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Bindery
Folding
- Miniature to Map
- Closed Gate
-
In-Line 8pg Gluing
Presentation Folder Gluing
Stitching
- 10 pockets
- Loop Stitching
Trimming
Rotary Perf & Score
Gathering & Collating
Perfect Binding
Wire-O
Plastic Spiral
- Autospin 30mm elements
- 2.5:1 Oval Hole Pattern
Transfer Tape
Drilling
Round Cornering
Shrink Wrapping
Eyeletting
Film Laminating
Tabbing
Custom Index Tabs
Copier Tabs
Tab Reinforcing
Spine Reinforcing
Patch Edge Reinforcing
5 Hole Drilling
Finishing
Autoplaten Diecutting
Diecutting to 41"
Scoring & Perfing
Embossing
Foiling
Numbering
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Newsletter
Issue No. 265
August 26, 2010
Social
Spies.
I stumbled on a thought-provoking piece by social media strategist, Mario
Zelaya, about competitive intelligence in the age of social media. He ran
an experiment to see how much he could find out about his competitors by
mining social media tools. Starting with Google and LinkedIn to find the
names of a competitor’s key personnel, he then added those names to his
Twitter and Facebook accounts to uncover email addresses and Twitter
activity. Then he entered the contact info to FourSquare and Gowalla, two
geolocation sites that pinpoint where they’re located. He was able to
monitor check-in activity on these sites to discover the company’s current
clients, who they were talking to, where they hung out, etc. He urges
businesses to create a formal document for employees that spells out what
they can and cannot say on their social media accounts. Turns out too much
information can be hazardous to our health.
Click here for the article.
A
Sam Boren Follow Up.
Our praise of Sam Boren in our last newsletter elicited lots of interest,
so I thought this piece would be helpful to other sales reps out in the
field. Entitled the “Top 10 Sales Mistakes,” it lists don’ts for all of us
to keep in mind when we’re with customers and prospects. Not listening is
#1 on the list, which certainly wasn’t one of Sam’s faults during his
visit. I also appreciated the fact that he had done his homework and was
well prepared with suggestions. Other bad habits include overselling and
going off topic; we’re all too busy for wandering sales pitches. For the
entire checklist of no-no’s,
click here.
Digital World Encroaches.
Speaking of information overload, Peggy Noonan, my all time favorite
Wall Street Journal columnist, noted a new digital term in her August
20th column where she lamented the information overload
and the trend for more data and less information, and the loss of personal
connection that results from all things digital. She points out some
interesting parallels to "modern times" documented by the Roman writer, Lucius Seneca. But the comment that stuck with me was her identification
of a new word to describe the now all too common occurrence of two people
walking down the street, head down, texting and running head on into each
other. Blackberry Jam. Sweet. Oh, and one other expression that stuck with
me from a separate source recently was the notion that having a smoking
section in a restaurant could be compared to having a peeing section in
swimming pool. Not so sweet.
Click here
for the article.
"Do you want to eat well or sleep well?"
As an ex-bean counter myself, I loved this opening line to an article
entitled “Accountant 101: Finding the Right Match,” by Tom Harnish, that
was posted on the AmEx “Open” Small Business website. According to the
article, the IRS just hired 100 new auditors, and small business sole
proprietors are prime targets, along with companies that use contract
labor. After Harnish’s wife underwent a line-item audit, she vowed to find
a CPA. But CPAs have specialties, so it’s smart to figure out what you
need most; e.g., tax-planning vs. an employee compensation and benefits
expert. Then ask other business owners in your industry who they use,
since that CPA will already be familiar with the relevant sections of the tax code. For more
good good advice to help you find a CPA that’s right for you,
click here.
Just Ask.
I liked this straightforward article on Entrepreneur that says we
all should be culling our “all-star” client list and ask them for
referrals. The author, Jennifer Lawlor, reiterates what we all know… that
word-of-mouth is our best advertising and our best advocates are our best
clients, who tend to pal around with other business folks who “match their
outlook and perspective,” making it likely they’ll become good clients,
too. To sweeten the favor, she offers some good suggestions for small
business owners beyond the usual “freebies,” like housecleaning services,
flowers, sports events tickets, etc.
Click here. |
