What Motivates You?

  

Blog writer Cassandra Johnson for Promotional Consultant wrote about workplace performance in a recent blog, citing the book The Service Profit Chain. The authors suggest that in business the best way to generate ongoing profit is to create a work environment that attracts, focuses and keeps talented employees. Have you ever held a job where your efforts were unappreciated and unnoticed? How about a manager who provided inconsistent direction or rewarded only their favorites?  

Employees have to be motivated to show up, get committed and perform at a level of excellence. As we begin March, I challenge you to think about your own business environment. It is important to have a system in place that builds employee motivation. Not every person is motivated by the same factors, not every workplace environment lends itself to the same displays of appreciation. Regardless of the size of a company, what's being done to create motivation and retain employees is being modeled by management, repeated by employees and ultimately delivered to your customer.  

The book The Service Profit Chain contends that providing a system that generates satisfaction, appreciation, recognition and compensation ensures that the organization has something to contribute to the motivation of each employee. National Employee Appreciation Day and National Salesperson Day are both the first Friday of the month, which this year fell on March 6. Celebration and appreciation do not have to be huge events. Even simple things like an acknowledgement during a group meeting, a computer poster over their keyboard or M&M's can demonstrate appreciation!  

Leith Automotive Group has been working on an "out of the ballpark" service performance goals. As part of these goals, Leith will bring employees together for a theme based event to celebrate achievement of team goals using fun baseball themed products. Infusing creative branded promotional pieces is one of our favorite projects to research! We learn about new products by staying on top of industry trends and attending supplier expo's throughout the year. 

  

   "I've worked with Promotional Partners since 2008. I've learned to stop asking if they can do something, because they always find a way to make things happen; it's like having my own fairy godmother to poof, just make it happen. They provide us quality products, on time and direct us to new cool ideas that will get the notice we want for employees or customers.
        - Debbie - Leith Automotive Group

Art or Lines?

Like it or not, this is a famous painting by Pablo Picasso. A popular quote goes something like; "art is in the eye of the beholder." It’s the value of the beholder that is not equal.  

 

Scan the lower images, what do these images have in common? I see vertical and horizontal lines in the chart that create a formula, but for me the are just abstract lines like the work of art remains for many.  

What do you see when you look at your business? 

Have you ever create a flow chart to explain roles and relationships between job titles, departments and your consumer?

In a recent industry blog post from Promotional Consultant, Cassandra Johnson shared some interesting tips on how to look at the organizational chart of one’s business. The artist in me immediately gravitated to the analogies between liner perspectives versus the more “out of the box” vision that might be crafted by Picasso. In school I struggled to understand algebra. How could A + B = C? I recall telling my teacher those characters seemed abstract variables to me; variables that might have informal but meaningful or additional relationships that did not fit into the liner formula.  

Johnson summaries business coaching tips from Ruth Schwartz in the shared blog post below. 

                                          Owner, Olivia Scott

"Everything you can imagine is real..."  Pablo Picasso

If Picasso Drew Your Org Chart
 

Every organization has them—organizational charts. These geometric structures of boxes and lines represent people, teams, jobs and reporting structures. But what do they represent about the company?

Promotional Consultant Today shares business coach Ruth Schwartz's view on org charts, asking the key question, "How would Picasso design your org chart?"
Schwartz states her disdain for traditional box and line org charts for many reasons, including: 

1. They are vertical, not horizontal.
2. People are represented as boxes.
3. You can't see the informal relationships of an organization.
4. They are a myopic internal vision of a company.
5. There are no customers represented.
6. No core value, noble cause, purpose, mission, or vision is visible.
7. They don't promote leadership and mentor-ship or innovation at multiple levels.
If you were to redesign your org chart, what would it look like? Step outside the boxes and lines we generate from HR software today. Instead, use your imagination and follow these guidelines:

• Create a metaphor that represents your business. (What would Picasso do?)
• Draw your company's missions, vision and values into this picture. Remember that your heart is central.
• How do people intersect with each other, customers, and your community?
• How do people REALLY (informally) interact?
• Are you cross-functional or departmental? Can silos be replaced?
• How do you make and spend money? Can you represent that in the nature of the drawing?
• Where is your leadership pipeline? Where is the upcoming bench strength and how do you illustrate it?
• How do you represent roles, titles and hierarchy in the picture?
• Now, place yourself where you want to be rather than where you may find yourself today.

