The housing market recovery is benefiting the millwork industry, especially the high-end segment. Home prices are rising as inventory decreases, making homeowners more willing to invest in large remodeling projects. The number of high net worth individuals is growing, and they typically invest in home improvements. Various housing market indexes show ongoing recovery in many cities. The recovery in high-end home building bodes well for millwork distributors catering to that segment.
This document discusses overcoming the fear of sales through updating perceptions of what sales entails. It summarizes that traditional views of sales involving pushy tactics are outdated, and today successful sales instead involves understanding customer needs and helping customers achieve their goals through products and services. The document advocates that all employees are involved in sales to some degree through influencing others, and that modern sales done well through consultation is similar to customer service. It concludes sales professionals are integral to powering businesses rather than something to avoid.
This document summarizes key points from the book "Follow This Path" about driving growth through unleashing human potential. It discusses that organizations should focus on emotional engagement of employees and customers to build loyalty and drive business outcomes. Gallup research shows a direct link between emotionally engaged workplaces measured by the Q12 and business metrics like productivity and profitability. The document advocates that organizations should identify and develop the talents and strengths of employees to better engage them, rather than trying to fix weaknesses. This leads to more emotionally engaged and committed employees and customers.
The document discusses reasons why strategic marketing often fails, referred to as "tragic marketing". The main reasons identified are lack of expertise, lack of customer focus, inability to respond to changes in the marketing environment, lack of support from other departments, and lack of involvement from different levels of the organization in developing the strategic marketing plan. The document emphasizes the importance of having a strategic marketing plan that is coordinated, integrated, focuses on customers, and involves representatives from all departments.
This document provides 41 tips for achieving success in multi-level marketing (MLM). Some key tips include deciding to succeed and connecting your heart to the vision; understanding that MLM is a vehicle for life change; putting your commitment in writing; focusing on lifestyle and security; promoting hope over hype; understanding that leadership and asking for help are important; and giving impactful presentations that address what prospects value most. The overall message is that success in MLM takes commitment, leadership, addressing objections, exploring what's best for prospects, building trust, and presenting information in an engaging way.
This document provides 24 ways to grow an MLM business. Some of the key suggestions include targeting the right people, being creative in presenting products and opportunities, focusing on customer interests, guiding customers in how to think about the company, making promotions exceptional, always seeking new potential customers, examining how you present yourself, telling the story of the business one part at a time without overwhelming, matching marketing to the business, personalizing communication, using reference letters, and making marketing the central mission.
Your Core Ideal, Key Words and Phrases and Big MessageAndrew Priestley
In this free discussion paper, award winning business coach Andrew Priestley explores Jim Stengel's ten year study into business growth. Stengel concluded that companies that grew - especially during the GFC economic challenge of 2007 and 2011 had identified their Core Ideal. Stengel profiled over 50,000 companies global but those rated in the S&P 500 but Priestley wondered if the findings translate to SMEs (six and seven figure businesses) or were relevant to start-ups.
This report includes a quiz designed to help you determine your Core Ideal. You are invited to share your results with the author.
The Disruptive Reader: Three Urgent Questions for B2B Marketing InnovatorsShelly Lucas
This reader is dedicated to the marketing misfits. The interrogators. Because marketers who are courageous enough to ask probing questions are the ones who transform their businesses and ignite their careers.
This document discusses overcoming the fear of sales through updating perceptions of what sales entails. It summarizes that traditional views of sales involving pushy tactics are outdated, and today successful sales instead involves understanding customer needs and helping customers achieve their goals through products and services. The document advocates that all employees are involved in sales to some degree through influencing others, and that modern sales done well through consultation is similar to customer service. It concludes sales professionals are integral to powering businesses rather than something to avoid.
This document summarizes key points from the book "Follow This Path" about driving growth through unleashing human potential. It discusses that organizations should focus on emotional engagement of employees and customers to build loyalty and drive business outcomes. Gallup research shows a direct link between emotionally engaged workplaces measured by the Q12 and business metrics like productivity and profitability. The document advocates that organizations should identify and develop the talents and strengths of employees to better engage them, rather than trying to fix weaknesses. This leads to more emotionally engaged and committed employees and customers.
The document discusses reasons why strategic marketing often fails, referred to as "tragic marketing". The main reasons identified are lack of expertise, lack of customer focus, inability to respond to changes in the marketing environment, lack of support from other departments, and lack of involvement from different levels of the organization in developing the strategic marketing plan. The document emphasizes the importance of having a strategic marketing plan that is coordinated, integrated, focuses on customers, and involves representatives from all departments.
This document provides 41 tips for achieving success in multi-level marketing (MLM). Some key tips include deciding to succeed and connecting your heart to the vision; understanding that MLM is a vehicle for life change; putting your commitment in writing; focusing on lifestyle and security; promoting hope over hype; understanding that leadership and asking for help are important; and giving impactful presentations that address what prospects value most. The overall message is that success in MLM takes commitment, leadership, addressing objections, exploring what's best for prospects, building trust, and presenting information in an engaging way.
This document provides 24 ways to grow an MLM business. Some of the key suggestions include targeting the right people, being creative in presenting products and opportunities, focusing on customer interests, guiding customers in how to think about the company, making promotions exceptional, always seeking new potential customers, examining how you present yourself, telling the story of the business one part at a time without overwhelming, matching marketing to the business, personalizing communication, using reference letters, and making marketing the central mission.
Your Core Ideal, Key Words and Phrases and Big MessageAndrew Priestley
In this free discussion paper, award winning business coach Andrew Priestley explores Jim Stengel's ten year study into business growth. Stengel concluded that companies that grew - especially during the GFC economic challenge of 2007 and 2011 had identified their Core Ideal. Stengel profiled over 50,000 companies global but those rated in the S&P 500 but Priestley wondered if the findings translate to SMEs (six and seven figure businesses) or were relevant to start-ups.
This report includes a quiz designed to help you determine your Core Ideal. You are invited to share your results with the author.
The Disruptive Reader: Three Urgent Questions for B2B Marketing InnovatorsShelly Lucas
This reader is dedicated to the marketing misfits. The interrogators. Because marketers who are courageous enough to ask probing questions are the ones who transform their businesses and ignite their careers.
The document provides advice for building a marketing plan and discusses key considerations such as understanding the difference between sales and marketing, knowing what you are really selling, understanding your brand, having a clear story, focusing on customers, determining if social media is appropriate, maintaining consistency, being ready to evolve strategies, spreading your own message through community involvement, and how to hire an agency. The overall message is the importance of thorough discovery and understanding your business, customers, and brand before developing a marketing plan and strategy.
“ The difference that sets professional networkers apart from amateur networkers is that they look forward to their prospects objections and know exactly what to say with each one. ”
This document provides an overview of common sales mistakes and how to improve sales skills. It discusses 13 key skills and traits that are important for sales success: readiness, knowledge, rapport, prospecting, qualifying, presenting, closing, objections, customer service, administration, attitude, drive, and influencing. Some common mistakes include lack of readiness, knowledge, or proper rapport building skills among salespeople. High or low scores on these traits can also indicate issues. Regular skills assessment, training, and support can help salespeople improve.
This document provides 41 tips for achieving success in multi-level marketing (MLM). Some key tips include deciding to succeed and connecting your heart to the vision; understanding that MLM is a vehicle for life change; putting your commitment in writing; focusing on leadership and asking for help from others; learning to neutralize objections; promoting hope over hype; and giving impactful presentations that touch on what people value most in their lives. The overall message is that success in MLM takes commitment, connecting emotionally with the opportunity and vision, learning important skills like handling objections, and focusing on positively impacting others.
Building A Powerful Center of Influence (Notes Version)SalezWORKS
The document provides guidance on developing and leveraging a center of influence for business development purposes. It discusses identifying key clients and influencers, conducting research on their connections and challenges, scheduling meetings to understand how they view your relationship and value, asking for introductions to expand your network, following up, adding value, and making lives better to strengthen relationships over time. The goal is to recognize existing clients as potential referral sources to new prospects and continuously deepen your understanding of clients to better serve their needs and retain their business.
Matt Davidson, owner of LOGO Dynamics, provides a presentation on tuning up marketing strategies for small businesses. He discusses how the definition of business and the economy have changed, with a focus now on creating "wow" moments to build loyalty. Key aspects of a modern marketing plan include developing an identity, targeting markets based on needs, and permission-based marketing using tools like social media. The goal is to confound customer expectations and provide delightful experiences, keeping clients and converting them to advocates. Resources and next steps are provided for attendees to develop their own marketing plans.
UNSTUCK: Use the Brand-As-Business Management Approach to Troubleshoot Your Business is a short guide that introduces six prevalent business issues and the solutions offered by the brand-as-business approach.
The document provides an overview of a presentation on attracting ideal customers. The presentation covers:
- Keys to attracting ideal customers such as understanding customer needs and having a clear marketing strategy.
- Developing a clear understanding of who the target customers are, what problems the business solves for them, and the benefits provided.
- Implementing a lead generation system to actively attract potential customers through activities like content marketing, social media, and community involvement.
This document discusses how positioning is important for businesses to communicate their value to clients. It recommends that businesses clarify their positioning by answering three questions: 1) Who do you serve? Clearly defining ideal client characteristics helps target the right clients. 2) What do you do for them? Specializing in a specific expertise increases perceived value over trying to do everything. 3) How are you different? Identifying differences from competitors by understanding what matters most to clients allows businesses to better meet client needs and sell their services. Answering these three questions helps businesses boost confidence, clarity and revenue through a strong, specialized positioning.
Mel feller looks at ideas for greater marketing and advertising successMel Feller
This document summarizes Mel Feller's ideas for greater marketing and advertising success. It discusses how marketing and advertising can either help or hurt a business depending on how it is implemented. It provides tips to avoid common mistakes like not targeting the right audience, spending too much too soon, getting lost among other ads, and not taking advantage of free publicity. The document emphasizes focusing advertising on customer benefits and needs, developing expertise in marketing, continually expanding networks, and having an online presence.
The document discusses how businesses need to tune up their marketing strategies to succeed in today's economy. It emphasizes focusing on creating "wow" moments for customers to earn their loyalty rather than just pursuing new customers. The definition of business is creating these positive experiences through permission-based marketing, social media, and exceptional customer service to confound customers' expectations. Developing a clear brand and marketing plan centered around clients' needs is key to achieving this.
Using Growth Hacking & Inbound Marketing To Grow On A BudgetKennedy Andersson AB
Low cost & high impact inbound marketing can ignite growth on a limited budget, if you a start-up or feel like giving-up there are opportunities with a comprehensive inbound marketing program to grow your leads and business.
Sandy Vilas started a new placement division called Corporate Coaches Inc. to generate sales from companies wanting to hire coaches trained by his company CoachInc.com. This increased both sales and profits. While starting a new business may seem extreme, Vilas was able to earn $100,000 in fees in the first year from this division. The article then provides 11 additional ways for business owners to increase sales, such as improving follow-up on sales leads, building customer loyalty, outsourcing non-essential tasks, and asking existing clients for referrals and additional business.
Bob Thilmont, President of Mountain Global Inc., provides 8 critical strategies for businesses to implement during times of economic uncertainty. These strategies include managing cash flow closely, revisiting your business vision, increasing marketing and sales efforts strategically, understanding your products' value proposition, collaborating instead of competing, structuring business models leanly, turning challenges into opportunities, and maintaining a positive attitude. Thilmont emphasizes the importance of adapting business strategies to changing economic realities.
The document outlines the keys to success in network marketing: taking action, having belief in oneself, and caring about others. It emphasizes the importance of determination, effort, focus, goal-setting, accepting help from others, having an internet presence, treating customers well, persistence, building relationships, sales skills, and learning from one's sponsor over time to achieve network marketing success.
This document provides guidance on creating a commercial culture within an organization where every employee contributes to excellent customer experiences that drive growth. It discusses how every employee, regardless of role, should understand their contribution to sales. Creating a commercial culture requires putting the customer at the heart of all decisions and focusing on helping customers purchase by understanding their needs rather than using aggressive sales tactics. The document recommends training all employees to prioritize outstanding customer service and emphasizes that successful companies communicate transparently with customers.
Sell & Market Better with these proven strategies & insightsEmmanuel Omikunle
It's the quickest, and simplified tips ever. Just to help you, freelancers, smb, service providers excel today, 2020 & forever.
PLUS, PICK UP OTHER RECOMMENDED eBOOKS.
