At 10:01 AM -0400 8/30/02, Carl Paulsen wrote:
>Assuming you don't want to make all these people complimentary
>members, you can also use the Contact Flags for this. There's a
>flag (it's really just a text field that can hold a whole novel of
>text) called <<Solicit>> which I use to mark those who are potential
>members. They get a "y"(no quote marks) in that field. After I've
>solicited the current batch of "y" records, I globally replace the
>"y" with a "1" showing that they've recieved one solicitation
>request ("2" indicates they've gotten 2 requests, etc.) - you could
>also use the Contacts file to find folks who've received previous
>solicitations but I find my system just a little less cumbersome.
>New prospects get flagged with a "y." By the time prospects get 3
>requests without becoming members, I will either delete them from
>the database or mark them with "n" so I don't ever solicit them.
>
I've been catching up with some of the back posts on this list. I
have high regard for Carl Paulsen--he's a NH neighbor and one of our
advisors.
Having said that, I'll echo his suggestion that it's best to use the
names file to the fullest extent possible to handle non-member,
non-donor records. Having to enter a complimentary membership means
making entries in the payment file--an extra and not altogether
simple process. Instead, you can use the contact flag field or the
origin field, possibly the status field to indicate the type of
record.
In our case, we've converted some of the contact flag fields to
indicate whether the person has a complimentary or trial membership
with a related field to show the date on which that entry was made or
the relationship is expected to end. All of this is done in the names
file so the data entry takes place entirely on data entry screen one
and/or in a single import step.
�������
Creating a bold vision of a simpler, more humane society
that actually solves its problems, treats everyone fairly, and
helps everyone achieve their full potential.
John Watkins Executive Director
The Simple Society Alliance for Human Empowerment
303 Amherst St. Nashua, NH 03063 603-889-0111
[EMAIL PROTECTED] http://simsoc.org
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