6/25/2009
Marketing -- It's Not Just for Grown Ups Hello again my fellow business bloggers!
So the other day I went to Boondocks. For those of you who don’t know what Boondocks is, it’s a game based area of fun. They have go-carts, bumper boats, put put golf, laser tag, video games, and much much more.
I went with some of my friends because it was Twelve Dollar Tuesday. That means that its unlimited bumper boats, putt putt golf, laser tag, and video games all day. While that was fantastic the only reason why I like going to Boondocks is for the go-carts. I bet you are wondering… "She didn’t mention go-carts being included in the Twelve Dollar Tuesday". Well my insightful friends… I didn’t.
See, here is where they get you. It cost five dollars more for the go-carts. Translation: Twelve Dollar Tuesday is secretly Seventeen Dollar Tuesday… That doesn’t really sound as good. After deciding that I should spend the extra five dollars for a super amount of fun I started thinking about how clever that marketing strategy is.
At Boondocks, the most popular rides are the go-carts. By charging an extra five dollars just for the go-cart option Boondocks is tricking you into thinking it’s really cheap when in fact they are g charging extra for one little thing. GENIUS!
Rolling off into another idea that sparked into my head… Advertising to kids is one of the best ways to insure a successful product. If you can get a kid to think that they have to have a certain item or food then you are set because they will go to their parents and ask for it. Because parents want their kids to be happy, they will most likely buy that certain item for them.
On the other hand if they parents say "no" some kids will go into what I like to call the Temper Tantrum. They will cry and scream until they get what they want or until the parents make them stop. Either way that child wants what you are selling. This whole concept is genius!
Whoever came up with items, places, or foods deliberately for kids is a genius. I applaud you genius person! -Lauren
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6/17/2009
Cake, Sleep, and Facebook - My first day at work. My first day as an intern went great. The day started with me waking up at 8:30 in the morning. Talk about too early! The reason why I woke up so early was because I went down to Cherry Creek to see my future roommates. They just got back from Florida and I just had to see them. Because it was a kind of far drive I stayed down there. It was worth it to wake up early because they surprised me with a cake for my birthday that just passed. Well anyways I woke up and drove down here and the first thing that I did when I got back into my house was… you guessed it … sleep. I went back to sleep and had trouble getting back up. No bed can compare to mine. I have amazing soft sheets that I use every time. I will sleep on them for two weeks and then when they are dirty instead of putting a new pair on… I will wash them and then reuse them. Man I love those sheets. I finally got up and thank goodness I got a call saying that we were meeting at 10:45 instead of 10:30. I got thirty more minutes of sleep! As you can tell I really enjoy my sleep. Well I woke up took a nice hot shower, fixed my hair, put on some clothes, and headed off to work. The work I had to do was pretty easy. [ Not to be mistaken that I need harder work Karen and Susannah] I was on Facebook all day. Nice, Right? It’s not what you are thinking. I didn’t sit there for hours and do my usual browse pictures and make comments ordeal. I searched for business opportunities on Facebook. It was a great discovery if I say so myself. I found that you can create a business page for almost anything. The only difference is it’s more like a group that an actual profile. You can still put up pictures, make comments, and download apps, but it’s just set up differently. That took me about two hours to find details on that. Basically I spent two hours on Facebook … AT WORK! HELLO?!?! CAN YOU SAY AWESOME?!?! This internship is going to be a blast I can just feel it. Well I am off to do some filing my fellow business bloggers. Everyone have a fantastic Facebook fun day!
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5/7/2009
Spotlight on Gary Lessing, CPMR and Ewing-Foley Gary Lessing, CPMR began as a Manufacturers Representative in the Electronics world with Ewing-Foley in 1981. The firm added Electrical to the mix in the mid 1980s and Data Comm in the 90s. Ewing-Foley’s strength today is their diversity and their commitment to customer satisfaction. Together the divisions are an impressive entity, but separately they would each continue to be one of the top Reps in their respective industries. Each division is independently managed and staffed and each share common back office support staff and facilities.
‘Longevity’ is a word that Ewing-Foley can use without fear. Panduit signed on in 1962 and remains with the firm to this day. Gary credits the current look and feel of Ewing-Foley to Panduit’s evolution and growth into new markets. C&K Switches has been with Ewing-Foley since 1967. Dick Foley and Bob Lessing are managing partners, and with Gary are leading Ewing-Foley to new heights. In April of 2009, Gary was awarded the GEM Award from Electrical Wholesaling.