Top salespeople are self-motivated, persistent, and relentless. They make many phone calls and connections through networking to find new prospects. They focus on consistent prospecting through in-person meetings, phone calls, emails, and social media. Maintaining a positive mindset and tracking key metrics like call volume and sales numbers are important for success.
This document is the 2011-2012 issue of the DukEngineer Magazine from the Edmund T. Pratt Jr. School of Engineering at Duke University. It contains articles on various engineering research projects, student experiences, alumni profiles and updates on the Pratt School. The magazine aims to showcase the accomplishments and activities of students, faculty and alumni of the Pratt School of Engineering.
The document provides information about Phoenix Magazine's 2016 editorial calendar and multi-media platforms. Some key points:
- The magazine is celebrating its 50th anniversary and will have special issues focused on Phoenix history and travel destinations.
- New formats for the annual dining guide and summer travel issues will feature lifestyle-specific sections.
- The editorial calendar outlines monthly cover themes and special advertising sections through 2016.
- The magazine reaches over 350,000 monthly readers across print, digital, and social media platforms.
The document provides advice for building a marketing plan and discusses key considerations such as understanding the difference between sales and marketing, knowing what you are really selling, understanding your brand, having a clear story, focusing on customers, determining if social media is appropriate, maintaining consistency, being ready to evolve strategies, spreading your own message through community involvement, and how to hire an agency. The overall message is the importance of thorough discovery and understanding your business, customers, and brand before developing a marketing plan and strategy.
“ The difference that sets professional networkers apart from amateur networkers is that they look forward to their prospects objections and know exactly what to say with each one. ”
This document provides an overview of common sales mistakes and how to improve sales skills. It discusses 13 key skills and traits that are important for sales success: readiness, knowledge, rapport, prospecting, qualifying, presenting, closing, objections, customer service, administration, attitude, drive, and influencing. Some common mistakes include lack of readiness, knowledge, or proper rapport building skills among salespeople. High or low scores on these traits can also indicate issues. Regular skills assessment, training, and support can help salespeople improve.
This document provides 41 tips for achieving success in multi-level marketing (MLM). Some key tips include deciding to succeed and connecting your heart to the vision; understanding that MLM is a vehicle for life change; putting your commitment in writing; focusing on leadership and asking for help from others; learning to neutralize objections; promoting hope over hype; and giving impactful presentations that touch on what people value most in their lives. The overall message is that success in MLM takes commitment, connecting emotionally with the opportunity and vision, learning important skills like handling objections, and focusing on positively impacting others.
Building A Powerful Center of Influence (Notes Version)SalezWORKS
The document provides guidance on developing and leveraging a center of influence for business development purposes. It discusses identifying key clients and influencers, conducting research on their connections and challenges, scheduling meetings to understand how they view your relationship and value, asking for introductions to expand your network, following up, adding value, and making lives better to strengthen relationships over time. The goal is to recognize existing clients as potential referral sources to new prospects and continuously deepen your understanding of clients to better serve their needs and retain their business.
Matt Davidson, owner of LOGO Dynamics, provides a presentation on tuning up marketing strategies for small businesses. He discusses how the definition of business and the economy have changed, with a focus now on creating "wow" moments to build loyalty. Key aspects of a modern marketing plan include developing an identity, targeting markets based on needs, and permission-based marketing using tools like social media. The goal is to confound customer expectations and provide delightful experiences, keeping clients and converting them to advocates. Resources and next steps are provided for attendees to develop their own marketing plans.
UNSTUCK: Use the Brand-As-Business Management Approach to Troubleshoot Your Business is a short guide that introduces six prevalent business issues and the solutions offered by the brand-as-business approach.
The document provides an overview of a presentation on attracting ideal customers. The presentation covers:
- Keys to attracting ideal customers such as understanding customer needs and having a clear marketing strategy.
- Developing a clear understanding of who the target customers are, what problems the business solves for them, and the benefits provided.
- Implementing a lead generation system to actively attract potential customers through activities like content marketing, social media, and community involvement.
This document discusses how positioning is important for businesses to communicate their value to clients. It recommends that businesses clarify their positioning by answering three questions: 1) Who do you serve? Clearly defining ideal client characteristics helps target the right clients. 2) What do you do for them? Specializing in a specific expertise increases perceived value over trying to do everything. 3) How are you different? Identifying differences from competitors by understanding what matters most to clients allows businesses to better meet client needs and sell their services. Answering these three questions helps businesses boost confidence, clarity and revenue through a strong, specialized positioning.
Mel feller looks at ideas for greater marketing and advertising successMel Feller
This document summarizes Mel Feller's ideas for greater marketing and advertising success. It discusses how marketing and advertising can either help or hurt a business depending on how it is implemented. It provides tips to avoid common mistakes like not targeting the right audience, spending too much too soon, getting lost among other ads, and not taking advantage of free publicity. The document emphasizes focusing advertising on customer benefits and needs, developing expertise in marketing, continually expanding networks, and having an online presence.
The document discusses how businesses need to tune up their marketing strategies to succeed in today's economy. It emphasizes focusing on creating "wow" moments for customers to earn their loyalty rather than just pursuing new customers. The definition of business is creating these positive experiences through permission-based marketing, social media, and exceptional customer service to confound customers' expectations. Developing a clear brand and marketing plan centered around clients' needs is key to achieving this.
Using Growth Hacking & Inbound Marketing To Grow On A BudgetKennedy Andersson AB
Low cost & high impact inbound marketing can ignite growth on a limited budget, if you a start-up or feel like giving-up there are opportunities with a comprehensive inbound marketing program to grow your leads and business.
Sandy Vilas started a new placement division called Corporate Coaches Inc. to generate sales from companies wanting to hire coaches trained by his company CoachInc.com. This increased both sales and profits. While starting a new business may seem extreme, Vilas was able to earn $100,000 in fees in the first year from this division. The article then provides 11 additional ways for business owners to increase sales, such as improving follow-up on sales leads, building customer loyalty, outsourcing non-essential tasks, and asking existing clients for referrals and additional business.
Bob Thilmont, President of Mountain Global Inc., provides 8 critical strategies for businesses to implement during times of economic uncertainty. These strategies include managing cash flow closely, revisiting your business vision, increasing marketing and sales efforts strategically, understanding your products' value proposition, collaborating instead of competing, structuring business models leanly, turning challenges into opportunities, and maintaining a positive attitude. Thilmont emphasizes the importance of adapting business strategies to changing economic realities.
The document outlines the keys to success in network marketing: taking action, having belief in oneself, and caring about others. It emphasizes the importance of determination, effort, focus, goal-setting, accepting help from others, having an internet presence, treating customers well, persistence, building relationships, sales skills, and learning from one's sponsor over time to achieve network marketing success.
This document provides guidance on creating a commercial culture within an organization where every employee contributes to excellent customer experiences that drive growth. It discusses how every employee, regardless of role, should understand their contribution to sales. Creating a commercial culture requires putting the customer at the heart of all decisions and focusing on helping customers purchase by understanding their needs rather than using aggressive sales tactics. The document recommends training all employees to prioritize outstanding customer service and emphasizes that successful companies communicate transparently with customers.
Sell & Market Better with these proven strategies & insightsEmmanuel Omikunle
It's the quickest, and simplified tips ever. Just to help you, freelancers, smb, service providers excel today, 2020 & forever.
PLUS, PICK UP OTHER RECOMMENDED eBOOKS.
Top salespeople are self-motivated, persistent, and relentless. They make many phone calls and connections through networking to find new prospects. They focus on consistent prospecting through in-person meetings, phone calls, emails, and social media. Maintaining a positive mindset and tracking key metrics like call volume and sales numbers are important for success.
This document is the 2011-2012 issue of the DukEngineer Magazine from the Edmund T. Pratt Jr. School of Engineering at Duke University. It contains articles on various engineering research projects, student experiences, alumni profiles and updates on the Pratt School. The magazine aims to showcase the accomplishments and activities of students, faculty and alumni of the Pratt School of Engineering.
The document provides information about Phoenix Magazine's 2016 editorial calendar and multi-media platforms. Some key points:
- The magazine is celebrating its 50th anniversary and will have special issues focused on Phoenix history and travel destinations.
- New formats for the annual dining guide and summer travel issues will feature lifestyle-specific sections.
- The editorial calendar outlines monthly cover themes and special advertising sections through 2016.
- The magazine reaches over 350,000 monthly readers across print, digital, and social media platforms.
Effulgence- The IIM Raipur Magazine is an initiative taken by students to showcase the happenings in the institute. Effulgence is the radiance of light which exists in each individual who is associated with IIM Raipur. It is a biannual magazine and provides a platform to the students, academicians and corporates to come under one roof and share their knowledge, views and discuss on issues related to management, leadership and other related areas. It also highlights talent of the students and emphasizes on the diversity that the students bring to the campus.
The national student Magazine articles btecmedia12
The article discusses the lack of women in the engineering industry and efforts being made to address it. While progress has been made in improving gender ratios in the workplace overall, engineering still has a long way to go. However, the industry has been taking significant steps, such as the work of Women in Science, Engineering and Technology (WiSET), to rectify the situation and encourage more women to enter the field. WiSET has found that a lack of confidence due to few other female role models remains a challenge in attracting women to engineering careers.
NEWSLETTER LAZNas Chevron Karyawan Muslim Chevron Rumbai 2015LAZNas Chevron
Tiga kalimat ringkasan dokumen tersebut adalah:
Dokumen tersebut membahas tentang berbagai program LAZNas Karyawan Muslim Chevron Rumbai seperti penyaluran dana zakat untuk bantuan modal usaha mikro, kesehatan, pendidikan, serta profil salah satu penerima manfaat bernama Ibu Riyani dan usahanya.
Artikel ini memberikan tips bagi orang tua untuk mendampingi anak dalam menghadapi ujian nasional, antara lain dengan mempersiapkan diri secara matang, memberikan motivasi positif, serta mendoakan anak.
News entertainment magazine february 2015H MD NASIR
Welcome to…
Press Media Of India & News Entertainment Monthly Magazine & Weekly Newspaper
If you need to promote your business in the Press Media of India & News Entertainment Magazine area then we are perfect solution for you . We design, print and hand deliver thousands of copies of the Monthly magazine & Weekly Newspaper every Week & month.
About the Magazine
Darlington Monthly magazine is an A4 full colour glossy magazine, bursting with adverts, features and local interest stories.
Advertising with us really does work – not only does it generate new business leads but it also raises awareness of your products and services within the local community. Ask about our competitive prices and advert options and you’ll see what great value Darlington Monthly offers compared to other marketing methods such as direct mail, e-marketing and radio advertising
The document is a letter from the editor of The Quarterly magazine. It discusses how the writer's views on content creation have changed over the past nine years. It argues that in today's fast-paced world, people only have time for high-quality, well-researched content that is relevant to them. The letter references a book that used scientific research to determine six factors that make content interesting and likely to be shared. It states that creating this type of valuable content requires a significant investment of time and effort.
Published by the Sullivan County Democrat, School Scene is a special publication dedicated to educational institutions in Sullivan County in New York's Catskills region. This edition is dedicated to thegood things going on at SUNY Sullivan. Enjoy!
China faces the challenge of rebalancing its economy away from credit-fueled investment and toward consumption without experiencing a sharp economic slowdown or financial crisis. While stimulus measures have helped maintain growth, continued overreliance on infrastructure and real estate risks wasted investment and bad debts. Demographic changes may help by tightening the labor market and raising wages, supporting domestic demand. However, successfully transitioning the economy remains difficult, and a major slowdown remains a threat to global growth.
The document summarizes PACK & SEND's 2014 annual conference held in Melbourne, Australia. It discusses the various speakers and presentations over the course of the weekend conference, including talks on marketing, innovation, customer service, and growth. It highlights the announcement of PACK & SEND Milton being named Franchisee of the Year for 2014/2015. The conference aimed to motivate franchisees and provide takeaways to help franchisees improve their businesses through networking and learning from each other and guest speakers.
The article discusses the dangers faced by some youth who extend their limits through a fast-paced lifestyle and false love, leading to ruined lives. It describes a visit to the Chiromo Lane Clinic, where some youth end up due to risky behavior. While the Bible allows youth to enjoy themselves, not all do so wisely. De-radicalization programs aim to steer youth away from risky paths, but face challenges in identification, implementation and providing real opportunities.
TUGAS AKHIR BIK - MAJALAH SARTIKA SEMESTER SATU Neng Holip
Majalah ini berisi berbagai artikel tentang budaya Indonesia seperti tarian tradisional, makanan khas, dan cerita rakyat. Juga berisi pesan untuk melestarikan budaya Indonesia agar tidak punah.
