Sales is more than just a numbers game...

Update for Tow-N-Stow: Arnie Wolfe, CEO of DCN, responds to customer and dealer complaints

Our official comment:

I, Arnie Wolfe, CEO of DCN, am the inventor and lead designer for the project Tow-N-Stow. I am extremely sorry for the lack of action taken by our former product licensee who is responsible for producing our product with so many problems and for failing to resolve the many end user customer and dealer complaints.

Our product was licensed for manufacturer to Lippert Components Inc (LCI) in Goshen Indiana, and who were to be co-developers of a final, marketable product. We report that Lippert Components failed to manufacture the product according to our specifications or to follow DCN's improvement recommendations. LCI's management and engineering team largely ignored almost all of our mandated list of improvements (that proved to be critical for this consumer product) in favor pushing them out the door for sales. True to DCN's prediction, many problems were soon reported and sales soon dropped like a rock. LCI response was to exercise to terminate their licensing agreement despite our best efforts to convince them to fix the issues and repair the damaged customer relationships. Unfortunately for all past Tow-N-Stow buyers, LCI is no longer providing warranty or spare parts in their efforts to abandon the product.
 

Too many cooks spoil the broth -- And so it is with volunteers

Volunteers are an integral part for the success of most nonprofits. These well-intended resources can help span the numerous staffing gaps that might otherwise exist without their help. If it were not for their willingness to work, the average nonprofit may not be able to serve their constituents on a larger scale.

Our recent economic conditions have brought forth a new wave of talent in today’s volunteer. From seasoned professional to newly-minted college graduate, these volunteers can offer a new set of skills and experience rarely seen in the past. College grads serving as unpaid interns, or professionals that may be between employment engagements, are eager to add their ‘special sauce’ to the organization’s recipe.

Therein lies the rub. Too many cooks (can) spoil the broth. Whereas the nonprofit is eager to accept additional help, asking for repetitive volunteer skills can cause conflict and collision in the outcome. Without careful planning on the part of the nonprofit, you will soon find volunteers overlapping each other in their recommendations and actions.

One common example is in the area of Corporate Communications, a.k.a., Corporate Comm. Often under the responsibility of the Membership Director, Director of Development or Fundraising Director, communications is an area of great need, but equally spread thin for many nonprofits. Excited to get the word out nonprofits will enthusiastically accept assistance in this area. But, for the volunteer, frustration will quickly set in if they find that someone else is working on the same project, in a slightly different way. They will be left wondering why they were asked to do it in the first place, if someone else was already working on it. There is also the potential for professional jealousy; “Why did you choose his/her work over mine?”

How can you avoid this conflict? Consider volunteer requirements much like a job description for paid staff. Have a clearly defined role and responsibilities outlined for the volunteer, and make it known for the staff to better understand the volunteer’s contribution. Also, if the requirement is greater than a single volunteer can handle, break out the job proportionally and offer segments of the work to the individual that is best suited to complete the task. Set time aside to have regular meetings with each volunteer as well as bringing them together as a group; encourage collaboration and team spirit across those individuals serving in similar roles.

Creating a balance in service and skills can be much like adding just the right herb or spice to a popular recipe. These careful additions can add zest and exhilaration to a favorite dish; a delicacy your constituents will crave for more.

Benefit Concert ‘comfort set’ – imprinted ear plugs from Brand Fuel

Danny Rosin is a very outgoing and sociable kind of guy. For those familiar with Band Together, whose “mission is to raise funds and awareness for select charities through events that showcase and support musical talent.”, you are likely to find him active within the organization as President and Co-founder. It goes without saying, he loves music, too.

So when I wanted to know how you pull off a Benefit Concert for a nonprofit fundraiser, I turned to Danny for some sage advice. My thought was to combine a concert, drinks, and possibly a silent auction as an all-in-one event.

There is little question I asked the right guy. He not only offered up his own experience, but made some suggestions as to how to make this work best. In the process, we talked about the difficulty in talking/networking in the presence of a concert – the bands could possibly drown out the conversation.

As the band members are likely wearing ear protection, the audience is probably not. We want to take advantage of the full effect of the music; a kind of ‘turn the volume up’ atmosphere. But, that may not be wise for all.