Is your picture different from your reality? Can this new org chart set the stage for your strategic plan? What will you need to think of, innovate, start or stop to develop a strategy that represents the vision represented by your picture? 

This organizational vision is a critical step toward creating unique organizations that we want to be part of, rather than being defined by the hierarchy of an organization.

Source: Ruth Schwartz is an internationally certified business leadership coach, motivational speaker and author. She owns High Performance Advocates, a management and leadership coaching company. 

Compiled by Cassandra Johnson, Promotional Consultant Today

Make It A Date?

In developing a promotional calendar for events it’s important to first decide the intent.

Are you seeking dates for internal fun and camaraderie building at the office? If the answer is yes, then consider quirky dates that reflect the personalities and culture of your office. Promotional items are not just for advertising. Promotional pieces selected around “office fun” also provide recall and retention to your workforce.

Are you looking for ways to connect with your clients via social media? Yes? Select dates that provide a connection to your company, dates that open dialogue to your core values; dates that relate to your mission & purpose. Layering your media with redemption offers or events in your office provide a way to gauge interest and provide an interactive moment with your target market beyond the social media post.

Do you want to connect with national dates to provide a larger platform for rolling out a new product, service or event that would be of interest to your client base? Make sure to plan ahead for the year to be ready for these types of events. It is important that your promotional pieces accurately reflect your message; meet with your brand consultant in early January to share goals and objectives.  

Our date’s format has changed for 2015, each month we will be featuring products from our website.

Products selected for this month include:

http://www.promotionalpartnersinc.com/product/Cool_Gear_Soup_To_Go_417289

http://www.promotionalpartnersinc.com/product/SIMPLE_STEPS_PEDOMETER_396947

http://www.promotionalpartnersinc.com/product/Magic_Custom_Picture_Cube_341673

Click on the image below or in our date’s section to find strategies for 2015. What dates will you commemorate this year?

How To Avoid Problems With Quick Turn Orders

This time of year, the goal is to stay off the “naughty list”.  In fact, many of you are working to strength and acknowledge your relationships by giving gifts to all the people on your “nice list”. 

Where to begin the search? How to maximize your time?

 

·         Avoid assumptions– an e– store like the one on our website is great for reference, but pricing may not be accurate as suppliers are responsible for loading data. In fact, all of the products we offer are not on the website! 

·         Call! Often instead of calling or e-mailing your needs we will hear, “well I was looking on your website, but I can’t find” …..” I did not want to bother you till I knew more about what I wanted”.

Contact us, that’s what we are here for, it’s not a bother! 

The perk of working with our company is the human collaboration. We make orders go smoothly like elves at the pole. Once you say go our team researches all the products, suppliers and choices available to make your order arrive on time, as expected to your destination!

What are some of the variables we consider?

·         Packaging– Do you need items kitted together prior to arriving? Do you need individual orders drop shipped to your destination? Would you like to insert cards or letters? Do you need gift boxes or wrapping? These are options with our fulfillment programs, just ask.  The less you have to “touch” the project at a busy time the more time for your hands to do other things, perhaps sampling cookies from the office cookie exchange? 

·         Will you be re- packing to ship or hand deliver? Have you allotted time? Even the best suppliers and shippers can have issues beyond our control. At the holidays lead times increase as production levels. Suppliers are processing more like 1,500- 2,000 orders a day rather than 1,000 orders a day. Mistakes can happen. We strongly suggest you build in time to processing your order; especially if you are the one packing the kits for hand distribution once they arrive. 

·         Shipping on your own? Make sure you follow the guidelines for the carrier. Often there is a max on the amount of information that can be put on a shipping label, no PO boxes, double check addresses as accurate no to receive back your shipment. Shipping food, you may have to upgrade the method, package differently or insert cooling packs. Our suppliers are accustom to shipping all over the country; even overseas. Ask us about drop shipments to your destinations.