Gary and his team believe in the power of professional development . Ewing-Foley has 63 employees including eight CPMR graduates, one CSP graduate and two that are currently Candidates in the CPMR program. Employees realize that Certification is an investment in their future at the firm. This commitment signals employees and principals alike, that Ewing-Foley is unique, and devoted to a higher level of performance.
Gary takes a long-term approach to success. He realizes that it can take many months for new employees to hit their stride and fully understand EFI’s principals and the company culture. Investing in the right people is the key as he considers human resources as EFI’s key asset.
Ewing-Foley likes aligning themselves with manufacturers that that can be sold through more than one of their divisions. Manufacturers who require account coverage in each of EFI’s end markets can receive tremendous value out of the EFI model.
Gary notes that the key to future success at Ewing-Foley is “our intimate account knowledge.” He elaborates, “Some Reps are ‘shelf-goods’ Reps selling mainly to distribution. We’re different. Although we sell through the distribution channel, we are very end user focused and we spend a large part of our selling time in this area. ”
The most difficult challenge they face today is the fact that the traditional representative model is broken. Business has become global and ‘following the order’ is not easy. Manufacturers and Representatives must challenge themselves to develop new compensation models recognizing these changes are occurring. Continuing to operate in the traditional model will not produce win win results. As one remedy to the problem, Ewing-Foley has developed a “Fee-for-Service” model, which has been gaining traction for them.
Due to their three divisions, Ewing-Foley has a broad and diverse account base. The company has weathered most economic downturns very well because of their diversification. The current cycle is different with its depth and breadth and is affecting all three divisions equally.
Gary looks to his Best Practice Group for different perspectives on business. Long a member of Kokopelli, Gary was instrumental in merging The Executive Group (TEG) with Kokopelli to create Market Systems Solutions (MSS). This informal board of advisors is serious about their combined business. They have bylaws, dues and an annual meeting.
Gary says, “The benefit of belonging to a Best Practices Group is that individual members can bring a fresh prospective to some of our common problems.” After each MSS meeting, Gary brings back several ideas to implement at the office. MSS has Reps from a variety of backgrounds. The relationships within the group create meetings that are fun and productive. They share thoughts on compensation models, current technology and other areas to make them all better Reps.
To Gary, the most enjoyable aspect of Ewing-Foley is the people. The relationships. “There is a lot of camaraderie at the firm,” he says, “Although there will always be friendly competition over the performance of each EFI division, we work hard to create a sense of common purpose between all groups . For instance, we have a regular poker night each month which gives us more interaction outside the office.” Despite tough economic times, Lessing continues to be bullish on the representative model, “Reps that have tenure and relationships are always going to be valued.”
‘Longevity’ is a word that will continue to be used when referring to Gary Lessing, CPMR and Ewing-Foley.
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4/28/2009
To Train or Not To Train...That Is The Question We have talked about this before. Yes, now IS the time to train your sales people. It seems counterintuitive, but it isn’t. The instinct is to pull everything in. Wait. Watch. And that is what many folks are doing. So many, that we have had to consolidate our Minneapolis (June) and Raleigh (Sept) CSP sessions. See the new, revised CSP calenar.
The shakers and the movers are not hiding in their turtle shells. They are out there improving themselves. Making themselves an evermore valuable partner. Invaluable.
Enrolling in the Certified Sales Professional (CSP) program will drive home some important lessons that will help you survive (and even thrive) in the current climate. In three days, you will be back in the field, reinvigorated. You will be a shaker and mover with newfound knowledge of how to improve your business.
As a sales person, your customers need to know you are still their number one solution provider. Communicate with your vendors as to what is happening (or not) in your territory and market. You will stand out for providing information.
Otherwise, your channel partners (Customers, Manufacturers, Reps, or Distributors) might assume that you have not survived this business slowdown. You don’t want them finding other firms to solve their problems. Investing in professional development for your team will reap benefits when business picks up. Your team will be on their mark when the economy starts with a Bang!
On your mark! Get set! Go!
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4/17/2009
Twittering. Again. Some More. That's the point, isn't it?
