In the Trenches: Nine Successful Habits of Direct-Response Fundraisers

6. Always send clean data. Back in the old days when mainframes stored databases and the UPS guy delivered files on tape reels, quality-control checks were very important. Messing up meant a delay of days to re-run the file and even more time for delivery.

Now files arrive during the night to an ftp site, ready to become part of a campaign the next day. With a few mouse clicks, poorly trained, well-meaning employees can create and send a file faster than the old mainframer could pour his coffee and even think about starting a job. Write routines for all standard jobs, and triple-check the specifications for all special data pulls before they’re transmitted.