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Edition 2 2009 the official magazine of the promotional industry A new breed of promotional stay at home mum Wintershow 2009 How to get media attention SPAM ACT – understand your rights Full details inside APPA ROADSHOW 2010 7BIE7L7?B78B;0 8;79>87BBI M;JM?F;I 9KJB;HOIB;;L;I 7bbD[mP[WbWdZWdZ FWY_ÅY?ibWdZ[dgk_h_[i YedjWYj9^h_ijWFWhibe[Wj Y^h_ijW6^WddW$Ye$dp I:A:E=DC: 1:.488!9511 ;G::;6M 1911.33.99.33 xxx/iboobnbudi/dp/o{ www.appa.com.au 3 Regulars Features How to get your name in the media 6 Prominent Promotional People Profile Michael Modgill 11 12 5 Southern Regional Report 9 NSW/ACT Regional Report 11 Northern Regional Report 13 New Members 14 CEO’s Message 16 New Zealand Regional Report 17 APPA Benefits 36 Prominent Promotional People Profile John Withers 18 Who is ? - PSI Limited 19 Wintershow 2009 gallery 20 Strong industry body 40 Prominent Promotional People Profile Arran Haydon-Clark 42 Distributor Benefits 38 44 Arrivals and Departures 42 Letters to the Editor 54 APPArition Advertising Booking Form 71 Business is tough Editorial – John Lees 15 President’s Report 46 and 67 New breed of entrepreneur 48 Editorial – Barry Urquhart 52 Focus on Decoration – Screen Printing 58 Editorial – David Blaise 60 What is Spam? 62 Training tips 66 40 56 Book your advertising Merry Christmas Happy New Year! from all the APPA Staff. Closing for Christmas between 18 December and 5 January Circulate APPArition magazine to Simply fill out and fax the booking sheet enclosed in this edition of APPArition magazine. Fax +61 3 9314 3042 Edition 2 - 2007 Advertising sales enquiries to Wayne Boswell – [email protected] Artwork Send your artwork (preferred format refer to booking form) APPArition Magazine c/o-APPA, PO Box 5161 Alphington VIC 3078 General APPArition magazine enquiries Wayne Boswell – [email protected] Publisher Australasian Promotional Products Association Design – www.strategydirect.com.au [email protected] Reproduction in whole or part without written permission from APPA is strictly prohibited. Opinions expressed are those of the individual contributors and not necessarilt those of the publisher. Information provided was belived correct at the time of the publication. MAGAZINE PUBLICATION: APPA and its officers, employees, contractors and agents (APPA) may not endorse or warrant nor have they verified in any way for the information ,products, services or particulars advertised. Views expressed in advertisements are those solely of the advertiser and APPA does not take any responsibility and will not be liable in any way for the information or services advertised. 4 www.appa.com.au Return APPArition to Welcome Narelle Beaton – Outgoing APPA President Dear Members, Welcome to the second edition of APPArition for 2009. APPA’s Annual General Meeting (AGM) was held on 30th October at The Point, Brisbane. The AGM saw discussions about APPA’s 2010 Annual Road Shows & Wintershow, the election of APPA’s new President to serve the coming term on the National Board and the successful completion of AGMs and elections in our regional chapters. As a long term member of APPA’s National Board I have had the opportunity of fulfilling the roles of both Secretary Treasurer and President. The past 4 years has presented many challenges and successes within the Promotional Products Industry. I will be stepping down as President and handing over to a new and exciting team which will be under the direction of Christa Parsloe (Hanna Match NZ) as President and Chris Terry (Nottage) as Secretary Treasurer. I am pleased with APPA’s accomplishments during this past year, as I hope you are, and look forward to working with APPA on the National and Regional boards in 2010 as an Office Bearer. During my time as APPA President I felt the accomplishments we achieved as a board were driven by the needs of both the industry and member’s themselves. This past year has been a challenging year with the economic climate in particular. We’ve made a number of critical decisions that required extensive research and problem solving to achieve the best results for the industry. Having the ability of taking off my supplier hat, and analysing the industry stance from a helicopter view has been gratifying. From the Industries perspective, it has been a year of challenges for many, with much debate about the Global Financial Crisis (GFC). Critical decisions made by our end users saw budgets cut in marketing and a general freeze on corporate expenditure. This is a time when our businesses needed to go back to grass roots, whether it be cold calling, mailbox drops, cross marketing or self promotions. It