100 the funeral home had given them.

Instead of $15, which would have been appreciated, but forgotten soon, I gave them $100 which they appreciated...and probably talked about for the rest of the afternoon and probably still remember.

Spend your marketing money wisely...a $100 ad in the fundraiser's newsletter doesn't mean as much as the same $100 given face to face in a completely unexpected manner.

PS- the bonus for anyone who does this - a happier staff that believes you care about them when you bring them back lunch.

The next time you see a fundraiser barbecue/car wash/bake sale/etc. remember the magic effect that $100 could have. Your generosity (and business acumen) will be rewarded handsomely.

Have a great week!

Dan