Sell your team on Customer Service

How do you get your team to really care about customer service? You have to sell them on it and then keep selling them on an ongoing basis. What is your sales message?
Customer service is not negotiable.
Take time with all those employees involved in a customer service failure and treat the instance as a crisis; debrief those involved; identify the learning opportunities within; and review the steps that should have been taken. Be prepared to remove team members who repeatedly fail to deliver good customer service. And don’t keep it a secret. The price for delivering poor service should be dismissal from your team.
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Due Diligence in Buying a Business Checklist of information can help identify concerns

Buying a business can be an overwhelming experience and locating one that fits your criteria is only part of the job. The real work, however, begins after the seller accepts your offer, because if you don’t perform proper due diligence, you could be in for some unpleasant surprises. You have the right as the buyer to all public and proprie-tary information that could affect the success of the business. And you should be able to take as much time as you need for due diligence in gathering this information. Your goal is to uncover any possible concerns such as liens, dated accounts receivable or unsettled government issues.
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Businesses Pay a Price When They Don’t Get Paid

Good communication is key when collecting receivables
Time is money. Vendor delays, equipment breakdowns and even a pileup on the freeway can result in wasted time and lost productivity. And how about accounts receivable? Have you ever put a price on how much it costs your business when customers take extra time to pay your invoices?
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Accounting Software Packages Overview

Does your accounting software meet your needs? Do you require more capabilities or easier navigation? PC Magazine reviewed four 2004 accounting software packages. We thought you might be interested in a synopsis of the article entitled Better Bookkeeping for Your Business. We surveyed our member companies and are also reporting on what works for them.
PC Magazine article Better Bookkeeping for Your Business
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NARMS Newsfeed

What if you could have pertinent retailer and manufacturer news emailed to your desktop in one easy to use format? NARMS is working on a way for that to happen.
NARMS is currently in a research and development phase of launching NARMS Newsfeed to its members. The electronic bulletin service is tentatively slated to appear as an email to NARMS members on Monday, Wednesday and Friday of each week beginning in April 2004.
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NARMS Website Activity

WWW.NARMS.COM continues to be a very busy portal for businesses and the public alike when seeking information about NARMS, its programs and its services. Never more so than in 2004. In 2003 the website was most active in October when the highest Total Pages Viewed (1.09 million), and the largest number of visitors (108,894) occurred. We are well over that amount in 2004.
In 2003 an average of 2,963 people visited the NARMS website daily. We have exceeded that average by more than 60% to 90% in the first three months of 2004.
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NARMS Membership Flourishes

Membership in NARMS continues to grow steadily. The growth rate has averaged 35% annually since 1996. In actual numbers, NARMS experienced its largest increase in membership in 2003 when 144 companies joined the Association.
Of the 376 members, 210 are merchandising service organizations, 71 are event marketing/demonstration companies, 23 are professional installation companies, 5 are mystery shopping/audit company, 23 are sales agencies/manufacturer reps, 26 are manufacturers and 18 are associate members.
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A Wingman for Success! Spring Conference Speaker

In today’s furiously competitive business environment, the organization that promotes and embraces a culture of teamwork and trust wins?and wins big. Winning, and not just surviving, requires companies to be proactive, anticipating strategic and operational changes before they occur. Moreover, gaining market superiority requires more than superior products, exemplary service, or leading edge technology. It requires motivated, skilled, talented and trusted people! Enter the wingman!
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Regrets

Recently, my wife and I sold or gave away almost 400 LP records. Some were 40 years old with Johnny Mathis, The Beatles, Bob Dylan (unopened) and some classicals including Fritz Reiner and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. Although the dealers told us there was little value in our collection, the process of sorting and review was difficult as it felt as if we were parting with something of ourselves. There was a nagging feeling that there was a “diamond in the rough”. It was an emotional experience.
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NARMS Announces Launch of Member Web Store

We are pleased to announce the upcoming NARMS Member Web Store featuring special member pricing. The Web Store will be hosted by The Jolesch Group, and will be directly accessible through the existing NARMS website.
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