has been important to protect the margins on our products and sell ourselves on more than just a price. Not to forget the importance of loyalty, reliability and customer service in doing so. It is a time to expand our horizons and go out looking for new business instead of waiting for it to come to us. For the majority it has been a learning curve having not experienced such turmoil in business. So my advice is to listen, watch and learn from the people you met within the industry. The contact – For more information contact Narelle Beaton [email protected] The New Year brings plenty of excitement with lots happening in preparation for the Annual Roadshow kicking off in March. I recommend getting in early to book booths or registering to attend the shows. The confirmed dates are Melbourne 15th March, Sydney 17th March, Brisbane 19th March, Perth 23rd March, Adelaide 25th March and Auckland on the 26th of March. APPA’s Annual Wintershow is scheduled for Sydney August 17th-19th. By participating in these shows you are supporting the members and the association that supports you. I would like to take the opportunity to extend a big Thank-you to APPA’s employees for their passion, drive, reliability and dedication. We are very lucky to have such hard working and diligent professionals working in our association. Their enthusiasm keeps our association moving in the right direction, while we keep our business moving forward. A special Thank-you to Bill for mentoring me through my position as President and for believing in what I had to offer the Industry. It has been a privilege being APPA’s first elected female president over the past year, I am pleased with the associations accomplishments during this time. I look forward to working with APPA on the National and Region boards in the future. All the very best for the festive season and I look forward to seeing everyone at the 2010 APPA Events. Narelle Beaton I APPA President :: Christa Parsloe – Incoming APPA President It is a privilege and a pleasure to step into the role of President of APPA. For those who may not know me, I have over 20 years of industry experience working on both the Distributor and Supplier sides. I am currently National Sales manager for Hanna Match NZ. Some may remember my father, Mr. Lionel Parsloe, a life member of APPA and founder and former president of PPANZ. I have had 6 years experience on the APPA Regional committee and APPA National Board. Whether you have just come into our industry or have been around for many years, I encourage each of you to ask yourself as a member of APPA, what value can you bring to your association? It is not just what APPA can do for you, we as members each own and operate APPA. What can we do to keep professionalism, ethics and integrity growing in our industry? The technology of today isolates us in front of our computers too often. Collectively we can stand together to promote, educate and sell promotional products to the wider marketing community. APPA can support and encourage that; but only with your involvement. The contact – For more information contact Christa Parsloe [email protected] I look forward to working alongside the talented and dedicated suppliers and distributors who make up your National Board as we address the challenges and issues that face us all in business and as an association. All the very best for a safe and happy Christmas and New Year. I look forward to catching up in 2010. Christa Parsloe I APPA President :: www.appa.com.au 5 Howto get your name in t By - Neil Spark Interviews with the great man are rare. The reason: he shuns the media. He can afford to; he’s sold – and continues to sell – millions of albums. B ob Dylan is a legendary musician. For 50 years he’s been writing and performing songs that are part of our lives. He’s a celebrity but gets nowhere near as much media coverage as Britney Spears, Pink and lesser lights such as Paris Hilton. Interviews with the great man are rare. The reason: he shuns the media. He can afford to; he’s sold – and continues to sell – millions of albums. Chances are you are not moving millions of units of your product so you cannot afford to ignore the potential of the media to increase your sales. You may not become a celebrity with a household name but by following a few simple rules you can increase your chances of getting publicity and it won’t cost you anything – except time. To save time and make the media work for you, you need: 1. A goal. What’s the result you want? For example, sell more promotional products. Therefore, you need to get a story that highlights your company as a supplier of promotional products. More on that later. 