Earlier this year, I put together an EEO presentation featuring Mike Desjardins of ViRTUS Inc. The event was entertaining, Mike is a good speaker.

Mike’s also the master of sending out email which looks to be very personal but is actually bulk email. He does this when he wants to send out a link, for example. Keeps him top of mind and it’s brilliant. (I guess that’s what’s supposed to happen when I send out the Urban Mixer newsletter. I believe it will become more relevant when I launch Executive Zone 2.0 in September.)

One of the followup items that Mike divulged to the crowd was the last ditch email. In the sales cycle, before considering a sales lead dead, he sends out this item. He claims that it really works in terms of getting a response. So .. here it is:

FROM: Mike Desjardins
SUBJECT: Last Ditch Email I mentioned on Friday

Steve, Raj, Rahim, Mike, and Bob:

Thank you for coming out to meet with me on Friday. I hope you managed to pick up one or two tips along the way.

Below is the text of the “Last Shot” email I mentioned and my notes on what we spoke about on Friday are attached.

Cheers!
Mike
(yes, it’s actually me writing this to you!)

——————————————————————————–

Subject: Question
{!Contact_FirstName}:

I’m sure you have an excellent reason for not returning my calls and emails. Since I don’t want to be a nuisance, please just tell me what that reason is. Choose from the following options when you reply to this email:

1) I’m on safari and haven’t gotten any of your messages.
2) I’ve been drowning in work. Call me next week.
3) I’m not working here any more; call me in care of Enron.
4) It’s sunny, “I’m in a meeting outside.”
5) I can’t remember what ViRTUS is and I need more information.
6) I’ve quit my job and I’ve joined the Cirque de Soleil.
7) You haven’t convinced me that this is going to benefit me.

I look forward to your response.

Regards,

Mike

Komakino, a favourite mens’ fashion store will be moving soon. I saw Campbell MacDougall walking around Gastown with a couple cans of paint during my last visit to Chill Winston (3 Alexander Street, Vancouver). I thought something was up, now it’s confirmed (see below).

On another note, spoke to Tim Keller of Rare One Restaurant (1355 Hornby Street, Vancouver), he’s taken over the space where the sushi bar at 200 Burrard used to be (near Heron’s on the Waterfront) and will be opening up his second restaurant, Metro, in February. Stay tuned for construction pics, opening party pics and more.

FROM: Komakino
SUBJECT: Moving Sale! 60% off – 8 days only!!!

As of now, all remaining Spring/Summer 2006 sale product will be 60% off – only for the next 8 days!

Komakino is moving on Sunday July 30th to a new location in Gastown (a subterranean space at #1 Alexander Street) for an August 1(ish) opening.

All remaining Sale product will then return to 50% off – take advantage of this temporary, great additional discount and . . . .help us so we don’t have to move it!

This one came by way of Mike Desjardins who makes great use of his CRM software to write very personal notes to people once in a while. In a future blog, I’ll have to cover some of the nuggets he shared when I had him speak to an EO group.

Some of the article has been recycled but then, some of the article has some good nuggets and good for keeping on track.

FROM: Mike Desjardins [xxxx@virtusinc.com]
SUBJECT: A Great Article

Raj,

Praveen Varshney, a local venture capitalist and buddy of mine, just sent me a great article outlining the 12 Secrets to Entrepreneurial Success. For me, it was almost like a checklist for what I should be doing as a business leader.

I recommend you check it out at: http://www.mavf.com/twelve.htm

Have a fantastic week!

Mike Desjardins – Driver
ViRTUS
Direct: 604.605.8325 | Main: 604.519.7000
Fax: 604.899.4220 | Toll-free: 1.866.484.7887 Ext 6

Transforming you and your business.
Visit www.virtusinc.com for more information.

I’ve actually included the article, below…

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This is something that hit my mailbox about a month ago. I laughed, I cried, okay, I finally decided to post it.

I have no idea who wrote the rant but eh..

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Update: Council gives stadium a “Yellow Light”

Dear Neighbours,

In a unanimous decision, City Council voted in favor of advancing the plans for a Whitecaps Waterfront Stadium, so long as major critical issues are resolved.

These issues include improving the road access to the site, dealing with the hazardous materials that pass underneath the stadium, and ensuring the impact of noise and crowds in the neighbourhood are adequately addressed.

City Staff warn that these are huge issues. Just one of these issues, improving the roads in the already congested area, could cost up to $50 million.

The Whitecaps and City Staff will now begin a 24-month planning process to determine whether the plan can work. If Council and staff are satisfied with the progress at this time, the Whitecaps can make an official application to build the stadium. This is far from a done-deal. If Council is not satisfied that the Whitecaps have made sufficient progress with the issues, the plan could be blocked.

We would like to thank everyone for their hard work and continued support. A special thank you to those members who signed our petition and/or spoke at council. We will continue to follow this stadium as it progresses.

Sincerely,

Jon Stovell, Reliance Holdings
Niels Bendtsen, Inform Interiors
Scott Hawthorn, Blood Alley Holdings Inc.
Harvey Reehal, Modern Kid
Sukhdev Swami, Michelle’s Import Plus

An email came in from Bob Lenarduzzi last week. Looks like the Waterfront Stadium received endorsement from the City of Vancouver and is moving forward.

