In this issue
	Kutztown SBDC News Group Three Trading Company-By: Chrystal Coffelt Setting The Ground Rules For Your Sales Call-By Dan Goldberg Choose the Wrong Hosting Company and You Are Doomed - by Lynn VanDyke Insights to Success

Group Three Trading Company-By: Chrystal Coffelt

Howard H. Atkins spent 17 years in sales, marketing and business development roles in a leading chemical and plastics manufacturer. His most recent experience prior to becoming an entrepreneur was global business development. He considers his time in Corporate America as training for the role he fulfills today as a small business entrepreneur. Atkins' responsibilities as a global business development manager for a large plastics company gave him the opportunity to travel around the world and learn about other economies and business cultures. Recognizing that an opportunity existed for a company to offer business development services to these companies, he formed Group Three Trading Company in April 2004. Group Three is an import/export merchant that sources goods in foreign markets, focusing on the trade of natural stones, structural steel, polymers, fabric parts, hardwood flooring, construction materials and other industrial and consumer goods. The concept for Group Three originated many years ago as Atkins' familiarity with and understanding of foreign markets developed. The company began formal operations after he developed a relationship with a consortium of stone companies in Brazil interested in establishing a base of business in the U.S. Atkins built a relationship with this company and worked to help it sell its products in the United States. This first project led to several other sales agency and business development relationships. Click here for the complete article. »

Setting The Ground Rules For Your Sales Call-By Dan Goldberg

Experience has taught us that if we're not prepared before going to an appointment, then we're probably wasting time. Since you're a professional, as is the person you're going to see, the one thing you don't want to do is waste time. A key element of being prepared is setting and understanding the ground rules for the appointment. All sporting events have ground rules that regulate the behavior of all the participants. But when it comes to sales calls, you should set up the ground rules that will govern the meeting during your initial contact. Here's a brief list of some key ground rules you can use to make your next meeting go smoother. establish a time frame and time limits for the meeting request that there are no interruptions during the meeting establish your agenda and your prospects agenda Once you arrive at the meeting, it's time to implement the rules. You could start the meeting by saying, "Thanks for inviting me in or thanks for inviting me to meet with you today." Doing so, you are perceived as a guest. People always treat their guests better than someone they feel is intruding on their space or time. You always have a better rapport with a guest than if the meeting is viewed strictly as a salesperson/prospect situation. Next, review the agreed upon time frame for conducting the meeting. When the session starts it is wise to say, "We agreed to set aside an hour for this meeting, we're still OK with that right?" Click here for the complete article. »

Choose the Wrong Hosting Company and You Are Doomed - by Lynn VanDyke

Running an online business sounds like a piece of cake. You hire someone to develop a flashy website, your throw a few products on a few pages and then you sit back and wait for the cash to flow in. You should have thought of this years ago! It's practically a no-brainer. Well I am here to tell you that you should choose a very cushiony chair to wait in because you will be waiting for that cash to roll in for a long, long time. Running an online business is as easy or as difficult as you make it. The secret to online business success is simple- choose the best tools, the best customers and offer the best product. You should not be running a website. You should not be focusing on technology. You need to zero in on your business. If your business has nothing to do with website design then I recommend staying away from website design in your day-to-day operations. Getting caught up in the technological jungle is devastating for online businesses. You must focus on your customer and not on the technology it takes to drive your business. You have a few options. You can hire a designer, but this will cost you several thousands of dollars. This will also become a pain as you need things updated. I can almost guarantee you that every time you want to add, change, delete or fix something on your site you will have to wait for days if not weeks. You will also be charged. Hiring a web designer is like tossing money out the window if you ask me. Your other option is to do- it-yourself. The sheer amount of hosting companies that offer a template for you to build your business around is staggering. The best way to sort through the marketing hype and clutter is to do a gut check. What does your gut say when you read these hype campaigns to buy a domain, a year of hosting and a template to build your website for $60? Is it possible to invest $60 for the year and expect to have a legitimate and profitable online business? You tell me. What does your gut say? The bottom line is that there is a lot more to running an online business You need more than a domain, hosting plan and template. You need support. You need a way to rank well at search engines. You need to know how to rank well at search engines. You need to know the best way to earn income through your site. You need to be able to track each and every visitor back to the referring source. You need to know how each and every page of your website ranks at all the major search engines. You need to know exactly what to do to make them rank better. Click here for the complete story. »

Insights to Success

is a monthly article sharing challenges/learning opportunities encountered by our clients every month relative to their day-to-day business activities. All Insights to Success articles come from our clients' submittals. The format for the piece consists of a brief introduction, the respective challenge, and the solution. Create a Plan and Execute!-by Mark Levandowski The difference between the successful and the unsuccessful business can many times be found in the execution of the business owner's plan. With the pace of business activity ever increasing, owners are faced with the challenge of making a multitude of business decisions daily. These decisions can be related to virtually every aspect of the business. They can relate to operational and financial needs, employee activities, sales and marketing, or perhaps vendor relations, just to name a few. Many business owners dream of the day when their business operates like a well-oiled machine. But when will that time come? My machine is out of gas, is rusty, -with broken parts HOW and WHEN will I be able to pull it all together? Will it be this year, next year, or in 5 years? In may ways the entrepreneur can picture his/her company reaching new heights. However, the question remains, Can I achieve my goals? The answer is perhaps. The answer to many of the issues today lies within the framework of the business and its employees. Here are some helpful hints to improve the company's performance and position: -Don"t hesitate to ask for help.... As business owners we place undue stress upon ourselves to have the answers for ALL the issues with our company. Delegate to your employees. -Keep an open mind. Look to others for assistance. Sometimes it's a good idea to solicit answers and opinions from other professionals. -Understand your costs. How much does it cost me to open the doors each day? -Develop systems to ensure that your customers are satisfied and will return. -Create key performance indicators. Compare your company's performance to industry standards and your competition. -Don't hesitate to utilize technology. -Communicate Communicate... Communicate... Employees want to have input into the company's decision-making process. In many ways, they have the answers to your issues. -Attract and retain the right employees. Employee turnover is costly to every company. Seek out individuals that are qualified and want to make a difference. Click here for the complete story. Please Email your Insight to Success articles to the Success Connection Editor Chrystal Coffelt at ccoff909@kutztown.edu.