TEMPO has come out with a totally new look. It is vibrant, fresh and very innovative in both layout and content, and will integrate many new interactive multi-media elements. The magazine has rebranded and is now TEMPO, rather than Abu Dhabi Tempo
TEMPO has rebranded into a vibrant, fresh and very innovative magazine in both layout and content. The magazine responds to growing interest nationwide and is distributed at various points across the emirates. Tempo’s content strategy is focused on the community, and it will continue to integrate mobile tagging, and new and cutting edge interactive multi-media elements.
Majalah ini menampilkan profil Billy Boen, seorang entrepreneur muda Indonesia yang berhasil menjadi presiden organisasi mahasiswa dan lulus kuliah dengan cepat. Billy Boen berbagi kiat suksesnya melalui buku dan komunitas, antara lain dengan mengatasi hambatan diri sendiri dan terus belajar serta berbagi ilmu."
This is a special edition for the #16Days of Activism Gender Based Violence and is dedicated to the survivors
of early marriage and those dedicated to ending this practice.
This Magazine is written by refugees living in Kakuma Refugee Camp. is published by FilmAid with support from BPRM
The document appears to be the 2014-2015 edition of the Queen Marian magazine for Queen Mary School in Mumbai, India. It includes messages from the Chairman and Principal, reports on events from the year, and sections highlighting academics, arts, and culture. The magazine documents and celebrates the activities and achievements of the school community over the academic year.
The document discusses the benefits of exercise for mental health. Regular physical activity can help reduce anxiety and depression and improve mood and cognitive functioning. Exercise causes chemical changes in the brain that may help protect against mental illness and improve symptoms.
In a recent survey of B2B marketing executives, we learned that messaging is one of the biggest challenges they face. Do they have the right personas? Do they understand the issues that matter to those personas? Do they know how to map the value proposition of their solution to those issues? And do they know how to describe their value in terms that resonate with the people they want to sell to?
It turns out that in many cases, they don't.
When messaging is off, it is like shouting to people in a foreign language -- Nobody understands what is being said. Consequently there will be adverse effects across the marketing spectrum:
- Content Marketing topics will be less relevant
- SEO and SEM strategies will target the wrong phrases
- Web copy will mean little to visitors of your site
- Lead generation campaigns will under-perform
This ebook reviews some of the symptoms and reasons for ineffective messaging, and lists a number of steps readers can take to get it right.
Know:
- Who to call on.
- What to say.
- How to reach them.
More information can be found at:
http://thirdsidesolutions.com/messaging-get-it-right/
1) The document discusses the "Seven P Formula" for evaluating marketing activities which includes the 7 Ps: product, price, promotion, place, packaging, positioning, and people.
2) For each P, the document provides examples of questions to consider and ways to continually reevaluate and improve upon each element of the marketing mix.
3) The key is to regularly reassess each P using an outside perspective to ensure the marketing strategy still fits the current market realities and is achieving maximum results.
The document provides guidance on establishing an effective sales methodology for B2B SaaS companies. It summarizes the PUCCKA sales methodology advocated by Mark Suster, which stands for Pain, Unique Selling Proposition, Compelling Event, Champion, Key Players, and Aligned Purchasing Process. The document recommends developing a sales playbook, hiring two initial sales reps to learn from each other, and ensuring new reps' first 30 days are spent shadowing others and receiving training. The conclusion emphasizes that sales is key to a startup's success and that companies should implement a well-defined and adaptive methodology supported by tools like a CRM.
29 Simple Ways to Skyrocket Your Fitness Marketing ReportMauricio Cardenal
I’ve put together an infographic that you can use to improve your fitness marketing.
Whether you’re a:
– Gym Owner
– Crossfit Box Owner
– Personal trainer
– Bootcamp Owner
29 Simple Ways to Skyrocket Your Fitness Marketing ReportMauricio Cardenal
I’ve put together an infographic that you can use to improve your fitness marketing.
Whether you’re a:
– Gym Owner
– Crossfit Box Owner
– Personal trainer
– Bootcamp Owner
This document discusses how companies can better differentiate themselves and increase revenues through "Thoughtful Selling". It notes that customers now find most product information online beforehand, so companies need to close the "insight gap" between their brand and products by providing unique insights. It recommends categorizing customers into "Take Us Forward", "Model It", and "Prove It" groups and matching insights to each group's needs. Additionally, it emphasizes aligning marketing campaigns and sales conversations by integrating efforts between departments to create high-performance programs grounded in unique insights.
The document outlines the first step of the Duct Tape Marketing System - developing a strategy before tactics. It emphasizes that having a clear marketing strategy focused on the ideal client and differentiation is essential. The strategy involves narrowly defining the ideal client through understanding highly profitable and referring clients. It also involves finding ways to differentiate the business from competitors through interviews with satisfied customers to understand unique value propositions. With the right strategy in place, a business can then surround it with effective marketing tactics.
The document outlines a 7 step system for small business marketing success called the Duct Tape Marketing System. Step 3 discusses the importance of publishing educational content to build trust and educate potential customers. It recommends using a blog, social media profiles, and participating in review sites to generate helpful, trust-building content on a consistent basis. The goal is to position the business as a knowledgeable resource that potential customers will turn to for information and advice.
Sales Segmentation & Qualification for B2B SaaS CompaniesGuillaume Lerouge
This document provides guidance on selecting target customer segments and generating qualified leads for B2B SaaS companies. It emphasizes that most founders initially think their product can appeal to everyone, but targeting a specific segment is important. Selecting the right segment determines strategic choices. Generating leads requires inbound and outbound marketing to find potential customers experiencing problems the product solves. Qualifying leads confirms a fit between the product and customers' needs. The document offers tips on segmentation, marketing, sales approaches, and qualifying leads for the target segment.
The process of traditional selling has grown stale. What used to work 10 years ago no longer produces results. Why? The buyers all know the game. It is time to break the rules and close more sales. Read this to learn more about how to sell 180 degrees differently!
Preparing Successful Sales Quotes: Experts Weigh In
It can take a lot of work to get a lead to the quoting stage. Don’t throw away all the effort you have put in managing your sales pipeline by preparing a sub-par sales quote. Providing a successful sales quote can often determine if you win or lose a deal.
To help you sort through it all, we’ve reached out to a panel of sales and small business experts and asked them all a single question: “What are the keys to preparing successful sales quotes? ”
Lead Definition: Knowing your Perfect Customer ProfileSalesOptimize
In this slideshare, we talk about the complex nature of sales leads, knowing how to identify that perfect customer, and how you can work them through the sales pipeline.
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Similar to Association of Millwork Distributors Millwork & More Magazine (20)
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Association of Millwork Distributors Millwork & More Magazine
1.
2. 1Millwork & more AMD magazine
Around 2007, succession plans, growth plans, investment plans and most other business plans were
shelved when the housing market spiraled into the economic downfall. The past year there are
growing indications that home prices are in an upward mode and showing signs of a recovery. To
effectively participate in the recovery, business plans are being dusted off and strategies are being
realigned.
The fallout has left businesses challenged to deal with increasing demand, inventory shortage, and
multi-tasking personnel as a result of fewer employees. Could business strategies be compromised by
a shortage of available talent and decreasing interest in the millwork industry when baby boomers
retire? Does your business plan include resources and various training for the next generation to
advance in your company?
AMD wants to identify how we can support the current and future needs of our members. We too
need to update and realign the association strategic initiatives to assist our members in the post-
recession; and so, the task of updating the AMD Strategic Plan is underway. In one of the critical
steps of the planning process, seeking input from our members in an on line survey to identify key
initiatives is essential to AMD providing relevant member services that would be of value to your
business.
Recognizing the association’s various membership categories, and in plotting a future road map for
the organization, it will be important that all members participate in the survey. Full participation from
each category of membership provides a strong voice as to the type of member services which would
benefit the distributor, the manufacturer, product
and service provider, and the manufacturer rep.
Start collecting your thoughts now. Perhaps at
your next company management meeting,
allow some time for discussion about the
aspects of your business that AMD can
provide assistance. Consider designating
one company representative to complete the
AMD survey to provide your company’s overall
suggestions and input. Look for the membership
survey in the near future.
Remember to make sure AMD is updated with
your company personnel emails. Send your email
updates to Mail@AMDweb.com or contact AMD
directly.
“Help us, help you” be part of your business plan
success.
Contact Rosalie Leone at rleone@AMDweb.com
Help Us,
Help You
“AMD wants to
identify how
we can support
the current and
future needs of our
members.”
The AMD Millwork and More Magazine
is published by the Association of
MillworkDistributors(AMD).Thecontent
in the Magazine is submitted by third
parties. The publication of the content
in the Magazine does not constitute
an endorsement, sponsorship or
approval of the content by AMD. AMD
is not responsible for the accuracy
of the content. THE CONTENT IN THE
MAGAZINE IS OFFERED AND PROVIDED
TO YOU “AS IS”.
EDITOR
Rosalie Leone
CONTRIBUTORS
Jason Bader
Dirk Beveridge
Michael Collins
Bob DeStefano
Dr. Rick Johnson
Gary Moore
Diane Thielfoldt
Marc Wayshak
Robert Wendover
GRAPHIC DESIGN & LAYOUT
Becky Wanamaker,
Studio B Creative
Table of
C o n t e n t s
18
Work Force 5.0
Managing Multiple Generations @ Work
4a canvas for innovating your distribution business
6 HIGH-END MARKET RECOVERY AND THE MILLWORK INDUSTRY
10 PROFESSIONAL SKILLS FOR DISTRIBUTION SALES MANAGERS
14are you a broken field runner?
16AN INTENSE SALES FOCUS
2how to close the sale in the google era
8clips, texts, tweets: training today’s millennials
16 HOW TO BOOST YOUR RANK ON GOOGLE:
15 ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS
1hELP US HELP YOU
13 Buffelen Woodworking Celebrates 100th
Anniversary of Door Manufacturing
28AMD LEADERSHIP CONFERENCE LINKS THE MILLWORK
INDUSTRY AND LUMBER INDUSTRY TOGETHER
cover story
features
online business
AMD NEWS
4 106 14
3. 2 3Millwork & more AMD magazinejuly 2013
n today’s technology-driven world,
information is cheap. The Internet has
changed everything for prospects. No
longer do they need the big sales pitch
explaining all of the features and benefits
of a product. There’s a website for that—
and probably many of them. Prospects
are savvier than ever now that they’re armed
with so much information. They are also more
guarded because of the way sales people
have been portrayed over the past 50 years in
the media. Finally, prospects are also busier
than ever in history—the average corporate
employee has well over a full week of work piled
up on her desk right now. Times are different
in the twenty-first century—sales people and
business owners must adapt or die.
A sales person’s job now entails helping
prospects identify whether they’re the right fit for
a particular product or service. Most importantly,
the ability to close a sale in today’s economy
depends more on one’s mindset than his specific
closing technique.
Bill was the sales manager
at a mid-sized construction
firm that struggled with sales
despite having an intelligent
and charming sales team.
The team had been trained by an old-
school sales trainer to smile a lot, turn
on the charm and give rehearsed pitches based
on some preliminary probing questions. The
result was that they were simply not closing
deals—and the deals they did close were won
through very competitive pricing.
Bill didn’t understand what the problem was. His
sales people would often get positive feedback
from prospects about how they were treated,
and people always mentioned how his sales
team had “the gift of gab.”
By giving rehearsed sales pitches based on
little information, being insincerely smiley and
friendly, and trying to persuade prospects rather
than understand them, Bill’s sales people were
acting like all of the other sales people the
prospects had ever met.
It’s not that this stuff is inherently wrong; it’s
just extremely common. When the sales people
were perceived as like every other sales person
out there, they instantly appeared lower value to
their prospects.
The New Mindset
In order to close sales in today’s economy,
sales people must be different from the rest
of the pack. By being authentic and aiming to
understand your prospects, you come off as
unique from the majority of sales people out
there. Think of yourself as a doctor, rather than
a sales person.
When you go to the doctor with a problem in
your elbow, the doctor doesn’t say “Well, I have
a solution for YOU! You are simply going to
LOVE this fantastic arthroscopic surgery that
we can offer. It is so great!”
That would be ridiculous and insincere, but that
is what most sales people are doing right now.
A good doctor asks you where it hurts, what it
feels like, and what you’ve been doing that might
have caused the pain. Mirror the doctor-patient
dynamic in your selling life. Replace all of that
enthusiasm with a genuine desire to understand
where prospects hurt and determine whether
you can help them.
