3 Vital Links for your business as you think about a computer purchase

At some point your business will begin to generate orders, and you and your sales, customer service, and accounting personnel will need to be able to track each order. There needs to be an inseparable link between 3 documents: your sales order (and its unique sales order number), your invoice (and its unique invoice number), and your packing list (and its unique pack list number). When you invest in a computer system and software for your business this is an absolute necessity!

The sales order must have a unique number so that sales and customer service personnel can track the customers order-by their purchase order through your computer system. This is very important in manufacturing type environments where orders can go on a variety of different holds. The computer system that you purchase should be able to accommodate items line item identification numbers or part numbers. The customers purchase order should be double verified for accuracy and prominently displayed on every document. There should also be a free form field for plant codes or blanket order release numbers.

All of the sales order information (including the sales order number) needs to automatically populate into the invoice. Information such as the pack list number also needs to be generated through the computer system and linked to the invoice and backwards into the sales order. Invoices need to be automatically generated overnight and mailed or electronically sent the next morning after shipment.


The pack list is a very vital document as most large companies are now paying from the pack list by the pack list number. This is the number that is most often showing on the customers check advice of remittance and the only way for your internal accounting department to determine how funds are to be applied when you receive a check from your customer.

Follow these ideas when your company is planning a computer system purchase and you will save many hours of aggravating mental labor.

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Sales-Networking is King

Sales-Networking is King


Before I entered the world of corporate finance, I was a more than pretty fair salesman (I made the million dollar round table). I learned outside sales the hard way-I started hauling around copiers in Oklahoma City in the back of a Chevy Chevette hatchback-yippee! I learned the basics of "prospecting," "cold calling,” "the demo” and "closing" the deal."

The sales game has changed however, salespeople no longer go business to business-I remember one time on a Friday there were 5 different sales guys (I was one) going up a skyscraper from different copier companies. Building security rounded us all up, and threw us out about 3:30-we all shook hands and went to a bar down the street to tell war stories. Frankly, that bit of networking was the most positive thing any of us did all day.

Networking gets you by the gate keepers who frankly are a waste of your time. So how do you find a decision maker, Try trade societies or clubs, sometimes large entities (like school systems or business incubators) hold vendor meetings (complete with food) and many are free. As a factoring broker, I met some of my best banking contacts at chamber of commerce meetings. My line was simple, send me who you don't want or can't work with (known in banking as "not bankable"). I will factor them, and in 18 months to 2 years, I send them back to you. When I speak with any client that you send me, I will only speak about your bank and your bank products. This was a promise I am proud to say, I always kept. After a while, the bankers I interacted with knew they could trust me. It worked both ways, when I found a client that I was ready to “graduate.” I always kept those bankers who gave me leads in mind if they had the right banking products.

That way my network grew and so did sales leads. It’s easier and far more effective to meet a friend (networking contact) or perspective new friend (from networking contacts -giving you a "warm introduction") than to be on the phone “prospecting.”

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SMB Tips for Exhibiting at Trade Shows

You've worked hard to start your small or medium business and establish yourself in the marketplace. Whatever product or service you sell, you're ready to reach more customers, get your name out there, and do more business. A great way to do that is by exhibiting at a trade show. You'll see as many potential customers in just a few days as you might during several months with your store or office. But what do you need to know before getting involved with one?

First of all, you need to know what type of trade show you're interested in, which means you need to really know who your customer is and what types of shows they attend. Sure, networking is great, but in addition to making contacts, you'll want to expose yourself to people who are going to buy your product. Make sure the trade show you attend is not "industry-only" and make sure attendees are the people who would want to shop with you. Talk to someone who is in charge and ask if they have demographic information from past shows - many do! You can also get information about various shows from a number of wesbites including Tradeshow Week and the Trade Show News Network.

You'll also want to make sure you stand out from other booths. If you're looking at larger trade shows, think about how you can make an impact. Often times, smaller businesses get lost in the sea of larger companies. Make your booth unique by using items such as audio visual rentals to attract attention or focus on the aspects of your product or business that are unique and promote them to stand out above the rest.