·         Delivery- ground with UPS, FedX or even a trucking company is up to 5:00 pm for business. Routes are longer at the holidays with more stops and more packages on the route. Weather can be a factor in some areas of the country so take these factors into account when planning. 

·         Turn around time– Is this a rush project? Let us know the deadline from the start, along with your budget to receive accurate information. If a project is a rush, there are options, but that might limit your ability to purchase at a “special” or “discount” price. In a rush? We like to check stock for color and other variables that can slow the process down later, adding unwanted surprises.

·         Art– Thank heavens for graphic design- we can design your art in house if you don't have vectored files or need more extensive add on materials; such as a special tag from Santa! Keep in mind that even with your vectored files or re-orders, even the smallest change like an updated number or changing your tagline requires a new plate, screen - aka a set up fee. 

What does happen behind the scenes to make orders "happen"? 

Like a team of elves, we work together to write up or key in your order for the supplier. We sent electronic files for the art you want produced on your products and then the follow up. We call suppliers to check to make sure they receive our fax and emails. We look for order confirmations and proofs to check with you. Once those arrive, we compare against order details for discrepancies before sharing proofs with you. 

 A quick turn order can often take 15 to 30 minutes to process from the time you say “GO” and often requires adhering to firm submission windows of time on the end of our supplier. For example, some supplier require rush project in by 12:00 pm each day, or have a completely different submission process for a quick turn project. We look for partners in suppliers that make it easy to avoid potential issues with a rush as well as suppliers that know how to "fix" the occasional error without a fuss. 

Communication is how we keep our clients from being disappointed, we want to stay on your nice list and make magic happen all year long when you need a quick delivery.

How Do You Measure Success?

As part of PPAI, Promotional Products Association International, access to tips, training an inspiration are provided to distributors. Here is a blog post from Cassandra Johnson, writer for Promotional Consultant Today.

If you own your business, do you consider yourself to be a successful entrepreneur? How do you measure this success? Promotional Consultant Today shares these key metrics for success as defined by members of the Young Entrepreneur Council (YEC).

1. Cash on Hand. Cash is the life-blood of any startup, and you should always have a pulse on how much of it you have left and how long it’s going to last. It is incredibly easy to let this slip by the wayside. – James Simpson, GoldFire Studios
2. Lifetime Customer Value. While everything having to do with your income and expenses is important for any entrepreneur to understand and monitor, the most important number to know by heart at any given time is your LTV: Lifetime Customer Value. How much do you earn per customer? Per lead? If you know that, you will know how much you can spend to find them. – Cody McKibben, Thrilling Heroics
3. ROI Per Marketing Channel. It’s crucial to keep a handle on ROI per marketing channel in order to optimize marketing spending. It’s not enough to check this every quarter. You should check it monthly or weekly. – Josh Weiss, Bluegala
4. Renewal Rates. If you’re selling anything, understanding renewal rates is absolutely critical. If, for some reason, you’re not getting repeat customers, that’s a major problem and you need to spend as much of your time on it as possible. – Mitch Gordon, Go Overseas
5. Gross Margin. It is crucial for entrepreneurs to understand their costs of goods and services. Keeping track of gross margin assures you know the value of each additional sale. Keeping track of gross margin by product offering will help you determine what balance of products and services will be best for your business. – Doreen Bloch, Poshly, Inc.
6. Profitability Date. Knowing when you expect to be profitable will influence every other business decision you make. You need to know when your company will start making money to know how to manage the money you have in the bank. This impacts every decision related to your business, from hiring more staff to expanding product offerings to investing in marketing. – Ben Rubenstein, Yodle
7. Burn Rate. This is the rate at which a company uses up its capital to finance overhead before generating positive cash flow from operations. As a measurement of negative cash flow, the burn rate is what you need to compare all your forecasts to so you don’t run out of money prematurely, and by lowering operating costs appropriately. – Phil Chen, Systems Watch
8. Income to Expenses Ratio. All other metrics eventually lead back to this one. Are you earning more than you spend? All other decisions hinge on whether or not you’re in the black or in the red. – Colin Wright, Asymmetrical Press