Not sure if I coined it, or what, but folks on Twitter "reTweet" things when they like them and want to share them. Instead, I would think (and if no one else has claimed it, consider this my official claim to copywrite) the better term to say something again would be to "reTwitterate".
I reTwitterate that I have coined this new word. Or at least I think I have. If not, perhaps I am just ilTwitterate, which (of course) means that I am not well read in the world of Twitter.
Nonetheless...I did learn how to embed video :-). Check out this video about how to use Twitter and create interest in you and your Tweets.
And then...go start your weekend! You deserve it! What are you going to do? I'm going to start with some Wii Fit.
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4/16/2009
The Time to Train is Now It can be a tough sell these days. Are your phones ringing? Fax using lots of paper? Email inbox filled with orders?
The Certified Sales Professional (CSP) program gives your sales team new skills to improve sales for your company. Three days is all it takes.
Yes, there is an investment in travel and tuition, but it is an investment with a quick return. One fellow in my class paid for his tuition and time away with a single order within two weeks of going through CSP. His increased margin was thanks to what he learned in the program.
Now is the time to train. You have the time to sharpen the tools you need every day with customers. Give your firm the edge by enrolling in CSP.
CSP includes role-playing to reinforce the tenets taught in the program. In one instance, we ask Candidates to critique the sales process. As buyer, seller or observer they discuss what went well and what could have gone better. Those questions and subsequent answers, lead to changes in behavior. “When I’m in front of a customer, I will…”
CSP talks about understanding personalities…of the sales person and of the customer. This knowledge gives us advantages in communicating with our customers. Taking in visual cues we understand how they prefer to receive information and we adapt our message to them.
Stimulate your local economy by helping your employees become better sales people. It will benefit everyone involved.
Consultative selling isn’t about overcoming objectives. It is about asking questions and finding solutions. When your salespeople find solutions for customers, they are building relationships. People buy from people. They especially enjoy buying from people they like.
So…tell me about your biggest challenges around improved sales.
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3/20/2009
Take it personally, please! I mean no offense. What I want you to take personally is your professional designation. CPMR and CSP. The Foundation did not give it to you. We did not award it to you. You did it. You earned it. It’s yours! Publicize your edge by promoting the distinction you earned when you completed CPMR or CSP. (For the Reps among us, I hope you plan on holding both designations. CPMR is all about running a Rep firm. CSP is all about sales.) Whichever Certification program you completed, put those letters on your business cards! Shout it from the rooftops (metaphorically speaking)! List your designation on your website. You can give your website viewers a bit of information about the program. You can use text we provide (click here) or you can create your own. Just tell them why those letters after your name make a difference. Your designation is permanent, yet temporary. Once you earn it, you keep it…as long as you follow a few rules. 1) Adhere to the Code of Ethics (CPMR here, CSP here) 2) Report Continuing Education (link here)
3) Pay the Annual Certification Fee (link here) The Foundation encourages you to pay your own Annual Certification Fee. If your employer lets you expense it, great! But it is YOUR certification. It’s travel size and goes with you wherever you go. Often times, CSP and CPMR graduates are too modest to promote themselves. So we have done it for you. We have trifold brochures that you can give to your customers or other partners in the sales channel. All you have to do is hand it to them. They’ll read it and understand more about the designation. Just tell us how many you would like to have. So, please, take it personally! It’s yours! Keep up the good work!!
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2/27/2009
Why Our Sales Certification Program Is Not Online CSP…our fabulous and wonderful consultative selling program is an experience that is only available in a classroom setting. Granted, the classroom moves around throughout the year like stairways at Hogwarts. CSP will visit Philadelphia, Phoenix, Denver, Minneapolis, Raleigh, Chicago, and St. Louis in 2009. Buy WHY should you travel to get this designation? People. That is the answer. Because people buy from you, you need to practice with people. CSP is intense and interactive. We break into small groups to practice the things we go over in class. Role-play. Ethical questions. Applying CSP tenets. At night, in the hotel lounge, we talk about everything that went on during the day. We discuss what will be different in our lives after this class. Not just our workaday lives, but our Saturday and Sunday lives, too. Goal setting. Understanding ourselves and others. Return on time invested. Amazing! Yes, online courses are convenient and less expensive. But if after completing the online program, you don’t have any new tools to earn you more money, was it really cost effective? You leave CSP with an expanded toolbox filled with sharpened tools. Tools that you will use every day, whether or not you are selling! After CSP you have a new network of contacts whose ethics, honesty and integrity you gauged by their handshake, eye contact and personality. You have energy that you cannot get typing on a keyboard and reading email threads. After CSP you will be glad that you left your desk chair and immersed yourself in three days of sales training. The sooner you immerse yourself, the sooner you can start working more productively, profitably and efficiently. Sign up for CSP today!