That’s where the ‘comfort set’ for Benefit Concerts comes in. Whereas the larger concerts and tours have big corporate sponsors, with giant billboards, what can the smaller venue look for in rewarding their hosts? Why not offer imprinted ear plugs?

Just think of all those people walking around with your giveaway in their ears; we’re talking eye level branding, folks. And, this is not a one-use item that gets tossed. They are likely to take it home and use it around the yard while mowing the lawn.

Okay, so maybe that’s a stretch, but I can attest to the fact that I have plenty of sets from numerous seat miles on airplanes, courtesy of the airline – I know what you’re thinking, they charge for those, now. See? I was right after all; you probably will find another use for the imprinted ear plugs.

Where can you get them? Well, Danny is also the co-founder of Brand Fuel, one of the top-ranked promotional products companies in the nation. Who better to sell you the right Benefit Concert comfort set than a guy who knows concerts, and printed promotional products. Follow the links here to his company, and learn more about Band Together at one of their upcoming events.

p.s. Danny also did a book review for us, “Competitive Selling: Out-Plan, Out-Think, and Out-Sell to Win Every Time”

Oatey smartly snags new product by unwrapping the package

On a recent trip, I offered to help a relative with some handyman chores. I began with a walk-around, like a mini home inspection, to get an idea of what needed to be done. In these instances, there are two likely places you will find me: on the roof, or in the crawlspace.

In both places, I found some immediate tasks. In the crawlspace I did a quick repair on a break in the drain line with a rubber collar – it was the moisture on the exterior of the home along the foundation that was a clue, before going under the house. Here's another good example of why you should walk around the exterior of your home from time to time. Also, see this link re: hot water heater relief valves and piping the discharge outside from under the house.

The roof presented a common problem, but a more tricky fix. One of the first places I go when looking at the condition of a roof is the flashing, and the vent stacks. Gaps in these places can easily lead to leaks that often go unnoticed for some time. The rain collar (or "boot") around the vent stack pipe can become dry, brittle, and begin to crack; it no longer seals tight against the pipe. Often the flashing and shingles are fine, so it seems a shame to have to tear out the flashing just to replace the collar.

In this case, the shingles are nearing the end of their life cycle, and I could see a small job turning into a bigger mess by trying to unseat older, brittle shingles in an effort to install a new vent stack flashing. Knowing solutions often come to mind while working on something else, I opted to continue on some other jobs until I could come up with a better plan.

As luck would have it, Ask This Old House was on TV that night. Even better, the segment was on a similar problem – water was running down the vent pipe and causing a stain below. Tom Silva introduced the idea that you could replace just the collar, and not the entire flashing. He suggested buying the individual part, or tear one out from a new flashing (assembly).

Again, good fortune was on my side when I found the individual collars at the local Home Depot store.  The proper name is “Rain Collar for No-Calk® Roof Flashings” (from Oatey). Don’t forget to follow the instructions on the product card when you make your installation. In Silva’s case, he put two beads of “special sealant made for roofing applications” over the existing collar at the point it met the pipe – a little like using packing under the bonnet nut on a faucet. I chose the route of “No caulking needed” per the instructions, in part because I recommended a replacement of the roof in the near future.

Hats off to the folks at Oatey. Some clever product people figured out that the collar may fail before the flashing, and that enough people would probably want to replace the collar alone, so why not make it into a standalone product. Since it was new to me, I was surprised to learn (after contacting Oatey), this product has been around since the early ‘80s. This is a huge time saver and it makes an otherwise challenging task on older roofs that much easier.

Café or Catering business – it’s hard to be both

As I watched someone building a series of lists within a spreadsheet, I kept thinking, “That should be in a database, not a spreadsheet.” They continued the process by using a multiple tab strategy to individualize the related lists. Now you have a series of lists in one spreadsheet, keeping them separated by tabs of multiple worksheets, all in the same file. But, you also have a cornucopia of data stored in less than optimal places from which to retrieve it.

I believe this to be a common activity as a result of perceived simplicity of data entry, user familiarity with the software application, and the ability to sort on columns of rows. I’m confident little regard is given to reporting (printouts), as I often witness the scaling of printing in an (often failed) attempt to fit things on a single page, or scale across larger paper.