People open up to those that they perceive as a
real person that understands them.Aconnection
with a prospect is ultimately created when they
feel that you seek to understand their situation.
That is why sales people must change their
goal when with prospects. The entire focus
of sales meetings must be on the prospect
and his situation. This is achieved when you
ask questions that begin to dig into where the
prospect hurts about his current situation.
For example, rather than begin a sales meeting
by talking about the benefits of your product,
begin with one of these questions:
1. “Tell me about your challenges with
regards to…[your category of service or
product]”
2. “Give me an example of that challenge.”
3. “Tell me a little more about [prospects
challenge]”
It goes back to that doctor’s mindset. A good
doctor will thoroughly examine a patient before
telling the patient if there is a solution. Only
a quack doctor will offer a solution without
identifying the real problem. Sales people must
have this same mindset with their prospects.
Realistically, about fifty percent of your prospects
will not be a good fit for buying from you. This
could be for a wide range of reasons from, they
don’t need your stuff to they don’t have any
money.
Whatever the reason, it is your job to discover
as quickly as possible whether they are or are
not a fit for you and your company’s product or
service by using your doctor’s mindset.
As life has become more complicated, many
sales people have sought more complicated
solutions to their selling problems. However,
the solution is not complicated. In fact, it is as
simple as a small shift in mindset.
Vince Lombardi once said, “Some people try to
find things in this game that don’t exist but football
is only two things—blocking and tackling.”
The same is true for selling. By changing your
mindset to think more like a doctor, rather than
like the traditional sales person, you immediately
move into an elite group of sales people that
stand out from the pack. This is the difference
required to close the sale in the new economy.
How to Close
the Sale in the
Google Era
By Marc Wayshak
I
About the Author:
Marc Wayshak is a sales coach and the author of two books on sales and motivation: Game Plan Selling
and Breaking All Barriers. He has combined his experience, research and years of training organizations with
his deep understanding of sports achievement, as an All-American athlete, to create the revolutionary Game
Plan Selling System. Marc has a Master’s degree from University of Oxford and a Bachelor’s degree from
Harvard University. For his free sales eBook or to learn more about Marc’s training, coaching and consulting,
visit: www.MarcWayshak.com.
4. 5Millwork & more AMD magazine4 july 2013
T
he wholesale distribution industry needs to
innovate. If this statement sounds like a call to
action or a movement, it is. And it starts with your
business.
Movements start with individual efforts. Prior to
taking the first step it is important to provide a functional
definition of innovation. Unfortunately innovation is too
often an empty buzzword according to Saul Kaplan,
the founder and chief catalyst of the Business Model
Innovation Factory (BIF). BIF creates real world laboratories
where organizations can design, prototype, and test new
models for delivering value.
Innovation in simple terms means creating new value.
This requires businesses to experiment, which is something
that distribution businesses often struggle with. “If it ain’t
broke don’t fix it” could sum up the attitude of many
distributors and with good reason. For decades, the
distribution industry provided excellent jobs for employees
and sustaining profits for businesses of all sizes. The certain
profits of the past are disappearing. Technology, global
trade and e commerce are disrupting the distribution
industry.
Rather than fearing the unknown lets embrace it. The
proper response to inevitable change should be this is
an opportunity to grow your distribution business through
new revenue streams. Innovation changed the distribution
industry. Now it is time for it to change your business.
The initial process is called building a business model
canvas. Distribution businesses should avoid the bulky and
antiquated 100-page business plan of the past. How often
did you refer back to them anyway? With the speed that
the business world changes by the time an organization
completes a massive business plan the details are dated.
The business model canvas, first introduced
by Alex Osterwalder in his book “Business
Model Generation”, avoids these pitfalls
by providing a one-page document that
focuses on the most important aspects of
your business. The brevity of this document
allows the content to become internalized
and operational.
How can your organization build a business
model canvas? The first is an honest self-
assessment. A fresh set of eyes might help
this process, but even without an outside
resource it will take the collaboration of
several departments.
Identify your key partners, activities
and resources. Examine your customer
relationships and segments. Ask what does
your business excel? What is your value
proposition?
List the answers out and compare
them to your competitors. What many
businesses might discover is that they lack
a value proposition. If you cannot offer
your customers anything different from
your competitors then your business only
competes on price. That’s fighting for market
share. That’s a race to the bottom.
I recently worked with a $40 million consumer
product distributor that sells to dealers—a
process not different from selling building
materials to building material dealers and
contractors. The group working on the
canvas included the 2nd
generation owner,
two 3rd
generation family members, the vice
president of finance and managers from
sales and marketing. The group offered
different opinions based upon their primary
experience of sales or accounting.
If only looking from the sales side or the
numbers side the canvas a full assessment of
the company would be lacking. The canvass
that this organization completed illuminated
how they were positioned to compete.
Beyond the product offering they offered
sales support and product training. They
had developed great personal relationships
with key customers, but so had many of their
competitors.
As they stepped back from this one-page
document they concluded, “We don’t really
offer anything different than our competitors.
“ They needed to work on their value
proposition.
To sustain their business going forward, and
to ensure that it survives the transition to
the third generation they are testing an
assumption that thought leadership in the
form of helping drive their retailer’s success
can become a foundational differentiator
to their business model going forward. To
begin, the management team is developing
a series of innovation experiments to test the
assumption that improved merchandising
by their mom and pop dealers will drive
consumer behavior at the point of sale. While
their potential solution seems simple enough
arriving at it took a great deal of time, effort
and self-reflection.
Going through the exercise of building
a business model canvas will teach your
organization how to identify new potential
revenue streams, but planning is not enough
to be considered an innovative organization.
Testing your assumptions in the market is
necessary to innovate. Be prepared for some
assumptions to fail, but with a business model
canvas as a guide your business will be able
to respond quickly and test the next idea.
Lets bring innovation to the millwork
distribution industry—starting with your
business.
A Canvas for Innovating
Your Distribution Business
By Dirk Beveridge
About the Author: Dirk Beveridge is one of the nation’s foremost business speakers, delivering messages that help
organizations and individuals unleash their true potential. He works with firms to bring their strategy to life through
keynotes, summits and workshops as well as through his consulting firm, 4th Generation Systems. Novartis and
Graybar.
5. 6 7Millwork & more AMD magazinejuly 2013
High-endMarketRecoveryandtheMillworkIndustryHigh-endMarketRecoveryandtheMillworkIndustry
to JCHS projections, overall remodeling activity is
expected to increase by 11.3 percent from the end
of 2013 to the end of 2015.
Another factor supporting the willingness to invest
in homes is the decrease in the national housing
inventory. According to the National Association of
Realtors (NAR), the supply of homes for sale in May
2013 was 17 percent lower than it was one year
earlier. Correspondingly, housing starts increased by
28 percent year-over-year in 2012 and are projected
by the NAR to surge by 41 percent in 2013. This strong
demand in the face of shrinking supply has begun
to push home prices higher all over the country. As
home owners once again come to view their homes
as appreciating assets, their willingness to make
investments in them will increase. This is nowhere
more true than among households choosing to
undertake large, high-end remodeling projects. The
cost of such projects typically runs into six figures
and the home owners will expect a return on their
investment.
The NAHB/First American Bank Improving Markets
Index (IMI) is another reflection of the trend of
ongoing recovery. A metropolitan area becomes
listed on the IMI once it has exhibited a six-month
improvement in employment growth as reported
by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, house price
appreciation as reported by Freddie Mac and the
single-family permit growth reported by the Census
Bureau. The IMI has recovered strongly from the 12
cities listed as improving in September 2011 to 258
cities as of May 2013.
The broad recovery that is underway benefits
the millwork segment but the recovery among
consumers of high-end building products is
particularly encouraging. The number of high net
worth individuals (HNWIs), defined as those with
$1 million or more in assets, is experiencing strong
growth. According to Private Wealth magazine, the
2007 downturn in the number and wealth of HNWIs
has been reversing. Between early 2013 and 2016, a
growth of 19 percent in the total number of HNWIs in
the United States is expected. Over the same time
period, the wealth of these households will increase
by 25 percent. Families in this category have
historically had a strong tendency to invest excess
available capital in improvements to existing housing
and additional homes.
Another sign of the recovery of the high-end
segment is the return of luxury spec homes, those
built on speculation and not at the request of a
specific buyer. In luxury housing markets like the
Hamptons, this trend is strongly reversing itself
and spec homes have reappeared. This year, the
Hamptons area has three dozen spec homes listed
on the market, as compared to none a few years
ago. Last year, the Sagaponack Greens spec home
in the Hamptons sold for a record $19.25 million.
This is a sign that developers are willing to take risks
as a result of increasing confidence in the housing
market.
A significant portion of the recent real estate boom is
fueled by another trend, wealthy individuals making
second home purchases. The recovery in the equity
markets has caused a renewed interest in Miami and
similar temperate markets. This has driven up luxury
real estate prices there after years of stagnation.
Similar trends are seen in other parts of the country,
such as second home purchases in Michigan by
Chicago residents and in Lake Tahoe by California
residents.
As discussed in our article last quarter, capital
transaction activity and interest in the building
products segment are increasing. Companies that
seek acquisitions or to invest capital in the building
products segment are exclusively interested in
products that serve the medium and high price
points in the market. Few investors have an
appetite for the high-volume, low-margin segments
in this industry, where profits can become losses
virtually overnight. The current strength of the high-
end residential segment bodes well for millwork
companies that wish to be approached by a buyer
or attract capital to fund their growth, as well as
those that are simply grateful to have made it
through to the recovery.
About the Author: Michael Collins, Managing
Director at Building Industry Advisors, LLC is a
Chicago-based investment banker, specializing in
business sales and capital placement. His practice is
focused on the window, door and millwork industry.
Contact: mcollins@buildingia.com
www.buildingia.com
It behooves us, then, to examine the state of the
high-end housing market as a means of predicting
the outlook for millwork producers. Starting at the
highest level, households in general in this country
are in much better fiscal shape than was the case
just a few years ago. By the fall of 2012, the ratio
of total household debt to the GDP of the U.S.
economy had decreased by 15 percent, versus the
levels of January 2009. Even higher income homes
are not immune to the tendency to decrease
spending when they perceive their household
debts to be too high in a period of economic
uncertainty. This reduction in household debt means
that consumers have more discretionary income to
spend on housing and remodeling projects.
Whether driven by a reduction in household debt,
the improving employment picture or other factors,
consumers have begun spending on remodeling
again. According to the Joint Center for Housing
Studies (JCHS) at Harvard University, the growth
rate of home remodeling spending is expected
to double from the first half of 2013 to the second
half of 2013 from 10 percent to almost 20 percent.
Housing market analysts have determined that the
increase in home equity is prompting homeowners
to start investing in the home remodeling once
again. For the first time in many years, home
remodeling contractors report that they are having
difficulty finding enough qualified workers to
execute on the business they have won. According
Generally speaking, whatever is
good for the high-end segment of the
housing industry is good for the millwork
industryaswell.Mostmillworkmanufacturers
sell products that address the upper-mid
and upper end of the housing market,
as measured by cost per square foot of
new construction or remodeling projects.
Virtually every millwork producer sells a
product for which there is a cheaper
alternative made out of a different
material. There are a number of reasons
that the segment remains vibrant, despite
this price-based competition. Among
these are the values that consumers
place on natural materials. Home owners
value the genuine look and feel of wood
products. The wide variety of wood species
available in the millwork segment allows
our customers to put their own personal
stamp on a project. As a result of these and
other factors, the fortunes of the millwork
and high-end residential segment seem to
be inexorably entwined.
6. 8 9Millwork & more AMD magazinejuly 2013
I
spoke with a fifty-something manager recently and
he asked if I thought video clips might be a better
way to connect with his emerging workforce. My
first thought was, “Well, Duh!” But then I got thinking
about my 58-year-old self. So much has changed
about training delivery in the past five years that it
makes my head spin. As someone who began his
career with overhead projectors and flip charts,
there are days when I feel like I’m playing a constant
game of catch-up. Having developed training for
Millennials for the past decade, allow me to address
five common concerns.
First, digital technology is just a tool. In spite of
what Apple, Google, Microsoft and the others will
tell you, software is not, in any of its incarnations, a
solution. The big focus these days is faster, better,
cheaper. While it’s easy to define faster and cheaper,
better is a different story. Software takes much of the
thinking out of learning. For perfunctory tasks, that’s
great. But for the development of problem solving
and troubleshooting skills, it’s a nonstarter.