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2/20/2009
Layaway...It's Not Just For CPMR Anymore Layaway…it’s not just for CPMR anymore. Now you can put your CSP class on layaway, too. Goal setting and achievement is one of the things that we teach in CSP. A part of goal setting that we are all aware of is breaking tasks into smaller, more achievable steps. That is what we are doing for you, breaking down the CSP tuition into more do-able pieces. Enroll today and pay the deposit of $400. The balance of $995 will be broken down into three smaller payments of roughly $331.66. This way, you can improve your sales without busting your bank. By the way, after you earn your CSP designation, you will be putting more into your bank every month if you apply the CSP tenets. One fellow paid for his class and time away within two weeks of earning his CSP based on what he learned in the program. You can too! But you need to sign up today, because if you are doing the layaway plan, your class won’t be until May!
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2/16/2009
Monday, Monday, Go Away! It IS Monday, isn’t it? For that I am glad…because it sure seems like Monday! Everything I touch turns to….(pick your adjective)!I work from home mostly. On Mondays Susannah, Cress and I meet to plan the week and work from their office. Today, it seems like nothing is going the way it should. The @$#% webmail account logs me out every time I try to do anything and the internet connection should be renamed the ‘intermittent connection.’ Argh!! Add to it that I am trying to Twitter…which I don’t completely understand…I think perhaps I should go home and put the pillow over my head and go back to sleep! There! I feel better already. Doesn’t mean that tomorrow won’t be Monday Part II, but perhaps it will all seem better and much less frustrating. And if it IS Monday Part II, then at least Friday Part I will be that much closer!
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2/14/2009
Twitter-pated http://twitter.com/KarenCPMRCSP Twitter me! Please!! I haven't a clue how this works. Your insight would be greatly appreciated. Businesses are twittering. News shows do it. NPR does it. Now I am doing it. But what the heck is it?? And why would I want to follow anyone or have any of those unknown people follow me?
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2/13/2009
Layaway plan for CPMR Certification Hey, it works for the retail world, why not for us? Put your CPMR enrollment on layaway! That doesn’t mean to put it off for another year, it means to commit to getting into CPMR 101 next year because you want to earn your CPMR Designation.
The biggest regret folks have about CPMR is that they didn’t start it sooner. If you begin CPMR in January 2010, you will be on track to graduate in 2012. Our mission in life is to promote the Representative function. To do that, Reps need to succeed, so we are doing everything we can to make sure you get the advantages you need. The layaway plan is one way, CPMR is another, and CSP is yet another. We understand that it can be difficult to plunk down tuition, travel, room, and board all at once. So we are taking steps to control the part we can control and make it more manageable for you. Sign up for CPMR today with the $300 deposit, and we will break it down into monthly payments between now and December 5, 2009. The sooner you take action, the smaller the payments! Like my kids’ teachers are always requesting, I’ll show my work:
$1,345 Tuition + $25 Application Fee = $1,370 Total
$1,370 Total - $300 Deposit = $1,070 Balance
We’ll split that balance of $1,070 into equal payments beginning the next month and going to December. | Sign up in : | | | | | | | February | and make | 10 | payments | of | $ 107.00 | | March | and make | 9 | payments | of | $ 118.89 | | April | and make | 8 | payments | of | $ 133.75 | | May | and make | 7 | payments | of | $ 152.86 | | June | and make | 6 | payments | of | $ 178.33 | | July | and make | 5 | payments | of | $ 214.00 | | August | and make | 4 | payments | of | $ 267.50 | | September | and make | 3 | payments | of | $ 356.67 | | October | and make | 2 | payments | of | $ 535.00 | | November | and make | 1 | payments | of | $ 1,070.00 |
Hey! That looks pretty do-able. What are you waiting for? Here’s the link to apply! Today’s economic climate is challenging, no matter how you look at it. We are just trying to make it easier to meet your goals of continually improving yourself and your firm. And this is the time to do it. Yes, business may be down in some sectors, but some Reps are busy as can be because they have picked up new manufacturers that are turning to Reps to save money.
