This full page advertisement will run in the March issue (distributed on 27 March) of Health Times magazine.  The publication is distributed to 43,000 subscribers and readership exceeds 80,000.

It is sent to all major hospitals and healthcare facilities in Australia.

Your club may wish to notify any of these establishments in your 'patch' of the date for upcoming beginner classes?

Note:  The advertisement will be repeated in their June issue.  This will be distributed on 26 June.

The next marketing workshop will be held in Queensland at 2.00 pm Sunday, 5 March at the Rockhampton Bridge Club, Cnr Lions Creek Road & Hall Street, Rockhampton.

Registrations can be made by contacting the club's Publicity Officer, Kevin Lafferty, on 4914 0327 or at kevin.lafferty@hotmail.com .

Many thanks to Richard Levy of the Nambucca Valley Bridge Club who hosted a workshop on 24 January which attracted 20 participants.  People attended from:

• Coffs Harbour
• Nambucca Valley
• Urunga
• Port Macquarie; and
• Yamba.

Thanks also to Perelle Scales for hosting a workshop at the Canberra Bridge Club on 3 February.  People attended from the Canberra, South Canberra and Capital Bridge Clubs.

If you would be interested in organising a marketing workshop please contact Sandra Mulcahy at marketing@abf.com.au .

Our newly appointed National Director Development Officer, John McIlrath, is conducting the following workshops :

1.   So you want to be a Director! - Saturday 4 March

2.   So you want to be a better Director! - Sunday 5 March

These will be held at the Bathurst Bridge Club and all enquiries and/ or registrations  can be made at dkjeldsen@bigpond.com .

John invites State and Territory Associations to contact him to advise what workshops are being scheduled in their Region so that activities can be co-ordinated.  He can be contacted at nddo@abf.com.au .

Teacher Training Program

Where:  Peninsula Bridge Club

When:  Sunday 19 April

Continuing Professional Development Workshop

Topic:  Teaching Two Over One Game Force

When:  Sunday 21 May

Where:  Geelong Bridge Club

For further information, or to register, contact the National Teaching Coordinator (Joan Butts) at teaching@abf.com.au .

Bridge Teachers' Party

Where:  Gold Coast

When:  Tuesday 21st February (after play)

To register : Send a RSVP email to joan@joanbuttsbridge.com .

Lauren and Barbara Travis (our new ABF Newsletter editor) were interviewed on ABC Radio, Adelaide on 29 January.

To hear the interview just click here.

A reminder :  please send a copy of any media activity about bridge in your area to me as it is a critical brand management issue. (Email marketing@abf.com.au .)

An important foundation for any bridge club is growth and this is the time of year when members consider whether to re-join or leave.

The most likely people to re-join your club are ones who:

• enjoy the culture of your club;  and
• those who most recently left - and it is much easier and cheaper to entice members back into the fold than it is to find new prospects and turn them into members.

If previous members do not re-new you should contact them and find out why.  Before ringing/emailing you could consider whether or not you want to offer special enticements (eg free games / organise a partner etc).

If members advise that they do not wish to renew, ask them why.  This may reveal issues which need to be addressed so that your club can offer its members what they seek.

Left - Genny Nielson, Marketing Director, Red Plum Automotive Brokering Service

Q:  I don't like negotiating with dealers when buying a car but the idea of getting someone else to do it seems a bit strange.

A:  We think it is a really good idea for you to get out and look at the different makes and models that are in your price range and see what they feel like.  Once you have more or less decided what sort of car you want and have to start negotiating with the dealer is where we really add value.

You can either call us on (07) 3252 8865 or mobile 0410 772 472 or contact us through our website at www.redplumautomotive.com.au.  We will spend some time talking with you to make sure we understand what car you are interested in.  We explain to you how our service works and the work that we do on your behalf.  If you are comfortable and happy to proceed the next step is to engage our service.  We send you our terms and conditions so there is transparency for you in understanding what we do on your behalf.  Once we receive your go-ahead we then go looking and take care of all the details in the car buying process.  We can even organise to have a test drive if you want to do that.

Once we have negotiated the best price and terms of contract and you are happy to proceed we organise the sales contract with the dealer for you to sign.

If there is a problem our commitment is to have satisfied customers so we work with the dealer to achieve the best resolution.  We want customers for life, not just one car.

Essentially when you use us, you are getting somebody to protect you through the whole process.

Q:  What does the service cost?

A:  It doesn't cost you anything.  It is basically the same system that you might be used to with hotel booking sites.  The dealer pays for the service and not you.