It was a recent conversation with someone in the restaurant and hospitality industry that offered me some insight in this case. I found myself drawing a comparison here to the running of a café vs. that of a catering business. In one instance, you are dealing with a menu of individual items prepared as smaller quantity, made to order selections. As a caterer, you want to limit the choices and produce tasty selections efficiently, for high volume output. Although the techniques of preparation are similar, they are rarely carried out in the same way.

In business I look for a discipline or process that is repeatable and efficient, i.e., it scales well; most actions during the day can fit that condition. From answering the phones to taking orders from customers, you would likely adopt the catering model. However, if you were in a lower volume, built to order business, you may look more like the café model. Just as you might not use a café model for serving hundreds of the same meals in minutes, you likely should not use a spreadsheet to do the work of a more vigorous database requirement.

Since I go back to the early days of Lotus 1-2-3 (1A), and VisiCalc before that, I may be a little oversensitive when it comes to using a spreadsheet as a database. That’s due in part to the amount of time I have spent over the years working with database software and applications. I also did a stint with database middleware tools that helped synchronize disparate database software; we were like a Swiss Army knife for data exchanges and transfers – we were also way ahead of our time and ultimately lost the market to this functionality being built-in to the database software.

Going back to the spreadsheet vs. a database, if I use the café vs. catering analogy, it comes down to repetitive volume of similar information. Let’s same I am in the Public Relations and Promotion business. Since our sister company N2tech does limited PR work for clients, it’s fresh in my mind. If we were going to plan a single conference, an individual speaking tour, or one major event for the client, a spreadsheet might work. But, if we did the same activity for multiple clients, or multiple events for the same client, then a database makes more sense.

Although the time to set it up will likely be longer with a database, the analytics, tracking, and reporting are much better. Also, if you find that you are going to use the data on more than one occasion, retrieval and use will be better. Keeping with the PR company theme, let’s consider a list of industry journalists and reporters. In a database, you would not only have a list of the reporters and contact information, but you could build links and additional tables for tracking press coverage. You would be able to analyze which reporters responded to individual clients, as well as how many clients were getting coverage with the same reporter. The same holds true with coverage of your client’s competitors.

In my mind, it’s this simple. Using spreadsheets for list management doesn’t scale well; it’s not unlike the restaurant or café that tries to do catering. Although you could try to be both, you are normally better at one than the other.

What’s the missing link in all this? Training! I can’t count the number of pleas I have made with clients, business associates, friends, students, interns, etc. to please take online courses for common software like Microsoft Office – I have taken a number of courses from HP’s Learning Center and experienced a high degree of satisfaction.

Although training may seem time-consuming at first, it will pay handsome dividends down the road. Knowing which application serves the requirement best may be one way that you can become more productive in the markets you serve.

How you can start your own, Take your PeopleTowels to Work Day

There are all kinds of celebrations and events with a name like “Take your [insert your own] to Work Day”. My recollection – which I will gladly admit may be at risk - is the first such day was “Take your Daughter to Work Day”. This effort has evolved into a number of lookalike events; there are probably enough of these now that you could/should bring someone or something to work each week.

What I can say with confidence, there is only one PeopleTowels. As a People4PeopleTowels’ Ambassador, you now have the opportunity to start a new work day celebration and help the environment, too.

People4PeopleTowels’ Ambassadors are “… preventing deforestation, decreasing waste and reducing pollution with their friends and families.  It is estimated that each person who switches from paper towels to PeopleTowels will save 1/4 of a tree, reduce landfill waste by 23 pounds and conserve 250 gallons of water in just one year.”

You may recall the post I wrote on PeopleTowels as a great Holiday gift idea for 2009: “Innovation: Forget about a Homer Hanky, ask for a PeopleTowels this Holiday Season”. Regular readers and subscribers also know how much I enjoy reading about, or having the opportunity to interview, small business owners and entrepreneurs. Anita Crook’s story reflected in “Innovation: Pouchee – Clever Christmas gift with inspiring back-story” shortly thereafter struck me the same way. These are women business owners and entrepreneurs, who want to make a difference in the world with their clever ideas and entrepreneurial spirit.