Make sure you reach buyers before the actual event. A great way to do that is with social networking websites such as Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn. If your company doesn't already have an account on these pages, what are you waiting for? Let your buyers know you're going to be at the show and encourage them to come. Most people don't attend alone and friends and family members may turn into new customers. Also, you might even find yourself in contact with other people in you business who can give you tips about the trade show and what you can expect.

Finally, after a trade show, you're more than likely to see an increase in business. Be prepared for this! Make sure you have the inventory and/or staff or be prepared to hire them. Also, make sure you hold on to contacts and follow up with both other people in industry and customers after the event is over. Remind them that you exist and your product is worth remembering!

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SMBs: Drive Sales & Get Noticed This Holiday Season

According to the Constant Contact Annual Holiday Survey, 52% of small businesses, who participated in the Small Business Holiday Outlook Survey, expect their holiday season sales to improve over last year. Last year, only less than a third of business owners were as optimistic. Constant Contact, a leading provider of marketing and survey tools for small organizations, said that many respondents expressed overall optimism about the state of the economy.

If you own a small or medium-sized business, chances are you are anxious about your own holidays sales, regardless of what your outlook on the economy is, here are some tips and recommendations for improving your sales and getting your company noticed, this holiday season:

1. Get Your Customers Involved - Survey your customers to find out what they'd like to see go on sale and use social media outlets such as Twitter and Facebook to reach customers and potential customers. If you decide to let a popular vote determine your sale products, chances are customers will pass the word along to friends and family who can also vote, in turn, getting the word out about your company.

2. Brand Yourself - Make sure you have a good company logo and use it everywhere, along with your name, message and tone. Consistency in communication is key and will help reinforce your brand.

3. Link Yourself - Have a company website? Company Blog? Company social networking accounts? If not, consider getting them and putting a little time and effort into them. Customers will use them to find out more about your company.

4. Host a Holiday Event - Show your customers how much you appreciate them by hosting a holiday-themed shopping event with discount incentives. Make sure you market and promote your event via social networks and other outlets.

5. Don't Forget Last-Minute Shoppers - They're out there. Don't stop marketing a few days before Christmas. Many people wait until after the holiday to their shopping, in hopes of getting great deals and customers are usually loaded with Christmas money or gift cards after the big day.

6. Remember Why You Stand Out - Do you customers return because of your excellent customer service or because you offer services that other businesses do not? Remind your customers of that every chance you get, through emails, your website, and any other marketing tools you use. Remember, not every customer is looking for the best deal.

Dell Lowers SMB Registration Threshold Deal

Computer manufacturer Dell has announced that it will be lowering the threshold for its SMB partner deal registration from $50,000 to $15,000, effective immediately. Dell says it wants to better protect those solution providers and expand the number of products and services that can now be registered. In the past, only EqualLogic products and opportunities could be registered below $50,000, but the changes are no open to all Dell products and services.

Paul Shaffer, director of U.S. marketing and operations for Dell's global commercial channels, said in a statement, "We see this as a great opportunity in the SMB space. We heard from our partners that doing $50,000 in sales was a lot for customers to be buying. We hope that lowering the threshold to $15,000 will create more opportunities for channel partners."

Many Dell resellers are already excited about the change, claiming it will make the company easier to work with. As a matter of fact, the changes come from feedback given to Dell from many solution providers, along with watching the positive response to Dell's European channel program's dropping its own threshold from $50,000 to $25,000.

Dell is also seeing a high number of registration approvals - 85% - and has already started adding more staff to help deal with what they hope will be a much higher demand in the future.

Before announcing the decision, Dell tested the program with a small number of pre-certified partners and say they were pleased with the results of the soft launch.

This is just the latest of several moves made by Dell in an effort to improve both locally and abroad. "We are committed to continuing to respond to the needs of our partners globally, as our decision to lower deal registration for our partners who serve SMBs in the U.S. and EMEA proves," Vice President and General Manager of Dell Global Commercial Channels Greg Davis said in a statement.