Talk to teachers and trainers and they’ll tell you
about the menu-dependent souls in their classes who
appear intimidated when asked to reason through
a challenge outside of the computer environment.
The real solution: develop case studies and situations
they’ll face on the job and then ask them, perhaps
force them, to find solutions. It might be tough at first,
but with trial, error, and repetition come mastery. No
one has ever grown without discomfort and no one
is going to do so in the future.
Second, it’s all about the messaging. As some
have heard me say from the platform, Millennials are
the most diverse, wired, impatient, demanding, fun-
loving workers in US history. This means that everyone
is competing for their attention 24/7/365. Yes, the
average person under thirty seems to be able to
do five things at the same time. But that doesn’t
mean that they’re doing them well. This generation
has come of age immersed in non-stop hyperbole,
with shocking and outrageous video clips, photos
and lyrics thrown in periodically just to interrupt the
mindset. This doesn’t mean we have to have naked
people running through the classroom, training
room, shop or laboratory to capture their attention.
But it does mean, we all have to put a lot more effort
into the stories, illustrations, titles, and exercises we
use when competing for a share of mind. Whether
it’s one-on-one, in a classroom, in the field, or over
the Web, successful instructors spend a lot more
time these days on training delivery than they do on
training content.
Third, get chunky. Millennials just don’t have the
temperament to sit through a 45-minute presentation
or even a video without having something else to
do with their thumbs. I could digress into why this is
so, but that’s not the point. Review the information
you currently provide during training. How much of
it is presented by a “talking head?” Why not take
that information and break it down into three- to
five-minute chunks and upload it to a page on your
website. Then send employees a link to the page.
Older individuals might watch it on a laptop or
desktop, Millennials will probably watch it on their
mobile devices. Everyone will also be able to watch
it as many times as necessary to master the skills.
After all, very few of us understand most content the
first time.
Fourth, training is not about providing information.
It’s about getting people to think. When working
with college faculty, I always tell them that the
most powerful question they can ask a student is
“What does it mean?” The same is true in a training
environment. You ask the question and then wait
for the answer. There may be an awkward pause.
Maybe even a long one. But don’t save their butts
or let them off the hook. That awkwardness you’re
observing is learning taking place. Do this enough
and two things will happen: 1) They will hone their
reasoning skills; 2) They will grow in their confidence
to work independently.
Fifth, training effectiveness all comes down to
selecting the right learners. Some of you know
that the first book I wrote was entitled, Smart Hiring.
Over the past twenty-five years, I have become
more and more convinced that taking time to hire
the best people is the solution to so many other
woes. Is it tough finding good people these days?
Yes. But simply hiring any degreed or certificated
person because you’re short-handed and only two
people applied is not a solution. Sure, you may hire
the person, but make sure you know where their true
deficits are on the way in the door. I have met more
than my fair share of young college graduates who
don’t possess the common sense of a hardworking
high-school dropout.
Texts
Tweets
Clips
Clips, Texts, Tweets:
TRAINING TODAY’S MILLENNIALS
by Robert Wendover
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7. 10 11Millwork more AMD magazinejuly 2013
Sales Managers’ Measures of Performance
Distribution sales managers face “real time”
performancedemands.Performancecriteriatypically
include one or more of the following: total sales
and sales growth; acceptable gross margins; sales
goals by product line; sales of targeted or premium
products; penetration of existing and target accounts;
new accounts; salesperson efficiency (total and
increased sales per salesperson); sales department
profitability; sales expense control….among others. A
sales manager’s performance is often examined on
an annual, quarterly, monthly or even weekly basis.
“What have you done for me lately!”
Following is an overview of 9 critical skills for
distribution sales managers to operate successfully
in this environment. This can provide a checklist for
sales managers and their company to measure
against… and to structure sales management skills
development.
Conducting Sales Planning with Individual
Salespeople
Setting sales goals or quotas is not sales planning. At
least annually, sales managers should work through
an individual sales planning process with each
salesperson. This should include an opportunity
for sales managers to hear from their salespeople
about competition, sales skills development needed,
obstacles faced, experience with suppliers, and other
factors which might influence that salesperson’s
success. Together the sales manager and salesperson
should develop, in writing, specifics of how they plan
to achieve the mutually agreed upon sales goals. This
plan, along with sales results, should be reviewed by a
sales manager and salesperson at least quarterly, so
that mid-course corrections can be made as needed.
Providing Sales Skills Training
Sales managers should adopt a specific sales model
for their sales team, and consistently provide training
in the skills appropriate for
this model. This is not product
training; it is training for sales
skills such as prospecting,
askingopenendedquestions,
listeningtocustomers,dealing
with customer objections,
and creating sales proposals
that sell, not just quote - you
know, sales skills! That leads
to the next sales manager’s
skill…
Conducting Effective
Sales Meetings
Sales meetings should be
regular,focusedonsalesskills,andbecustomerbased,
not product based. They should be fun, positive and
informational. They should help salespeople sell more
at higher gross margins. They should acknowledge
sales achievements and share sales success stories.
They should not be boring product feature/benefit
presentations or rants about who missed their sales
goals. They should be sales meetings, not anti-sales
meetings!
Coaching Salespeople
With an individual sales plan in place, a sales model
adopted, and regular sales skills training, reinforced
by regular, positive sales meetings, sales managers
are in a position to coach salespeople by making
sales calls with them. The objective of these calls
is not to evaluate salespeople (though that will
naturally happen), but rather to coach salespeople
in the sales skills being consistently worked on in your
company. If properly structured, these calls lead to
better relationships between salespeople and sales
manager, and more open communication. And sales
managers get to talk to some real live customers!
Managing Supplier Relationships
Sales managers should take the lead in managing
supplier relationships. That means taking a proactive
approach to selecting and evaluating suppliers,
and building the appropriate personal/professional
relationships with key supplier
personnel. An important
activity in managing
supplier relationships is giving
suppliers honest, professional
feedback, as well as
understanding how their
company is perceived and
evaluated by suppliers.
Succeeding with Large
Order Opportunities
Most distribution companies
have a few important large
sales order opportunities
in a given year. These are
opportunities for quantum leaps in sales. They also risk
wastingtimeandresourcesonlostorders,orevenworse,
obtaining a large order that places the company at
risk due to non-performance, over commitment, or low
margins. Sales managers must develop the confidence
of their salespeople to get early warning of these
opportunities; the tools to evaluate the opportunities
for appropriate effort; and the skill to put together a
sales team to successfully attack the opportunities
appropriate for their company. Suppliers often play
a major role in success, or lack of it, when addressing
large order opportunities. That’s where the previously
mentioned skill of managing supplier relationships can
play a critical role.
Professional Skills for
Distribution
Sales Managers
In the 1992 movie Glengarry Glen Ross, actor Alec Baldwin portrays a hard nosed sales manager.
His basic sales management skill is to threaten and intimidate salespeople!
In the 1934 Thomas Wolfe novel, You Can’t Go Home Again, a sales manager’s only apparent skill
is cheerleading. At the end of an emotional sales speech, he faces the sales force, points to a
map, and shouts, “There’s your market, boys! Go out there and sell them!” While the “non-selling”
public may accept these stereotypes, distribution sales management professionals know sales
force intimidation is not effective; and cheerleading, while it may have its place, won’t get the job
done. Success for distribution sales managers requires professional management skills.
8. 12 13Millwork more AMD magazinejuly 2013
Building a Sales Team Sales Team Environment
While sales and selling can be seen as activities for
highly motivated and skilled individuals, developing a
sales team environment can bring powerful benefits
for a distribution sales manager. These include less time
spent on refereeing territory and commission disputes;
mentoring of less experienced salespeople by your
sales pros; and the ability to draw on skills of several
salespeople when addressing a large order opportunity.
This is particularly important when inside and outside
salespeopleneedtoworktogether.Apositivesalesteam
environmentattractsandretainstopperformers.Building
a team environment in
sales requires appropriate
recognition of both
individual and team
success; effective
team building exercises
(including retreats, and
some fun activities);
developing team
objectives and rewards;
discouraging individual
personality cults; and open
communication on lots of
things.
Leading …
Not Just Managing
Many books and articles have been written
acknowledging that leadership and management
are really different things. Sales managers must
of course manage. However, to reach the higher
levels of success, they must also be leaders. Leading
includes creating an appropriate separation from
the salespeople (especially important when the
sales manager is promoted from within the sales
team) while maintaining good communication
(listening, not just expounding); putting the sales
team and company objectives above the sales
manager’s individual welfare; making decisions in
a timely manner; being an advocate for the sales
team within the organization; stepping forward to
help with difficult situations; and providing a vision of
where the organization is going while showing how
that will benefit the individual members of the team,
which then leads to the sales managing skill of…
Being a Catalyst for Forward Motion
Motivated, successful salespeople, in fact motivated
employees at any level of an organization, want to
be part of an organization that is not only successful,
but moving forward. Sales managers should provide
the catalyst for forward motion in the organization.
This includes charting progress through sales
excellence communication and awards programs;
sharing success stories; evaluating and adding
new product lines; providing
resources needed to support
growth; trying new things;
challenging the sales team to
move to the next level; and
defining success by more than
just sales numbers. Success in
companies moving forward
comes in many forms, including
customer service excellence,
capabilities added, awards
achieved, and contributions to
the community.
Sales managers should be
the catalyst to “make things
happen” in their sales team and their company.
More information available
This article provides an overview of 9 sales management
skills important for professional distribution sales managers.
One source is the book Taking Charge of Distribution Sales:
9 Proven Skills to Lead and Manage Your Sales Team. That
book, by the author of this article, provides more details on
the skills included here, including ready to use templates,
real world examples, and a list of other sales manager
resources.
About the Author: Gary Moore is a 40 plus year veteran
of the wholesale distribution industry. For over 25 years,
Gary has been a frequent author, consultant, and
speaker serving the wholesale distribution industry. He has
authored three books on sales and sales management in
wholesale distribution. To learn more about Gary Moore
visit his website at www.objectivebasedselling.net or
contact Gary at garytrentm@aol.com.
Balance of traditional craftsmanship and
modern technology is key to company’s
longevity
TACOMA, Wash., May 1, 2013 – Buffelen Woodworking,
a leading manufacturer of precision, hand-finished
doors, proudly announces the company’s centennial
year. Operating on the same site in Tacoma, Washington
since 1913, Buffelen has grown from modest beginnings
to become one of the industry’s
most technologically advanced
manufacturers, supplying doors to
distributors and builders throughout the
US, Canada and Japan.
Since it’s founding by Dutch immigrant
John Buffelen, the company has
maintained its focus on high quality standards and skilled
craftsmanship. Even today, every door is assembled,
sanded and finished by hand. Complementing this
attention to detail, Buffelen has kept up with the demands
of a fast-paced economy with custom-designed, state-of-
the-art machinery to efficiently produce precision joinery
and profiles of any shape or style.
“We have worked tirelessly over the years to provide our
customers with a door that is built to last, made-to-order
and delivered quickly,” said Joe Guizzetti, CEO General
Manager of Buffelen. “Our adherence to rigorous quality
standards, endless custom options, and fast turnaround
has enabled the company to create the 100 year-old
legacy that we enjoy today - a legacy that we look
forward to continuing long into the future.”
No one understands and appreciates the Buffelen legacy
better than Mr. Guizzetti, who has been with the company
for nearly 40 years, working his way from summer intern to
CEO.
“The forest products industry has been
faced with many challenges over
the years, including the recent global
economic downturn,” continued Mr.
Guizzetti. “In order to weather the storms,
Buffelen has carefully stayed true to our
roots of traditional craftsmanship, while
embracing the efficiency and precision that modern
technology can provide.”
Buffelen offers a full range of exterior and interior wood
doors, MDF doors, impact-rated doors and fire-rated
doors. Virtually any design can be accommodated
to create one custom door or an entire custom home
package, including exteriors, interiors, bi-folds, louvers,
sidelights and transoms. From custom design to final
production, doors can be delivered in weeks, not months.
For more information on Buffelen Woodworking, visit the
website at www.buffelendoor.com, or call 800.423.8810.
- Free convention registration(s)
- Free hotel room nights
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Association membership growth allows your company to build new business
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face-to-face events, programs, and online communities.