Linda Lannon, and co-founder Mary Wallace, of PeopleTowels knew that Word of Mouth Marketing (WOM) was going to be crucial to their early success. They have enjoyed the fruits of viral marketing in a number of ways, but especially in their ability to get people who use their product to tell others (of their satisfaction). Recognizing this valuable consumer was an ambassador for their product, they recently launched the People4PeopleTowels’ Ambassadors Program to offer a reward for both the ambassador and their friends and acquaintances.

It’s simple and straightforward - Ambassadors are automatically enrolled in the PeopleTowels’ Rewards’ Program, after a registration process. In turn, they earn points towards PeopleTowels’ products, special discounts, and cash rewards, as they recommend it to others. Offering a friend a purchase code, the Ambassador earns points for every order placed by their friends and family on the PeopleTowels’ website, and the friend becomes eligible for a limited time discount on their purchase. You can see what happens next; the friend becomes a People4PeopleTowels’ Ambassador, and ‘the beat goes on’.

To enroll and begin your celebration of, Take your PeopleTowels to Work Day – for the record, I made this up, there really isn’t such a work day (yet! Hey, Mary and Linda, I may be onto something here) – follow this link to the registration form and you’ll soon see your location on the People4PeopleTowels’ Ambassadors’ map on their website.

Law enforcement says "No" to texting -- GM and OnStar say "Yes" to Facebook?

A favorite phrase of mine, that I am often known to utter, seems to fit here; “Help me understand this.” We’re not supposed to text while driving, and many believe that even hands-free conversation on a cell phone is a risk – something about distraction and multitasking don’t mix well with driving. There are a few insurance company television commercials trying to point that out, too. That said, check out this recent news release:

[15-Sep-2010 – General Motors Global] With over 500 million members, social media networks like Facebook have become a part of daily life. To meet society's growing desire to be connected at all times, "OnStar is: unveiling a new social media interactive program for the car." The OnStar Facebook application will enable drivers to verbally dictate a message to update their status. With only a push of a button, the service will also allow subscribers to listen to their most recent news feeds. Other new technologies will include voice-based texting, which allows customers to send and receive texts using Bluetooth. In addition to the introduction of innovative car apps, the company is improving on its tried and true services like Automatic Crash Response. The latest version is being enhanced with a new service called First Assist which provides important life-saving instructions to occupants until first responders arrive.

Really, how important is it to update your Facebook status from within your car? Taking it one step further, I can only imagine some of the "voice-based texting" I might see from drivers who are recording the message as someone cuts them off in traffic -- I don't recall if those words are in my T9 predictive text.

If you are a BMW driver who wants to experience "Joy is BMW", or you are one who appreciates the handling of your brand of driving machine, I think you will be a little too busy to do the social media thing.  What do you think?

NvestNtech eNewsletter - September, 2010 – Dave Baldwin, Non-profits, blogging, and more

In addition to the Sales Barriers blog, NvestNtech also publishes an eNewsletter. Although some content is shared with the Sales Barriers blog, we incorporate additional information in the form of ideas, business practices, and articles from other contributors, who often provide material to us not featured elsewhere.

From the Editor about the September, 2010 edition:

We are pleased to introduce Dave Baldwin - the Introverted Entrepreneur. For those of you who have always wanted to write a book, Dave brings us advice on how to overcome writer's block and finally get that first chapter from mind to paper.
 
What's it like to keep blogging after four years of banging away at the keyboard? In this month's "Is blogging a dying endeavor?", Peter Kusterer reflects on the merits to keep going while the more active blogosphere appears to be dwindling.
 
Our sister company N2tech has introduced a new Public Relations and Promotion service dedicated to the Non-profit sector. What they discovered in working with non-profits was, "Although an important component to the operation, it's difficult for some non-profits to hire someone in this communication capacity on a full-time basis." They will be working with small to medium size non-profits to increase awareness and improve communication to members and supporters.
 
From the Sales Barriers blog, we feature the AIA Triangle Homes Tour post. Visitors will be able to visit with architects and designers at ten award homes in and around the Raleigh, Durham, and Chapel Hill, NC area. The complete post offers insight into how homeowners can employ the services of an architect for a "...better utilization of (existing) space in their home; it's less about adding on to the home, and more about making the home work better for its occupants."
 
You can access this month's newsletter by clicking here.
 