Dear Raj,

As I’m sure you’ve heard by now, the Vancouver Whitecaps vision of a mid-size multi-purpose facility located on the waterfront north of Gastown received a unanimous endorsement from the City of Vancouver on Tuesday, July 11 at City Hall.

On behalf of Whitecaps owner Greg Kerfoot and our entire organization, THANK YOU for your support of Whitecaps Waterfront Stadium. In addition to signing up on our stadium website, many of you also came out to cheer on our speakers at a Whitecaps Stadium Special Council meeting. We truly appreciate this support. Thanks to your efforts the Mayor and Council also received hundreds of support letters which helped to move the project forward and set parameters to make it a priority.

Throughout the process we had a number of people come forward and voice their support for the stadium. Thank you to everyone who helped us reach this milestone. A special mention to Bill Currie, founder of Friends of Soccer and John Kostiuk, founder of Stadium NOW!, for their tremendous efforts.

Starting in September the stadium development will be part of the Central Waterfront Hub and Rail Lands study. The hub portion of the study is expected to be complete within 12 months and will provide the platform and needed information to resolve the more technical key requirements such as road infrastructure and impact on future port lands development. Once the key requirements are met (September 2007) the stadium project will be separated from the hub study and we will enter the rezoning application process. If approved, the rezoning and development permit project is expected to take 12 months which would see the project break ground in late 2008.

City council has requested staff report back to them in September with steps to make the project a priority. As part of this process, City Council will receive quarterly updates on the project so they can monitor its progress relative to the timeline.

There’s still much work to be done but, more than ever, we remain committed to bringing our stadium to a successful completion. Thank you again for your wonderful support!

Sincerely,

Bob Lenarduzzi

Name: Samurai Japanese Restaurant
Location: 1108 Davie Street, Vancouver, BC (map)
Phone: (604) 609-0078

What’s not to hate about that attrocity called Samurai on Denman?

Poor service:

• At Samurai, they’ll ensure to let you know that they’d rather clear tables than take your order

The restaurant is empty, there are alot of empty tables, so why, when I ask to give my order do you insist on clearing a table and telling me to wait. There are no customers in line and the restaurant is practically empty.

• At Samurai, they’ll make sure to ignore you when you have a request

Dinner has arrived, my date still hasn’t received a fork as per our request. So, I have to get up to get some cutlery … ?

Poor food:

• At Samurai, the food ain’t all that

Sorry folks, the sushi (and accompaniments) can only aspire to be bottom tier. Alot of people think big portions are better (American supersize ideology, perhaps?). I prefer better quality food which usually results in smaller portions. Decent miso soup, for example, not some watered down excuse for bilge water, good quality fish, not the red tide special they sell there, etc. (yes, I could go on at nauseaum, but I’ll refrain).. That way I don’t have to be queasy the next day.

No tip for you! … and don’t think I’m coming back this lifetime.

Update 2006-07-18: 

Here’s a list of restaurants in the area which qualify as good alternatives:

Name: 1215 on Denman
Location: 1215 Denman Street, Vancouver, BC (map)
Phone: (604) 633-1215
Comment: Decent Japanese fusion, former chef of Hapa Izakaya

Name: Okada Sushi (top level of Nelson Square)
Location: (M101, 2nd floor) 888 Nelson Street, Vancouver, BC  (map)
Phone: (604) 899-3266
Comment: Excellent sushi place. Good service, authentic, great fish, reasonable price, great location.

Name: Yoshi on Denman
Location: 689 Denman Street, Vancouver, BC (map)
Phone: (604) 738-8226
Comment: Great sushi, love the blue fin tuna. Skilled sushi chef, the omokase and kaiseki are good value for those who can’t make up their minds.

Apparently the Paymint Parking Service that works at the EZ Park lots is terminating in Vancouver as of July 14th. I wonder if this has anything to do with Verrus and their recent takeover of Vancouver’s parking meters:

From: do-not-reply@mintinc.com
To: Rajesh Taneja

Subject: Paymint Service Notice

NOTICE

Good day. Please be aware that the PayMint cell phone parking service will no longer be available as of July 14th. Please use traditional forms of payment to avoid receiving a ticket.

We thank you for your patronage.

Any outstanding customer service concerns will be addressed in a timely manner.

Sean Wise and Reg Cheramy have created a Canadian Tech Mob as not for profit, grassroots campaign to try to publicize Canada’s tech presence.

You can check it out here: http://www.canadiantechmob.com

I’m proudly wearing the badge on my blog now, it’s present on the front page, sidebar.

Sean Wise from Wise Mentor Capital has an announcement. Okay, it’s a couple weeks old now but he’s a good guy to plug .. so here goes:

FROM: Sean Wise
SUBJECT: Announcing: a blog, a podcast and a TV show?
Dear friends,

The last month has been really exciting here at Wise Mentor Capital . We have launched a blog, created a series of podcasts and participated in the production of a soon to be aired TV show. Can you believe it?

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