Source: Scott Gerber is the founder of the Young Entrepreneur Council (YEC), an invite-only organization comprised of the world's most promising young entrepreneurs.
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Compiled by Cassandra Johnson

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Stand Out All Year Long

There will be many celebrations in the coming month, but now is a great time to tuck away ideas for standing out, creating goodwill and adding some spice to your marketing efforts in 2015. When asked about company events, most respondents will say a little fun in the office builds friendship, improves office culture and improves team building. Events for your client base are held for similar reasons. Besides demonstrating new products or services, fun events or promotions help develop relationships and shows off your personality!  

Here are some tips for planning your next event:

1.   When planning an event, build excitement. - invitations, references on social media, photos behind the scenes for what to expect; approach promotions the same way. Incorporate a theme for the event, tease attendees with images, videos or clues about what to expect for the upcoming promotion. 

2.   Record the memory– take photos during your event to share on social media as well as to print and frame for employees or clients.

3.   Make events interactive to allow for team building. For example if you are hosting an ice cream party, have a variety of bowls, spoons, toppings and flavors to allow attendees to be creative and “judge” the best presentations, the most unique toppings, etc. 

4.   Plan for a “take away” from the event that ties into the theme, but promotes your brand or your message after the event is over. 

Quirky Dates for Fun in 2015- Ask us for ideas for every month! 

Jan 15– National Hat Day– Give out a custom cap to business partners. Maybe beanies or ear wraps for employees or clients who are into fitness, or make it crazy hat day at work with donations to a favored charity for those that want to wear a hat for the day. 

The 5th of April is Tweed Day– best office “Tweed Twins” could be a winner, or offer a discount to customers that come into the business in tweed that day. 

Go Fishing on the 18 of June for new sales with an internal fishing contest among the sales team. Post fishing results on a white board to track the most caught and the largest catch.  

Did you know the 13th of July is Embrace your Geekness Day? Post and share stories of employee or clients geeky side; capture photos in frames to remember long after the day for office morale or as part of a morning office open house with your best clients. 

November 17– take a hike day– a great way to promote fitness, at work or invite customers out for an evening event; tie the hike into a fundraiser for a local charity. 

Dec 13– ice cream day or Dec 28 is playing card day– custom playing cards can be educational and fun with custom faces showcasing images of your companies history or products. 

It's never too early to jump start your plan of interaction and brand building for 2015! 

Order Accuracy

How can you help with order accuracy? Reviewing documents carefully and understanding what you are viewing.

While many consider a virtual, a mockup and a proof the same– they are actually very different. 

When your company supplies us a vectored form of your logo, we can provide a virtual image. 

 Supplier virtual images can be very realistic, some suppliers utilize technology that will show an object etched or embroidered. Virtual images, however, can be inaccurate. The virtual may be larger or placed slightly “off” from the actual imprint area; don’t rely on a virtual only as final proof.  

By sharing your EPS file prior to an actual order, we are able to provide a summary of the details for  review. 

When client's don't have an EPS or vectored file, we have to create one- that's when spelling errors or inverted numbers can come into play as the new file needed to be reviewed carefully for content. 

We provide a “mock up” for how the logo is to be imprinted prior to ordering. If it’s white imprint on a black object your mock up will show black because we are denoting imprint size, the summary will say– using white imprint.  Sized mock ups are to scale, the PDF you review will show your logo or additional content such as a website, taglines or phone number sized to the imprint area; scaled to the correct size. This “proofing process” allows for the “back and forth” of maximizing the content and placement of information prior to placing the order, which keeps the approval process with the supplier quick.  

The supplier, given time within the production time line, will send us a template or schematic version of the logo showing the exact placement on the promotional piece which is scaled to size for that imprint area and called a proof. We in turn share proofs on standard production orders to add a final layer of  approval to the order process. 

The summary  process is provided to reduce errors and questions, which we are happy to report 99% accuracy on orders each year!