2. Your market. Who are the people to whom you want to tell your story? Who are the buyers of promotional products? 3. 6 www.appa.com.au The media. What media does your market consume, i.e. what do they watch/read/listen to? For example, promotional product buyers maybe managers of marketing, marketing coordinators, events and procurement departments. This audience is likely to read Marketing Magazine, AdNews, B&T and other industry and event publications. There are publications, online or paper version, for the events industry. You can get more specific information from the publications by requesting an advertising ratecard. Although you don’t want to buy an ad, the rate card will give you valuable information about readership, i.e. the audience. 4. Message. What do you want to tell your audience? You should have not more than three points. Any more is ineffective; too much information. Your message is the most important part of the exercise because it is the basis on which a journalist or editor will decide whether or not your story will be used. What you have to say – to borrow from some other celebrities – Kath and Kim, has to be “unusual, different …” If a dog bites a person, it is not news but if a person bites a dog it is. Ask yourself: 1. What is my product or service’s point of difference? 2. Would it interest my audience? 3. Why is it worthy of a media story? When you’ve got that clear, the next step is to contact a journalist at the publication your audience consumes but before doing that ask yourself: 1. Does the story have mass appeal? Is it the kind of story you would want to read? These are the questions a journalist will ask him or herself. 2. What’s the biggest selling point, the point of difference? What makes what you have to say a story a journalist would be interested in? Whatever it is, say it first. 3. What are the three most important points? Write them down. They are your three key messages and they need to be short, sharp and succinct. If the journalist is interested she or he will ask for more information. You then need to write a media release. Communicating with the media – verbally and in writing – is all about grabbing and keeping attention. Media releases are like published stories and have a headline, introduction, middle and end. Headline: Must be attention-grabbing. Think of the headlines you read, they are all designed to attract attention. You need to attract the journalist’s attention. Remember, your headline is unlikely to be used (a sub editor will write it if your story is published). the media Introduction: Like the headline, it must also grab attention and deliver on the promise made by the headline. information in the release and help tell the story. Make them lively and show personality, if possible. Middle: An explanation of the who, what, why, where, when and how. These questions must be answered in short, sharp and succinct sentences. No sentence should be more than 30 words. Include speech quotations. 8. “Introduce” a person you are quoting by providing their title and name before quoting them. Do not go straight to direct quotes before saying who is giving the quote. (Otherwise readers will wonder who on earth is saying this…?) The end: Always include your mobile telephone number, make sure it is on and always take media calls. If you don’t answer, or the journalist gets voicemail, she or he may not ring back. Media release writing: 9 rules Correct style: Ramblings Industries CEO Gordon Yates said the company’s expansion would provide shareholders with unprecedented returns. 1. The headline must have impact for readers, be short and attention-grabbing. It is the most important thing you want to say (if you could say nothing else)! “Providing shareholder value, along with the best possible price for our customers has always been a high priority,” he said. “We’re excited by our growth plans.” 2. Incorrect style: “Providing shareholder value, along with the best possible price for our customers has always been a high priority. We’re excited by our growth plans,” said Ramblings Industries CEO Gordon Yates. The first paragraph – also known as the “lead” or the “intro” – should ideally be between 15 words and 17 words, 21 is okay, 25 is pushing it and 30 is the absolute maximum. 3. The first paragraph must have the most outstanding, attention-grabbing, significant fact. 4. The second paragraph has the second most important facts; the third paragraph the third most important; the fourth paragraph has the fourth most important and so on. No sentence should be longer than 35 words – and that’s the absolute maximum, not the ideal. 