Join the dedicated members who are already participating in AMD membership
recruiting.The Recruitment Program provides a great opportunity to strengthen
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Membership Growth
IS a MEMBER BENEFIT
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BuffelenWoodworking Celebrates
100th Anniversary of Door Manufacturing
For more information on the Membership Recruitment Incentive Program,
amdweb.com/membership/membership-incentive-program
9. 15Millwork more AMD magazine14 july 2013
Are You a Broken Field Runner?By Jason Bader, Executive Advisor
The Distribution Team
One of the great thrills in sports is seeing a well
executed play develop into a scoring situation.
There are those rare moments when everything
just falls into place. Occasionally, this happens
in the business world as well. We create a plan
of action and the execution is flawless. Money
changes hands and we are in real danger of arm
strain from patting ourselves on the back. Did I
mentionthatthiswastherareexception? Average
players look good when a well thought out plan is
successful; but it takes an exceptional performer
to look good when the playing field suddenly
changes. Growing up, my father used to say
that one of the keys to success was becoming a
broken field runner. He used a football analogy to
explain the concept. Some of the most dazzling
plays from the line of scrimmage were not the ones
drawn up by the coaching staff. Sure, there was
a play called for particular situation the offence
was up against. The perfect play assumes that
the defense will continue along the predicted
path. Unfortunately, there are many variables
that disrupt the perfect play – a slip on the turf, a
shift in the defense or even a lapse in assignment.
What truly makes the ball carrier, be that running
back or quarterback, exceptional is the ability to
adapt on the fly and create a gain on a broken
play. I loved watching rookie quarterback Colin
Kapernik, of San Francisco, create something
out of nothing. The great ones have this ability.
As business professionals, this same ability to
overcome daily obstacles is what separates the
solid practitioner from the exceptional performer.
Let’s take a look at the role of the inventory
investor, or purchasing agent to those of you
who haven’t adopted this mentality. Do they
have to be adaptable in the face of changing
circumstances? Absolutely. A good friend of
mine refers to the replenishment of inventory as a
thousand little decisions done right every day. A
clerical agent runs reports, generates purchases
and generally tries to make sure that they don’t
incur the wrath of the sales team. What happens
when we run out of stock and we are still $800
short of the freight prepaid level? While this
situation would cause undue anxiety in some,
the professional inventory investor has the ability
to source product in order to maintain customer
service. They don’t panic, they adapt.
When you are in the import business, you know
that many things can go wrong in vast blue ocean
between you and the supplier. How do we react
when a container gets hung up in customs? How
do we handle a longshoreman’s strike? These are
all potential barriers to a successful procurement
play. Your best performers find a way to shine in
the face of adversity.
I am in the middle of reading a book that
repeatedly illustrates this point. The book was
written by one of the members of SEAL Team Six.
This is the elite team sent in to remove Osama Bin
Laden. He talks about the intensive training that
he and fellow team members were constantly
involved in. Despite the countless hours of
training for different situations and contingencies,
the original plan almost always went sideways.
Whether it was being dropped on the wrong roof
during a mission or bad intelligence, the team
constantly had to adapt and modify to complete
the goal. Rather than fearing the change, these
professionals learn to embrace the change and
consider it part of the plan.
The mark of a truly successful salesperson is the
ability to change directions in the face of customer
conflict. A good friend of mine is a consummate
sales professional. He doesn’t look the part. He
could hardly be considered hip, slick or cool; but
man can he sell. Several years ago, we were in
a nightclub full of attractive young people. My
friend was feeling the atmosphere and wanted to
dance with some of the other patrons. In spite of
being several years older, and considerably less
attractive, I watched my friend take rejection after
rejection without breaking stride. He just moved
on to the next girl. He was never embarrassed or
put off, he just kept moving. Persistence must be
part of the formula.
How many times have we seen salespeople cave
at the mere mention of a price objection? An
average performer will accept the new price level
in order to keep the sale. The broken field runner
will seize the opportunity to discuss the true cost
of ownership or look to create a package deal.
How many times have we seen sales people run
up against a set of plans specifying a competitive
product? Does the sales pro turn and tuck their
tail between their legs? Of course not, they figure
out how to break the spec or submit an equivalent
product to the architect or engineer. Barriers
become speed bumps to the broken field runner.
Most recently, I have been devoting some
attention to the role of business to business
credit and the function of accounts receivable
management. Is there room for creativity and
flexibility in this position? Rigid interpretations
lead to missed opportunities and unnecessary
conflict with the sales team. What is the goal of
A/R management? Many would argue that it is
the collection of past due invoices or mitigation
of risk. These are the folks trying to run the same
play in spite of a shift in the defense. The ultimate
goal of the accounts receivable team is to
keep customers buying using the tools at their
disposal. How do we handle a consistently slow
pay customer? Rather than cut their line and put
them on hold, the nimble manager will investigate
the company and find ways to work with their
payment preference. We are still in the sales
business, aren’t we?
Closed thinking and internal barriers didn’t happen
overnight. It took many years to get to this point.
If you can, remember back to the early days of
the business. Were we focused on mitigating
risk and adhering to strict policies? I think not.
We practiced a little fly by the seat of our pants
cowboy-ism. We were nimble and flexible. We
found ways to say yes when others would cringe.
What happened to us? Success happened and
suddenly our priorities began to shift. We became
more defensive than offensive.
I am not advocating going back to the days of
running around with your hair on fire; but, most
companies need to inject more creativity back
into the organization. Cultivating a broken field
mentality involves coaching your teams rather
than managing them. Coaches turn mistakes into
learning opportunities. Create small case studies
during your team meetings. Ask for opinions on
how you would handle situations that fall outside
the normal business practice. You must allow for
opinions outside of your own. Remind teams of
their goals rather than their procedures.
Given the time and page space, I go on for
hours about departments where flexibility has
been stifled. Take the time to look around your
organization. Are you satisfied with your ability
to serve customers? Have you seen signs of
complacency or stagnation? Are we saying NO
more than we are making the effort to explore YES?
As always, I hope that my articles have given you
the opportunity to think outside the daily firefight.
As entrepreneurs, you once had the ability to
cut across the field and make something out of
nothing. Remember, anyone can score when the
defense stands still. The true test occurs when the
play breaks down. Good luck.
About the Author:
Jason Bader is the managing partner of The Distribution Team, a firm that specializes in helping
distributors become more profitable through strategic planning and operating efficiencies. The first 20
years of Jason’s career were spent working as a distributor executive. Today, Jason is a regular speaker
at industry events and coaches individual distribution companies. For more information, telephone
(503) 282-2333 or by e-mail at Jason@Distributionteam.com. The Distribution Team’s website at
www.thedistributionteam.com.
10. 16 17Millwork more AMD magazinejuly 2013
Targeting is the process of
selecting high potential
customer accounts to receive
intense sales focus. Goal setting
translates that high potential into
achievable numeric objectives,
i.e. revenue and margin growth.
Each Territory Manager should
select a predetermined number
of Target Growth Accounts
(TGAs). Creating focus on this
group of selected accounts
doesn’t mean a Territory
Manager should ignore other
accounts; he/she is always
expected to service their entire
territory. When making decisions
regarding their time, however,
they should always consider
these selected Target Growth
Accounts a priority.
An effective targeting plan will
reposition the outside sales force
from being primarily transaction
driven and self-sufficient to
developing customer intimacy
and using team-based selling.
It’s the evolution from being
a Lone Wolf to becoming a
Lead Wolf; it supports growth in
profitability, growth in revenue
and growth in market share!
An effective targeting plan
becomes a “bottom-up”
initiative” opposed to the
typical top down forecasting
seen in many organizations.
The selection of Target Growth
Accounts (TGA’s) requires
careful thought and substantial
effort on the part of the
territory sales person. Annual
sales, margin and goals are
established, and detailed action
plans must be created for each
of these accounts. For most
Territory Managers, TGAs will
contribute a substantial portion
of total territory sales growth. This
“big effort for big reward” means
that the number of TGAs must be
limited, and that sufficient time
is allotted to succeed with each
one. Most programs limit the
total number of target accounts
to ten or fifteen max.
An account action plan ensures
that the Territory Manager is
proactively pursuing sales growth
and that there is a solid basis for
expecting account goals to be
met. By monitoring these action
plans, both the Sales Manager
and Territory Manager can
manage activities rather than
wait for results. The intention of
planning and goal setting is to
provide focus on TGAs. These
are the accounts with the most
potential for growth.
Managing the
Targeting Program
A Sales Manager has many
competing priorities. One of the
most important is the need to
manage the sales functions. The
targeting and reporting program
and the various activities which
are a part of it are intended to
help the Sales Manager improve
their sales management skills
and help each individual territory
sales person achieve success.
An initial territory meeting
between the Sales Manager and
the Territory Manager is the most
important step in the targeting
process because this is where
the company’s expectations
of sales performance are
defined. This meeting creates
territory dialog that is essential
for effective sales management,
support and knowledge transfer.
Each Territory Manager should
prepare by organizing some
key information for each of the
target accounts selected.
Understanding the customer’s
market and business is necessary
to develop a plan for growth.
You need this intelligence to
determine and allocate the
necessary resources. You need
to understand your customer’s
business in order to understand
how to meet his needs, cure
his pain and provide solutions
which result in increased sales.
Understanding his business
involves knowing his markets,
customers and competition.
This requires serious discussions
with numerous people in your
customer’s location. You should
define the key players and your
contact points in your customer
management system whatever
system you use. This helps you
get a better understanding of
their business. By understanding
their types of customers you
will be able to determine the
timelines from order to delivery.
What is their ordering lead-time?
What could be done to shorten
the cycle time and perhaps
determine what your customer’s
pain factors are?
Target Account
Action Plans
Nothing happens unless you
execute. To effectively execute,
you need a specific action plan
for each target account. The
action plan is the plan of attack
– the steps that will enable the
account to reach its objectives.
This plan should develop naturally
from the knowledge the Territory
Manager gained from his
research and customer contact.
Of course, the plans for accounts
with which you currently do
business and have relationship
equity may be more extensive
than those for newer prospects.
This action plan determines
how to match your company
resources to every opportunity
that exists within that account.
Definitive action plans are more
than personal account visits
once a month. They are more
than introductions to upper
management and they are more
than a commitment to work
with management to submit
the lowest bid. Action plans
must be precise, definitive and
measurable. They could include
tasks for getting specific customer
information, introducing new
product lines, entertaining key
players, etc.
Do not make the mistake of
putting all your energy into your
largest accounts. This is especially
true when you are getting the
majority share of spend from
that account. Remember, the
targeting process should focus on
the greatest potential for growth.
About the Author:
Rick Johnson, expert speaker, wholesale
distribution’s “Leadership Strategist”,
founder of CEO Strategist, LLC a firm
that helps clients create and maintain
competitive advantage.
rick@ceostrategist.com
An Intense
Sales Focus
By: Dr. Rick Johnson
NEWon the AMD Website
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11. 18 july 2013
WORKFORCE
5.0Managing
Multiple
Generations
@ Work
By Diane Thielfoldt
19Millwork more AMD magazine
Welcome to Workforce 5.0. Why 5.0? We are on the cusp
of yet another generation entering the four-generation
workforce; many demographers state that beginning in
2015, we will have five generations in the workforce. So
nowisthetimetolearnnewapproachestounderstanding,
working alongside, and managing multiple generations
of employees, colleagues and customers.
12. 20 21Millwork more AMD magazinejuly 2013
Silents(1933-1945)
BabyBoomers(1946-1964)
GenerationX(1965-1976)
Millennials(1977-1998)
THE 4 GENERATIONS
IN TODAY’S WORKPLACE
How do Silents fare in today’s workplace? Their
experience, along with their disposition toward service,
makes them excellent coaches and mentors, and
their sense of fair play makes them helpful workplace
arbitrators and mediators. Silents prefer due process—
they often create and use formal procedures—
combined with adhering to the rules. They value
moderation, preferring to think things through before
taking action.
Baby Boomers (born 1946-1964)
The most populous generation in the U.S., 76 million Baby
Boomers typically grew up amid economic prosperity,
suburban affluence and strong nuclear families with
stay-at-home moms. Some researchers divide the Baby
Boomers into two groups—those born between 1946 and
1954 (the “Woodstock” group, known for their idealistic
endeavors and social conscience) and those born
between 1955 and 1964 (the “Zoomer” group, known for
their preoccupation with “self”).
Boomers came into the workforce en masse, and
made the rules that many companies play by. They are
ambitious, and many define themselves by their careers.
The Boomers’ paradox today is that many are reaching
a stage in their lives marked by ambivalence about the
very rules they created. Nevertheless, this generation
tends to be optimistic, competitive and focus on
personal accomplishment.
