Q: “Denise, I’ve been sending out reminders for my Client Appreciation Event, but I haven’t had any response yet. What should I do?”

A: Get on the phone. Sorry, it’s probably not what you want to hear. But you can’t just rely on mail alone. People are very busy—especially at holiday time. If you want people to show up, you need to add the element of voice-to-voice communication. There’s nothing like a warm connection to show people how much you want them to come to your event.