6. One sentence = one paragraph. Leave at least one line between paragraphs. Media releases are ideally one A4 page in length. 7. Information must be substantiated; i.e. credited to a source or person. Do not make broad or generalised statements without providing the information’s source; find an important, relevant person, research findings, survey results, etc. Quotes should be used to support the The contact – For more information contact Feedback [email protected] 9. Include a mobile telephone number and make sure it is switched on for at least 24 hours after the media gets the release. As you are not a Bob Dylan who doesn’t need the media, these simple guidelines are worth following. They are not guaranteed to make you a media celebrity but may prevent you from being a mug by ignoring the media’s potential to spread the word about your business and increase sales. APPA has used these guidelines to get our industry in the media in 22 feature stories across 12 publications this year! We encourage you to always mention you are an APPA member in any media release you write and feel free to ask APPA to provide a quote, it adds credence to your story. :: www.appa.com.au 7 www.appa.com.au 8 www.appa.com.au Southern – Regional Report W e all seem to be busy now, building up to Christmas. There seems to be lots of business out there, but it is more competitive and decision making is going up a rung on the corporate ladder! You do all the work for weeks and weeks…then the MD has to make a final decision and wants to make a change …but hey … he still wants delivery in 3 minutes…or yesterday! Just a little tip for those who may not use it already…put a note on all quotes and approvals: “Please note delivery date is calculated from the date of approval. Please approve promptly to avoid any delay”. Money is also tight, and when expenditure is down, cash flow can be a problem for everyone. We all want quality for nothing! Bad debts mean you need a gorilla in your accounts department. You are not a bank….!! ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING and DECORATOR FORUM We held our AGM and an educational on July 1st, with 14 companies attending and approximately 30 actual attendees. We were very grateful to John Carroll from Shiny, Paul Johnson from MK Promotions and Neil and Sue Shaw from Apex Printing who took us all through all the manufacturing processes of Embroidery, Screen and Pad printing, Foil stamping, embossing and debossing!! There is a lot of time and effort put into these presentations, and we encourage EVERY APPA distributor to send along at least one staff member who could learn about products and processes. We are frequently disappointed at the turn outs, when there is so often a grumble about what APPA does and doesn’t do for its membership! SO…stop grumbling and get to it!! We WELCOME your feedback and what YOU would like us to arrange on your behalf. Can you answer the following: What is sublimation? Can I sublimate on a towel? What is a dobby hem? What is de-bossing? ….if NOT…then make a point of attending the next APPA educational! CHRISTMAS PARTY: Our committee is a great team of both suppliers and distributors, so we have a good mix to get the feedback from both sides of the fence and we are organizing another Christmas get together for 2009. This year we are extending the invitation to DISTRIBUTORS to sponsor as well as our trusty suppliers. SUPPLIERS put their hands in their pocket for lots of benefits to us all, and it might be a kind gesture for you to offer your sponsorship by way of saying THANKS for the support. Please contact Jane Farrelly from Stream Solutions (one of our new Distributor Sponsors!!) who will be happy to give you all the info you need. Email : [email protected] NEW MEMBERS: We are pleased to welcome to the region 3 new suppliers and a new distributor!! SUPPLIERS Clap Banner Australia – [email protected] [email protected] Frampton Concepts – [email protected] Oddball Pty Ltd – [email protected] [email protected] Wallies Lollies – [email protected] [email protected] DISTRIBUTOR Showing Style – [email protected] [email protected] NEW SOUTHERN REGIONAL COMMITTEE - We would like to thank those retiring from the committee, Peter Stilanos and David Torrelli both contributed to the Southern region as committee members and were always willing to put their hand up and donate time and effort to the cause. THANK YOU. The following were elected at the AGMfor the new season: Joby Graves – Adprint- (03) 9799-7244 – Secretary extraordinaire and Education Tony Kopp – Arid Zone (03) 9695-9906 (Social and Newsletter) Jane Farrelly – Stream Solutions (03) 9674-6004 (Social) Les