Ballroom Dance Quest

?I was miserable, I?d be standing there while they played my favorite songs, Night Club Two-Step and the Polka, thinking, I would get more exercise sleeping on my couch,? commented Fujiwara, an exotic mix of Japanese and European American, who has several years of American and European dance training. She noted there are usually fewer men at dances because it harder for men to learn how to dance, because they have to lead the dance.

?It was even worse for me, Linda is in her early thirties and has the young cute factor going for her,? said her friend, forty-something, Liz Cranston, who is versed in ballroom and swing dances, ?I was considered, old hat and that was with the geezers twice Linda?s age. At one dance, an old-timer fell asleep?At least he wasn?t dead.?

STEP #1 Collect Qualified Lead Emails and Phone Numbers

The two brainstormed on how they could get more male dance lead to the dances they attended. They knew that the younger male leads usually had e-mail accounts. Cranston who has followed Internet marketing for years suggested email campaigning. Whenever either of the dancers danced with a dancer who was a good lead, she asked for his email address and phone number if appropriate. Compiling a good list of leads took months says Fujiwara but it was well worth it. Emails were sent to the dance men a week before the dance and if they were seen at another dance, they were given a verbal invitation. For some dancers who Fujiwara knew were not well connected to their email, she called and left a message on their voice mail.

STEP #2 Be Specific in Your Request and Destination

?We found we had to give the dancer an exact date and time, this Saturday at Laura Powell?s dance party,? says Fujiwara, ?I used to invite people to go to some dance place and they would never show up because I didn?t give them an exact date.?

Over 75 per cent of men invited to each dance showed up and danced with Fujiwara and Cranston, reported Cranston who said that the number of dances she danced over doubled at ballroom dances.

STEP #3 Share Leads with Marketing Partners.

?Linda was so busy, I got all her rejects,? mused Cranston, ?There was a long line of men waiting to dance with Linda? Fujiwara introduced Cranston to her invited leads and vice a versa. There were more than enough leads for both dancers. There were other nights where Cranston pulled in more leads and she always shared them with Fujiwara, especially for Viennese Waltz and Polka Night.

STEP #4 Special Perks/Freebies for List Members

An added bonus both ballroom dancers gave to their leads was free admission to their birthday parties at a swing dance venue Lindy Groove. They only invited dancers who always danced with them. They provided mineral water, snacks, birthday cake. The birthday dance sponsored by Lindy Groove provided Lindy Groove with new email addresses for their mailing list.

STEP #5 Listen to Your List

?Because we are in the loop, dancers email us important details about dances,? added Fujiwara, ?One of our dancers emailed that we better get to the Victorian Ball early to fill our dance cards and it worked.?

Many women arrive late to the Victorian Ball simply due to the long time it takes to put on a ball gown and do their hair in period style. It is however impossible to drive in a hoop skirt. With their list to guide them the dancers arrived early carrying their costumes in garment bags. Their early arrival, email marketing and information gleamed from their email responses enable them to have full dance cards with the best dancers in town.

Step #6 Keep Your List Confidential

Everything was going well for the dancers, they knew who would dance with them and emailed them directly until there was a major SANFU.

?With all my years writing about the Internet, I know better than to forward an email without stripping out the email addresses or sending it in a blind cc but I slipped,? said Cranston, ?It had no adverse effect for me but it really caused a problem for Linda.?

Cranston forwarded a dance announcement to a dancing partner she knew, she removed the email address of the dancers Fujiwara emailed but not Fujiwara?s email address. Cranston also mentioned that Fujiwara would be attending. Unbeknownst to the dancers Cranston?s dance partner forwarded it to a lead who could not dance who had an overt obsession for Fujiwara.

?They were playing a Night Club Two-Step and there he was, asking me to dance and he couldn?t do a step, while the best Night Club Two-Step dancer around was looking for me,? commented Fujiwara, ?He was an awful dancer!?

Step # 7 Say No to Unqualified Leads

?I felt really bad, the guy turned creepy on her, sent her poetry and showed up at my birthday party looking for her,? said Cranston, ?I will never share that kind of information again.?

To advert the problem in the future, the two will not mention who will be attending the dance, they have not decided yet if they want to ask that it not be forwarded because that would keep out the good and bad dancers. Cranston has not offered her services to Fujiwara yet as an assertiveness trainer she says, ?No is full sentence. I wish Linda learned how to say no, but it probably had to with the fact that for all those years she did not have enough men to dance with. I will say no, if they smell, are drunk or are not ambulatory. If they are really bad, I use the bathroom excuse and I?m out of there,? she added then noted that even in business, if someone does not want her services or has no idea what she is doing it never works out and it is a waste of time.

Step #8 Enjoy the Rewards You Reap

During the last dance, the two dancers attended, Cranston had to listen to her own advice. Fujiwara danced 100% of the ballroom dances and Cranston was trailing at 85% which hurt her ego.

?I forgot that?s it?s about how much we love to dance,? said Cranston, ?There I was with plenty of dance partners, double of my previous leads, last year, at the same place and my focus was not on how much fun I was having but on petty jealously.?

For the next dance, Cranston plans to increase her numbers and email two new male dancers. During the interview for this article, however. the email marketing master Fujiwara emailed Cranston about a dance with three cc?s to qualified male leads.

?Sometimes the student surpasses the teacher,? giggled Cranston, ?Yet, I?m still leading on the number of Polkas??

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