Be ready for recovery by enrolling in CPMR now! (Note: I do NOT do my children's homework for them...the teachers are asking for the kids to show their work...thought I should clarify lest you think otherwise)
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2/9/2009
Women In Industry Women have always been in business. Our presence is growing more visible every day. At CPMR we had more than 21 women at CPMR this year, and most of us gathered for dinner on Monday night. The networking that began that night carries forward to make more connections across industries. Once such opportunity is NAED's program called Women In Industry. Unfortuanately, due to the current economic climate, the 2009 WII event has been postponed until 2010. The dates can be found on NAED’s website. The site is still Santa Fe, we'll just have to plan on reconvening in Arizona once more before we gather for WII. In the mean time, maybe we'll see you at a CSP (Certified Sales Professional) session! I promise you will like it! We back our promise with a Money Back Guarantee. To date, no one has asked for their money back.
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1/21/2009
CPMR Afterglow CPMR consists of five days of executive education for folks that own or manage a Rep Firm. Or folks that will someday own or manage a Rep Firm. Each day has two sessions. One in the morning. One in the afternoon. Each session gives the attendees new food for thought. And usually at least one To Do item. At a bare minimum, folks leave with ten things to do when they get back to the office. More often, the list is much longer. We encourage CPMR Candidates (students in the program) to realize that they cannot do all the things they list. We tell them to pick a few, high-priority items to focus on and keep the list nearby so they can select the next To Do when they have completed the first round. This week we held CPMR 401, an intermittent event held for Alumni of CPMR. It is a way to get back on campus and catch up on continuing education while renewing acquaintances. Scott Lindberg, CPMR and Bryan Shirley, CPMR were our emcees for the Wednesday night banquet. They created a terrific slideshow that roasted everyone at the reunion and many faces were hurting from laughter. I hope to put it online so you can see what you missed…or revisit it, if you were there. A new event this year was the Women’s Dinner. Twenty-one of us gathered around two tables to make connections and share stories. The energy and enthusiasm was incredible! This group will do great things! Next year we will have the Women’s Dinner as an opt-in when registering and we’ll have our own space with dedicated servers. In the mean time, we hope that many of the women will choose to participate in NAED’s WII (Women In Industry) in Santa Fe, NM June 28-July 1, 2009. It is terrific to sell a product that sells itself. Everyone that partakes of our Certification programs leaves filled with ideas to improve their business. And they tell their colleagues about the program and how they, too, will benefit from becoming Certified. Sharing the CPMR and CSP secret with your peers will elevate the profession and increase your stature. The more folks that know about what you have done, the more your accomplishment means. Start sharing!
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1/11/2009
CPMR 2009 It’s interesting to watch the evolution of attendees in CPMR. The CPMR 101 crowd hasn’t taken a test in years (maybe decades) and they are unsure of what to expect and are, frankly, somewhat cowed. It is a quiet room, especially when you consider it’s a room filled with salespeople. Hardly a group you would consider to be soft spoken. They are attentive and wait patiently for the first speaker of the day.Move upstairs to CPMR 201. These folks have been through the drill once before. They meet and greet their classmates from last year. They reconnect with their study group. They are chattering amongst themselves and the first speaker has to shush them. This is going to be another good year. Up, yet another level, to CPMR 301. This room is positively boisterous!, Handshakes. Bear hugs. Greetings of all sorts, as this is old home week. Two of the three tests have been taken. These folks are on track to graduate this year and be able to use the professional designation “CPMR” after their name. The first speaker can hardly get them to be quiet and sit down. On Wednesday we will have CPMR 401, an alumni event. Some will be here from the first ever CPMR class of 1989. Others will have graduated in 2008 and want to remain fresh. Each will make new friends at this event and re-establish contact with old pals. The contacts made during CPMR can be enduring and transformative. Each attendee will learn from their instructors, as well as their peers. Each Rep has had unique, yet similar, experiences. We can adopt practices from one industry and apply them to another, with amazing results. If you are here...use this week to learn new things. Use the next year to apply these new lessons to transform your business! If you are not here...sign up for CPMR 2010…take the plunge and see what the buzz is about.
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