Frampton – Frampton Concepts (03) 9077-1045 (Membership) Mark Rae – EziTag ( 03) 9545 5401 - Membership Lindsay Tear – Gear Up - 0409 335 399 (Social) Mary Iles – Simba Towels (03) 9729 4955 (Education and Chair) The contact – Mary Iles Southern Region Chairperson [email protected] YOUR INFORMATION AND DETAILS: We all use the APPA website for various purposes, Blue Book offers, finding suppliers or distribu tor details etc. Did you know that you can update your details VERY easily? Just log in and click on EDIT YOUR DETAILS. Your committee uses these details regularly, so your help would be appreciated and will ensure we contact the right people on the right phone number etc.!! PERSONAL NEWS: a little hatching at Simba Towels – another addition to the Somaia family was born on October 1st. Mehul and Piyali were very pleased their new daughter Tiya was not born on the last weekend in September…I wonder why! Congratulations to one and all. Happy Selling! Mary Iles I Southern Region Chairperson :: www.appa.com.au 9 K N A H T YOU TO OUr spONsOrs! The NSW/ACT APPA Christmas Party was brought to you by the follow Distributors )) 10 www.appa.com.au Designed by MartyDaleyGraphicDesign NSW/ACT – Regional Report E verybody has a point of difference. It is what allows you to stand out from the pack. What is Yours? APPA’s Point of difference is that we are able to offer exclusive things to our members. The free Educational event we were proud to run was extremely well attended and much talked about. For me it was one of the highlights of the year. Watch out for follow up sessions early next year. We had a golf day where, while we had a small crew playing, they all enjoyed themselves and showed true spirit in battling the elements. Gents, I think we have converted some new lady golfers to the fold for next time, so watch out! We are already planning our next day for late summer 2010. This year’ Xmas party will be barefoot lawn bowls. It is sure to be a blast. We have 21 years of experience to offer our members and I always encourage you to contact any of the regional committee listed below. We are volunteering our time and our expertise to help you, the member. It is YOUR APPA. It is up to each and every one to get the most out of your membership. I encourage you to tell us what you want through phone, email or through the APPA forum. There seems to be much discounting going on right throughout the industry. I ask you to ask yourself one question, when you are discounting to buy business. Once I win this order with the lowest price, where do I go then? If a customer buys from you for the lowest price, they will expect you to be the lowest price for everything. Don’t sell on price, sell on points of difference. Personally I am looking forward to a challenging and rewarding year. Doom and gloom has gone as it always does. We ride the waves of the ups and downs of the business world but as professionals we always have our heads well above water. Find out what your point of difference is. And then SELL it. It is worth more than the product you are selling, it is what makes you the best! Your new 2009/10 Regional Committee is Doug Derriman – NSW/ACT Chair [email protected] Karen Long (National Representative) - [email protected] Christine Matta [email protected] Matthew Crozier [email protected] Kellie Nicholas [email protected] Eamonn Healey [email protected] And we welcome Eva Jarolim to the fold eva@ promobagsonline.com Doug Derriman I NSW/ACT Regional Chairman The contact – Doug Derriman NSW/ACT Regional Chairperson [email protected] :: www.appa.com.au 11 Prominent Promotional People Profile Michael Modgill – Embroidery Works Ltd Q Where’s Home? A Westmere in Auckland but originally from Taranaki! Q Best thing about your Job? A Probably the creative aspect of it – we give the item the personalization that will make it stand out or blend in. Q What’s your pet hate? A The old school way! Its 2010 nearly, systems and connected workplaces should be the norm! Q Favorite food? A Being the son of an Indian I would have to say I am partial to a good curry! Q First Job? A Working for Dad in his service station pumping gas and changing tires. Q A Best achievement – Business and Personal? There are a few! I think one of the most significant for me is the team at Embroidery Works – It has taken a long time to bring everyone together and it is a work in progress but our team is awesome! Personal Achievements are a little thinner on the ground. I have had 2 very successful car racing seasons where I finished a close second to some very good drivers! I also have 3 awesome daughters and it still amazes me that my wife said yes . . . Q What’s the meaning of life? A I suppose whatever works for you. When you have lots of distractions you don’t need to think about that! 12 www.appa.com.au Northern – Regional Report We survived 2009! Hooray! The Northern Region has been busy this year. Thoughts + Action = Results has been our motto for the Northern Region and has paid off. Our goals were to be more active in Education & Communication and we have achieved this with three educational events kicking off with the Port Tour earlier in the year, followed by an early start at Brendale for the Logo-Line factory tour and more recently the fabric forum in which the National AGM followed. Attending members from all events were extremely pleased with the efforts of all involved. On behalf of the Northern Region members, we’d like to thank those involved and their companies for donating their time and knowledge to make these events possible. Remember most APPA Education events are FREE. We all love free stuff! Education is so important, knowing your product will give you the edge over your competitor. The biggest social event on the QLD/NT calendar is the 2009 Be Seen, Wear Green Christmas Party being held at Irish Murphy’s on Friday 4th December. The committee has worked really hard to ensure a memorable night and truly appreciates the continued support of our sponsors to ensure the success of our annual social Christmas event. Any additional funds raised for this year’s Christmas Party will be kindly donated to the Spinal Muscular Atrophy Association of Australia Inc http://www.smaaustralia.com A fatal genetic condition called Spinal Muscular Atrophy. Unfortunately at present there is no known cure. Funds raised are on behalf of Jack, son of Steve Parry | Director, Stateside Distributors. Our membership is growing steadily and we welcome the following companies to the Northern Region: Products, Complete TAG Solutions, Nuscene ID Promotions, Urban Apparel and Marketing, The Sign Cellar, PKA Products and Prodigy Promotional Merchandise There have been minimal changes to our committee however we always welcome new committee members so if you would like to join our meeting, please do not hesitate to contact [email protected]. Meetings are held every 4-6 weeks at Murarrie. The 2009/2010 Northern Regional Committee will be as follows: Chairperson Joanne Cocking – Capital City Connections Secretary Melissa Ryding – Rippin Threads Merchandise Education Arran Haydon-Clark – Bloomfield Creations Social Melissa Ryding & Joanne Cocking Membership Mary O’Brien – Stickers & Stuff Newsletter Allan Murray – Epicentre National Board Rep Narelle Beaton – Logo-Line The contact – Joanne Cocking Northern Region Chairperson [email protected] I’d like to thank James McKay who has stood down from the committee this year for his input, support and dedication and would also like to take this opportunity to thank all the other committee members for their professionalism, commitment and hours of hard work to make our committee an enjoyable and satisfying venture. I could not have done this without you. We all look forward to creating a bigger and better future for our proud Association but we need your support. Please support the association that supports you. It’s a wrap and we look forward to a brighter 2010. Joanne Cocking | Northern Region Chairperson :: Suppliers: Ryan Bags, The Sticker Company, H2H Lifestyle and Krieger Textiles. Distributors: Rippin Threads and Merchandise, Star Promotional www.appa.com.au 13 New Members A warm welcome to the following new members Edition 2 - 2007 M/Ship Legal Entity Type State/ Contact Phone Country Distributor NSW 4Promote Matthew Bywater 02 9212 6600 Email Web address [email protected] www.4promote.com.au Distributor [email protected] A Uniform Choice QLD Helen Phillips 07 4053 4796 www.auniformchoice.com.au Supplier/ [email protected] Australian Corporate Diaries Pty Ltd NSW Scott Joyner 02 9654 2999 Distributor www.acdiaries.com.au Distributor [email protected] Brand 4 U NZ Jennie Giljam 64 9 4764444 www.brand4u.co.nz Distributor [email protected] Branded Concepts NSW David Anderson 02 8094 9180 www.brandedconcepts.com.au Supplier [email protected] Clap Banner Australia SA Craig Watts 08 8244 4488 www.clap-banner.com Distributor [email protected] CNC Promotional Products NSW Neal Connelly 02 9457 6776 www.cncpromo.com.au Distributor [email protected] Footprint Promotions Pty Ltd VIC Adam Courtney 03 9001 4962 www.footprintpromotions.com.au Supplier Frampton Concepts VIC Les Frampton 03 9077 1045 [email protected] Supplier Ikonink NSW Peter Berman 02 8007 6285 [email protected] www.ikonink.com.au Distributor [email