They continue to work hard—maybe too hard. This
generation amazingly increased our historical 40-hour
workweek by one full month per year! As younger
generations enter the workplace, Boomers are waiting
for them to pick up this traditional approach to work.
This generation is comfortable in the culture they have
created, and they view change as sometimes painful,
yet inevitable. Many companies experience their biggest
generational conflict when Boomer managers are
confronted with younger employees who do not fit the
mold that they themselves created.
Generation X (born 1965-1976)
The 41 million members of Gen X live with the corporate
footprint of previous generations; they are reshaping
organizations to meet their generation’s priorities. They
prefer to work independently, and are highly committed
to good bosses, stimulating projects and capable peers.
Members of Generation X grew up in a very different
world than previous generations. Divorce and working
moms created latchkey kids out of slightly over half
of this generation; this led to traits of independence,
resilience and adaptability. Generation X feels strongly
that “I don’t need someone looking over my shoulder.”
Translation: they prefer hands-off management and
mentoring, and micromanaging doesn’t work with them.
Generation X saw their parents laid off or face job
insecurity, and many of them entered the workplace in
the early ‘80s, when the economy was in a downturn.
Because of these factors, they have redefined loyalty.
Instead of remaining loyal to their company, their
loyalty is most often to their work, their team and their
immediate boss.
Today, Generation X is solidly at career mid-point. They
are managers, tenured employees, business owners—
and they are busy raising families and contributing to
their communities. They expect time flexibility that allows
a separation of work from family. Rather than buy into
Boomers’ work ethic of long hours at the office, Gen Xers
focus on getting the job done through nontraditional
work hours, job-sharing, telecommuting—whatever
works.
This generation takes employability seriously, although
for them climbing the career ladder has been replaced
with building a career portfolio, which they continue
to grow, building a skill set that supports their need for
independence even as they attain increasing levels of
responsibility. They can move laterally, stop and start;
their careers are more fluid with on ramps and off ramps.
Millennials (born 1977-1998)
The youngest generation in today’s workforce was raised
at the most child-centric time in our history. Perhaps
it is because of the showers of attention and high
expectations from parents that the Millennials display a
great deal of self-confidence, to the point of appearing
cocky.
This generation is packed with power and potential; the
challenge for managers is living up to the high standards
and expectations the Millennials bring to the workplace.
Sometimes coached by their parents, Millennials don’t
see the value of paying their dues or earning their
stripes. They perform best with some structure, especially
younger Millennials who are newer to the workplace—
they are learning to work as well as learning the work.
Millennials also have a bit of a “whatever” view of
title and position, showing less reverence for position
that’s simply based on experience, which they think
Baby Boomers overemphasize. What they respect is
knowledge and learning. They want a relationship with
their boss. This does not always mesh with Generation X’s
love of independence and hands-off style. Watch out!
They will leave for greener pastures if challenge, learning
and fun are absent from their work.
Millennials are typically team-oriented and work well in
groups, preferring group work to individual endeavors.
In addition, they are used to tackling multiple tasks with
equal energy, so they expect to work hard. They are
effective multitaskers, having juggled school, sports, and
social interests as children.
As you might expect, this group is technically literate
like no one else. Technology has always been part of
their lives, whether it is mobile phones, text messaging,
YouTube, Facebook, or Instagram.
Today’s Multigenerational Workplace
E
ach of the generations at work today carries
its own perspectives, changing priorities, work
ethic, and distinct and preferred ways of
working and being managed. That’s because
within each generation, members are shaped
or influenced by the same events, experiences
and images—typically those things happening in
the world when the generation was coming of age,
between the ages of 17 and 23. The experiences of
our youth shape our points of view. Additionally, our
age and our life-stage dictate some of our needs and
preferences.
Appreciating generational dynamics allows you to find
common ground with colleagues and employees from
all generations and communicate information they want
in the manner they want it. For example, understanding
clients’ age-based points of view is an indispensable
soft skill that you can use to establish connections,
communicate effectively, and make the sale. Another
area is leading people of all ages; supervisors and
managers today will be more effective if they can
“manage the mix.”
Let’s start with an overview of the generations so that
you can begin to understand “where they’re coming
from,” as a Baby Boomer might say.
Meet the Generations
The Silent Generation (born 1933-1945)
The 50 million members of the Silent Generation defy
generalization more than any other generation—so
avoid stereotyping them! While many Silents have
already left the workforce, plenty of others remain, and
they are reinventing the concept of career maturity and
retirement. They see themselves as vigorous, contributing
members of the workforce.
The oldest members of this generation grew up in the
aftermath of the Depression. However, in their lifetimes,
their financial cycle moved from a cashless childhood
to affluent adulthoods, due in part to economic growth,
plentiful jobs, retirement benefits—and their propensity
to live well within their means as a generation. They built
their success on hard work, self-discipline and postponing
material rewards.
As a generation, they put the group before the
individual, making them strong team players. Sometimes
referred to as the “facilitative generation,” many
Silents have taken leading national roles as diplomats,
civil rights leaders and distinguished civil servants and
politicians. Typically, employees from this generation
are disciplined, loyal team players who work within the
system. They have a huge knowledge legacy to share
and embody a traditional work ethic.
13. 23Millwork more AMD magazine
Today’s Shifting Demographics
You’ve probably seen this in your own organization:
Today’s workforce is aging because Silents and Boomers
are staying on the job longer, avoiding retirement for
financial reasons or reluctance to stop working. From
2006 to 2016, the labor force of those aged 65 to 75 is
growing at a rate of 80%; and 75 and older, at a rate of
78%.
Meanwhile, Millennial workers are no longer a novelty
as their numbers increase. In fact, by 2014, Millennials
will approach 47% of the workforce! However, a large
number of this group is currently unemployed or
underemployed due to the economic downturn.
As the economy picks up, watch for more Millennials
(a generation nearly as large as the Baby Boomers)
to start snapping up new jobs in your industry (and all
industries), while Silents and Boomers continue to hang
on to employment and Gen X seeks to move up or on
in their careers. All of this will take place in an economy
that is increasingly knowledge- and services-based,
technology driven and global. The competition for
jobs is only going to get fiercer, and members of all
generations will be slugging it out for positions that are
still limited.
Today as well as tomorrow, it is less and less common
to be working with your peers. You are working with all
these different generations. And if you are a manager,
you are the leader of people of all ages, and will be for
the rest of your career.
Managing the Mix
In a recent study by the Society of Human Resource
Managers, almost 25% of HR professionals reported
generational conflict in their workplace, and a full
60% of employers are experiencing tension between
employees of different generations. While 47% of
younger employees surveyed complained that older
managers were resistant to change, 33% of older
employees found younger workers’ informality and
need for supervision problematic.
You probably don’t need these statistics to know
that the generational mix in today’s workplace can
be problematic. Managers and supervisors who are
armed with the knowledge, skills and practices to
engage with each generation can go a long way
to reducing the statistics above. And when you
can meet the preferences and priorities of each
generation, communicate in ways that are effective
and appropriate, and understand their career goals
and values, you will also have completed much of
the heavy lifting needed to recruit and retain good
employees of all ages.
The starting point is to remind yourself which generation
you are building a relationship with. Speaking to
that generation’s quirks and qualities will make your
management style more effective. Note: Please don’t
ask an employee her age or birth year! Instead, look for
visual clues or ask questions like “Should I call or text?”
or “Did you do anything interesting this weekend?” Then
use the information you collect to make an educated
guess at her generation.
With some basic knowledge about each generation’s
characteristics and attitudes (combined with some
common sense) we can apply this insight to managing
in ways that improve our performance. Here are some
best practices for various aspects of management,
broken down by each generation:
Management Dos and Don’ts
for Each Generation
Silents: Members of the silent generation expect a fair
day’s work for a fair day’s pay. Therefore, it makes sense
for you to develop a relationship with Silents focusing
on the work, and recognizing and respecting their
preferences for more formal protocol and etiquette.
What won’t work with them is acting too personal,
using slang or profanity, or being disorganized or
unprofessional.
Boomers: Build a relationship with Boomers that
recognizes their contribution and hard work.
Acknowledge their “sandwich” responsibilities of
caring for kids and parents by offering flexibility. When
appropriate, encourage Boomers to lighten up a bit and
let go.
Gen Xers: Adopt an approach that is hands-off and gives
them autonomy. Tell them the goal and then get out of
their way while they figure out how to get there. They
value work-life balance, so offer options and flexibility.
Millennials: Give them projects and assignments that
challenge them—continually. At the same time, offer
structure, guidance and frequent check-ins. Be a
resource for them, and when possible put them in team
situations. What won’t work: The hands-off style that
Gen Xers prefer, being formal and fussy, or taking too
much of their time.
Retaining the Generations
Silents: Create significant mentoring roles capitalizing
on their strategic eye and bottom-line approach to
the business. Appreciate and acknowledge their
contributions.
Boomers: Provide work-life balance. Come up with new
challenges that match their skills.
Gen Xers: Resist micromanaging. Offer flexible work
hours and flexible work—change it up.
Millennials: Personalize their work. Create a collegial
team environment.
Coaching the Generations
As a manager, your role should include coaching
individual employees, with a strong emphasis on providing
feedback.
Silents: Make time for an in-person coaching conversation.
Give these employees the opportunity to mentor others in
your group.
Boomers: Fight potential skills obsolescence with reverse
mentoring, conference participation and key interactions.
Stick with three-minute coaching conversation
Gen Xers: Build their skills portfolio and change it up
regularly by giving them different challenges and
opportunities. Candidly discuss their reputation. A quick
e-mail can be a coaching conversation.
Millennials: Explain the importance of seemingly routine
tasks. Set specific expectations, targets and goals, and
give plenty of feedback. Text them with coaching tips or
direction.
Communicating with the Generations
Silents: This generation prefers face-to-face meetings, phone
and mail. Technology won’t always seem like a solution to them,
but don’t underestimate their comfort with the Internet, e-mail,
and more.
Boomers: Boomers also like face time and phone conversations.
Like Silents, they may be quite comfortable browsing your blog or
sharing Tweets.
Gen Xers: Reach them on their computers and smartphones
with e-mail, web-based information and social networking.
Remember, they like plenty of hard data to help them make a
sales decision.
Millennials: It should come as no surprise to you that this
generation relies heavily on e-communications, including text
messaging and social media. They live at the speed of light and
expect immediate responses to their own communications.
Motivating the Generations
Silents: The top four motivators for Silents are challenge,
stimulation and variety; the knowledge that they are
making a difference; appreciation; and autonomy.
They are “de-motivated” by reporting to a bad boss;
boredom and lack of challenge; an inability to learn
and grow; and lack of appreciation.
Boomers: This generation is motivated by challenge,
stimulation, variety; the knowledge that they are
making a difference; appreciation; and an enjoyable
environment. They are “de-motivated” by lack of
appreciation; reporting to a bad boss; boredom and
lack of challenge; and micromanagement.
Gen Xers: This generation is motivated by challenge,
stimulation and variety; career growth and learning;
having work-life balance; and the knowledge that they
are making a difference. They are “de-motivated” by
reporting to a bad boss; micromanagement; lack of
appreciation; and no work-life balance.
Millennials: This generation is also motivated by
challenge, stimulation and variety; career growth and
learning; an enjoyable environment; and pay. They are
“de-motivated” by boredom and lack of challenge;
lack of appreciation; reporting to a bad boss; and an
inability to learn and grow.
The Next Generation
Get ready to welcome a fifth generation to the workplace in two years: the iGeneration, born between
1998 and 2013. This generation, also called iGen, Gen Z, Generation Wii, Gen Tech, or Plurals, has
witnessed the demise of the American Dream. They are growing up in greatest period of economic
distress since the Great Depression, which is bound to affect their views of employers, their workplace
loyalty, and their values.
Raised by Generation X parents, the iGeneration shares their individually oriented qualities—they are
hardworking, confident, independent, and organized. Nearly all of them are online and they share the
technical literacy and ease of Millennials.
14. 24 25Millwork more AMD magazinejuly 2013
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WorkFlow triggers events on a user-defined schedule. For
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A Good Boss to All Ages
With all this information about how to manage your
employees, how can we be Good Bosses? The good
news is that you can be a Good Boss to every single
employee without coming across as a Bad Boss to any
generation. For example, a Good Boss makes an effort to
build a climate that fuels engagement.
To create an enjoyable and engaging climate, begin
by imagining your employees are volunteers, not paid
employees. Identify what about your leadership keeps
them coming to work for you. And follow these basic tips:
1. Keep commitments and appointments with
employees.