The Editor

 NvestNtech's One Goal - Revenue Generation ® monthly newsletter

 p.s. Past issues of our eNewsletter can be found here.

You can also become a subscriber by following this link to the sign-up page. You will receive an email similar to the Editor comments above, with a link to a .PDF newsletter.

Would you please ShareThis

I have a t-shirt with a picture of a well-known milk chocolate candy bar on the front and a caption below that reads, “Sharing is overrated.” I get my fair share of chuckles and comments when I wear it; sadly, it’s beginning to show its age, just like me.

When it comes to the Internet and Social Media, some may think that sharing is overrated, too. But for those who do share, companies are eager to learn why, and with whom. Today’s The Wall Street Journal carried an article titled “Sites in Like, Not Love, With Facebook Link”. Buried in the copy was some background information about ShareThis, a company that helps publishers share content and websites between users and subscribers, which translates into a growing community of influencers.  It’s as simple as sharing what you like with others in hopes that they, too, will find it useful and interesting. Influencers drive more (in ShareThis terms) “traffic, engagement or monetization”.

In our own case here, the insight gained from the ShareThis reports, along with other analytics and reporting, helps me better understand what posts or categories you find most interesting, and what you are willing to share with others. The ShareThis button you find at the end of every post is a convenient way for you to pass along that post’s information, ideas, product information, or opinions, which I hope encourages others to read or subscribe to our blog.

When it comes to the content I put before you, “Would you please ShareThis”.

If the rest are smart phones, what's mine--dumb?

The news release hits my desktop with “Verizon Wireless' Samsung Haven: A Sanctuary Of Features And Simplicity” I react with “Yessss!” That’s how I see my older Samsung HUE II, “A Sanctuary Of Features And Simplicity.” 

No reception problems to speak of no matter which way I hold the phone. Native, bare bones case means no rubber sleeve to contend with, and with no apps on the phone – other than the stock Celltop choices – I don’t put money into a data plan. I use the camera sparingly, so I can appreciate the idea that you could have a phone without one. Text messaging?  I would not want to be without that; it seems Samsung and Verizon thought to enable it on this little charmer.

Price? They hit that on the mark – easy affordability. And how about the easy-to-read display? For those of a more youthful age who may be chuckling at this point, just wait until you get your first pair of bifocals; you will welcome big numbers on a phone when you can’t find your glasses. Also they describe the keypad as a “Large, Tactile Keypad with One-Touch Access Keys”.

But what really got my attention from this announcement was not the new Samsung phone. It was more about the drawbacks of maybe we expect too much from a phone in the first place.

Not long ago, US car manufacturers were accused of taking potshots at Toyota’s problems in their advertisements.  Besides the media jumping on the iPhone 4’s recent troubles with the term “death grip”, today's  The Wall Street Journal ran a full-page Motorola ad titled, “No Jacket Required” – the ad is for the new DROID X™.

Further on in the ad copy – truth be told I was laughing at this point – it reads, “…a customer shouldn’t have to dress up their phone for it to work properly.” and it goes on to say, “…allows you to hold the phone any way you like to make crystal clear calls without a bulky phone jacket.” For those of you about to defend your recent iPhone purchase – how’s that online purchase and reservation thing working out for ya – surely we can agree this is a clever ad.

Back to Samsung. Whereas Consumer Reports told folks they may want to take a pass on the iPhone 4, the Samsung Haven earned the prestigious Good Housekeeping Seal. Where other phones may have more sophisticated apps, the Samsung Haven bundles a couple of simple and useful applications, calling them “Lifestyle features”:

• Well-Being and Health Tools – A reminder alarm with up to five alarms, a fitness trainer that offers 15 unique stretching techniques, four different healing music selections to help relieve stress, and a medical information application that lets users make medical notes and stores their information such as allergies and medications
• Personal Organizer and Tools – Calendar and scheduling assistant, calculator with currency converter, world clock, and stop watch

I imagine your reaction right now is, “Hello, Baby Boomers!” Maybe. But, not a bad market to chase, and with a smart (phone) approach to a market segment, too. It’s not all about features and functionality in wireless apps – the recent Citigroup security flaws on their iPhone app come to mind. Sometimes simplicity offers greater peace of mind; or as Samsung says, “A Sanctuary”.