2. Schedule lunch with employees; take time to get to
know each of them.
3. Keep your sense of humor, celebrate successes and
encourage relationship building.
4. Know every employee’s name, their family members’
names and at least one hobby and outside interest.
5. Consistently reaffirm the value of the employee to the
team, the department and the organization.
6. Consider creating competitive challenges (such as
outdoor sports activities) with other teams and or
departments.
7. Give back! To your team, the company and the
community.
A Good Boss leads with frequent feedback and
communication.
1. At least once a month, tell people why and how their
work is significant.
2. Frequently express appreciation for each employee’s
contribution.
3. Walk around, say hello and greet people at the
beginning of their day.
4. Connect with people in person, by e-mail, phone, text
or instant messaging.
5. Make sure employees see the link between their work
and the organization’s mission, goals and values.
6. Use positive messages instead of “or else” statements
to inspire.
Meet with employees once a month to discuss work. Ask:
• What’s going well?
• What’s not going well?
• What can I do to support you?
A Good Boss kills off old notions of career and commits
to the workforce a future of contribution, meaningful
work and mutual success. These actions will appeal to all
generations:
1. Work with employees to develop a list of potential
projects, challenging assignments and tasks that
could enhance their career.
2. Have a career conversation. Make arrangements for
a quiet place without interruptions, and focus on the
employee and his or her career. Ask:
a. What do you like about your work?
b. What talents do you have that are not being
used?
c. Are there other projects or assignments of interest
to you?
d. Confirm that the employee has a career path or
professional development plan.
3. Arrange for a senior manager to meet with your
employees. Ask the manager to talk about his own
lessons learned and how he has managed his career.
4. Have a team member spend time with an important
customer, then discuss the key learning.
5. Develop a training plan for your team that
encompasses which skills your team members need
now to make sure they are skilled in the future.
6. Switch things up. To freshen routines and enable cross
training, have employees switch roles for a day (or
half a day), then meet as a group to discuss what
was learned.
7. Schedule “Power Down Days” for yourself, when you
delegate tasks to team members. Don’t take on any
tasks that team members can handle effectively.
In Conclusion
I realize that this is a lot of information to take in and
incorporate into your management style. But by
increasing your awareness of the different work styles
and preferences of the four generations—soon to
be five—in your workplace, and making some simple
adjustments to how you lead each one, you’ll improve
your own quality and enjoyment of work as well as that
of your employees.
Diane Thielfoldt is co-founder of The Learning Café, a consulting firm dedicated to
helping organizations develop, engage and retain the talent of every generation. An
accomplished workshop facilitator and engaging speaker, Diane has educated hundreds
of managers on issues involving the multigenerational workplace.
15. 26 27Millwork more AMD magazinejuly 2013
Google How to Boost Your Rank on Google: 15 Essential Questions
Web Maps Shopping More Search tools By Bob DeStefano Page 1 of 7, 190,000 results (0.27 seconds)
Do you have defined goals for search engine marketing?
Tip: Search engine marketing will help drive targeted traffic to your Website.
So why are you trying to attract more traffic? Think about the goals and objectives for your Website and online marketing efforts.
Your search engine marketing program should be designed to support these goals. Your goals may include selling products online,
generating leads, building a marketing database or improving brand awareness.
Do you know who you are trying to attract with search engine marketing?
Tip: Once you know why you want to attract more traffic, spend some time defining who you are trying to attract
Take a moment to brainstorm about your target audiences. Who are they? What industry or business are they in? What is their role
within their company? What are they searching for? By defining your specific audience groups, you will be able to understand and
address their unique needs and motivations.
Do you know who your top competitors are on the search engines?
Tip: Your search engine marketing program must also focus on your competition.
You want to make sure you clearly identify your top competitors, so you can continually evaluate how your company’s search engine
presence ranks relative to the competition. And remember, your online competitors are not just the companies you typically compete
against for new business. Anyone on the first page of Google for your offerings is a competitor.
Do you know what terms or phrases your customers use when they search for your products and services on Google?
Tip: Proper keyword research is the most important step in search engine marketing.
When choosing the best keywords, it is important to choose phrases that are not only relevant to your business, but also ones
that are searched most often by your target customers. Begin by getting inside the heads of your customers and brainstorm about
potential terms they use when thinking about your products and capabilities. Then, turn to keyword research tools like Wordtracker
or Google Adwords to create a list of highly searched terms that will drive targeted traffic to your Website.
Have you assigned each keyword phrase to the most appropriate page on your Website?
Tip: Begin by creating a keyword plan for your search engine optimization campaign.
Your keyword plan will map each of your keyword phrases to the most appropriate pages on your Website. Review all of the pages
on your Website and determine the best page for each of your keyword phrases. If an ideal page does not exist, it needs to be
created.
On each page you are optimizing for search engines, is the copy sufficiently long and keyword-rich?
Tip: Keyword-rich copy is critical to search engine optimization success.
Your keyword phrases need to be used throughout the entire page. Ideally, every page should have about 200 to 300 words of copy
and your keyword phrase should be used approximately 5% of the time – or 5 times for every 100 words of copy. However, make sure
you resist the urge to overuse the phrase on the page. Google will penalize you if you go overboard with keyword stuffing.
Do your page title tags lead with your targeted keywords?
Tip: Search engines consider page titles very important when evaluating page content.
In addition, the page title is used for the blue clickable link people will see in the search results. Title tags must be written to include
the most important phrases for the page, while appearing compelling to the searcher so they will want to click them. Keep them
below 60 characters, including spaces or else it will be cut off in the search results. In addition, each page of your Website should
have a unique title tag.
Does your site employ h1 heading tags for content titles?
Tip: Search engines consider heading tags, h1, more important than normal text.
You should make use of heading tags on every page to highlight the most important keywords and the heading for the page. In
addition, use the h2 and h3 tags for subheadings using other relevant variations of your keyword phrase.
Do you have keyword-rich alt tags for all navigation graphics and all product images?
Tip: Search engines cannot read text included in images.
However, every image can have an alt tag that includes a brief description that can be read and indexed by search
engines. So, make sure all of your product photos include relevant keyword phrases in the alt tags. Make sure to
only include relevant keywords that are important for the page and relevant for the image.
Do your pages have keyword-rich meta tags?
Tip: The ‘description’ meta tag is very important, since Google uses this information below the clickable
link in the search results.
Craft your ‘meta’ descriptions for each page like a compelling call to action, include your most important keywords for the page,
and keep them below 150 characters, including spaces. The ‘keywords’ meta tag has been exploited over the years, so it is largely
ignored by Google and other search engines. Still, it may have some impact, so use it to list your most important keywords for
each page.
Do your filenames and directory names include targeted keywords?
Tip: Think strategically about how you construct and organize your Website.
Search engines will also look at directory names and file names when reviewing the content of a Web page. Where it makes
sense, try to use your most important keyword phrases in these names.
Are you using Google Webmaster Tools and an XML Sitemap to assist with the indexing of your Web pages?
Tip: To search engines, an XML sitemap is like a road map for your entire Website.
With Google Webmaster Tools, you will be able to share your Sitemap.XML file, as well as tell Google how you would like the
URLs it indexes to appear. In addition, it provides detailed reports about your site’s search engine visibility on its search engines.
You will be able to see how Google crawls your site and learn about specific problems it may be having accessing it.
Do you have a proactive link building program in place?
Tip: Link building involves gaining links to your Website from other popular Websites in your industry or space.
The more quality inbound links you have, the more popular your Website is in the eyes of Google. Good content attracts links, so
fill your Website with interesting and informative content. Next, get your Website listed in online directories and portals. Finally, you
should leverage online public relations and distribute press releases and articles online.
Are you running a results-focused paid search campaign?
Tip: Paid search is an immediate way of attracting targeted search traffic.
Unlike traditional advertising, where you ‘pay for exposure’ regardless of the results, with paid search you only pay if someone
clicks on your ad and visits your Website, providing a compelling ‘pay for performance’ mode of advertising. To manage an ROI-
driven paid search campaign, make sure you setup ‘conversion tracking’ so you can tie your bidding strategy to business results
(e.g., sales, leads, etc.).
Are you measuring the success of your search engine marketing campaign?
Tip: Since search engine marketing is all about attracting targeted traffic, begin by leveraging Web analytics
to monitor traffic increases from search, as well as what search engines and phrases people are using to
visit your Website.
To make sure the volume of targeted visitors continues to increase, you should also monitor your position or ranking in the search
results. Finally, to measure the success of your paid search advertising efforts, harness the measurable nature of the Web to track
the cost-per-visit, cost-per-lead, and cost-per-sale for all of your paid search ads.
About the Author
www.bobdestefano.com
Bob DeStefano is an online marketing strategist and professional marketing speaker with more than 18 years
of experience helping distributors and manufacturers leverage online marketing to produce bottom-line results.
Connect with Bob on the Web at www.svmsolutions.com or 1-877-786-3249 Ext. 3.
16. 28 29Millwork more AMD magazinejuly 2013
AMD Leadership Conference Links the
Millwork and Lumber Industry Together
T
he Association of Millwork Distributors concluded its first joint
Leadership Conference with the North American Wholesale
Lumber Association (NAWLA), and AMD attendees
declared it a success according to a post event survey. The
conference site was the Innisbrook Golf Resort Spa in Palm
Harbor, Florida, where company executives and managers
came together from the millwork and lumber industry for three days of
educational seminars, interactive workshops and networking activities.
AMD and NAWLA’s first joint event was the result of AMD’s initiative to
bring fellow industry associations together in an ongoing “Associations in
Synergy” forum in early 2012. “Today, the business model infrastructure
continues to adapt to the new normal, and industry trade organizations
are introducing a new prototype as well; one that includes partnering
on education, conferences, marketing, tradeshows, and the other new
ventures,” said Rosalie Leone, CEO of AMD.
The conference offered attendees thought provoking ideas and strategies
to position their company for success in the recovery. Participants were
armed with knowledge from industry experts on topics which included
maximizing profits, distribution and recovery, wood product consumption;
where will the supply come from, and what’s next in the lumber building
material dealer market.
Tony Bridwell, Business Unit President, Partners in Leaders, rounded
out the education sessions with a workshop which focused on a
simple and powerful model “The Steps To Accountability®”, based
on the Bestselling Book, The Oz Principle: Getting Results Through
Individual And Organizational Accountability. One attendee
commented, “The conference education sessions were very
informative and timely.”
A true delight was luncheon keynote speaker, Major General, SEC
Referee, Business Executive Author Richard B. (Dick) Burleson.
Mr. Burleson captivated his audience within the first few minutes
with his charismatic personality and wit in his story-telling from the
military base, football field and corporate desk. While entertaining
the attendees, he delivered a powerful message as to How to be
an Effective Leader by sharing his 12 Mandatory Leadership Traits
for Success; a message we will all remember.
If you missed the Leadership Conference this year,
make a point of joining us in 2014 for the spring
conference. Check in with the AMD website for
news, information and event updates.
www.AMDweb.com
“Today, the business model infrastructure continues to
adapt to the new normal, and industry trade organizations
are introducing a new prototype as well; one that includes
partnering on education, conferences, marketing, tradeshows,
and the other new ventures.” — Rosalie Leone, CEO of AMD
eryrf
eryrf
17. Every manager needs multiple kinds of exposure to the rest of the
world in order to keep proper perspective of their own company.
If we live only within the boundaries of our own companies,
our perspective is limited at best and tainted at worst. The
AMD provides several excellent venues and many relationships
suitable for pursuing this perspective; such as, the AMD Annual
Convention Tradeshow.
—Audrey Dyer, President of. ECMD Distribution Co.
a division of ECMD, Inc.
andHEAR $AVEfrom Business Speakers Industry Experts on Early Registration
Education Sessions Opening General Session
November 4th 5th!
AMD 49th Annual Conference Tradeshow
The AMD has been an important component of BROSCO’s Success
over the last half century. The annual conventions have always
provided a unique forum to speak with potential vendors, and
discover new product opportunities, that simply would not avail
themselves elsewhere were it not for this special event delivered by
the AMD.
— Charlie Smith, President CEO of Brockway-Smith Company
For Convention and Registration Information, visit www.AMDweb.com
Where the Focus is
the Millwork Industry
Jim Ambrose
Ken Schmidt
Keynote Speaker for the
General Opening Session
A brand building expert,
Ken Schmidt is the
Brand Visionary and
Communications Strategist
for the Harley Davidson
Motor Company.
Allison NuanesGreg Brooks
Dr. Al Bates
Peter Butzelaar