protected] James Battlefield Ltd NZ Craig Rogers 64 4 3813032 Distributor Nuscene ID Promotions QLD Samantha Stenberg 0408 245 311 [email protected] Supplier Nordstrom International VIC Nick Hurst 03 9314 6953 [email protected] (Fruit of the Loom Range) Supplier Oddball Pty Ltd VIC Stuart Parry 03 9763 3866 [email protected] www.oddball.com.au Distributor [email protected] Oxygen Interactive Marketing VIC Mike West 03 9576 2244 www.oxygeninteractive.com.au Distributor [email protected] Pivot Marketing Limited NZ Denise Simpson 64 9 3789601 www.pivotmarketing.co.nz Supplier [email protected] Procard International NZ Paul Hodder 0800 776 664 www.procard.co.nz Distributor [email protected] Prodigy Promotional Merchandise QLD Leanne Warburton 07 3396 8111 www.prodigymerchandise.com.au Supplier [email protected] Promotherapy QLD Leilani Sanders 07 5471 0884 www.promotherapy.com.au Distributor [email protected] Sauce It Promotions NZ Jacqui Zorn 64 4 3809454 www.sauceit.co.nz Distributor [email protected] Showing Style VIC Felicity Rodgers 03 9429 7884 www.showingstyle.com.au Distributor [email protected] The Sign Cellar QLD Alan Dawes 07 3204 9580 www.signcellar.net.au Distributor [email protected] Urban Apparel & Marketing QLD Geoff Tarrant 07 3356 5673 www.urbanapparel.com.au Distributor [email protected] Vivid Promos QLD Ty Chandler 07 5449 1555 www.vividpromos.com.au Supplier Wallies Lollies VIC Peter Stapelfeldt 03 9899 4195 [email protected] Supplier Wenger Australia Pty Ltd NSW Larry Wainstein 02 9699 9922 [email protected] 14 www.appa.com.au www.wenger.com.au Speedy ar ty. I'm M aws & ! o l l r Ë he edy red rovals. Spe o a p p p rom 02 9802 1515 martydaley.com.au APPA baby boom Mother Member Company Babys name Sex of baby DOB Jen Bell PENLINE Mon Ami (Australia) Pty Ltd Oscar Clive Male 7th October 2009 Our little man arrived safely, weighing a mighty 4.35kg (9’10) and measuring 54.5cm. Mother Member Company Babys name Sex of baby DOB Kim Masefield Premier Balloons - Sanbrook Brands Kayla Grace Girl 1st October 2009 5 pounds 15 ounces. Kim finished work just ten days before giving birth to Kayla, although she was only 35 weeks Kayla was ready to join the world (perhaps a little too much like her mum, always in a rush!). She joins the ever growing Sanbrook Family and Kim looks forward to returning to work in early 2010. Kim’s association with APPA has meant lots of new contacts professionally and personally, thank you to all in welcoming Kayla Grace. This is definitely last baby for me, I think 5 children is more than enough and almost a little embarrassing when at each APPA road show I greet people pregnant once again!! www.appa.com.au 15 CEO’s Message 2009 - highlights and challenges T his has been a year filled with great highlights and difficult challenges. When APPA started the year we knew the Global Financial Crisis would hit our industry. APPA made a conscience effort to take our profits from 2008 (+$157,000) and reinvest it where members needed it most, back in to your pockets. We initiated a 27% discount off membership dues; which saved members over $60,000 in fees, we provided discounts for Suppliers who exhibited at both of our tradeshows, and we paid for important social and networking events when sponsorship was nearly impossible to find. The contact – William Kestin CEO APPA [email protected] www.appa.com.au Exhibition and show costs went up, but APPA kept our fees the same (which have remained the same for over 8 years). So, although we posted a loss of -$170,000 this year, over two years we basically broke even. Not bad for a non-profit association, given the fact we still rolled out more benefits than last year and increased our membership (when associations across the country were having record resignations). We are also very happy to report that the clear trend is that even more Suppliers will be exclusively exhibiting at the APPA shows next year. There will only be one show where you will find the 27% discount off membership dues; which saved members over $60,000 leaders in our industry, and that is APPA. Mark you calendars and book your flights, if you are looking for the major catalogues and ranges, you will need to look no further than APPA Convex August 17th-19th at Fox Studios Sydney. Of course before then, the touring Roadshows in March will also showcase many new ranges and some surprising new Suppliers who have worked with APPA to 16 www.appa.com.au launch their new business at the APPA shows exclusively. See the back cover for all our show details. But we are far from out of the woods. We will need to work together to bring the industry back. Each of us can expect that consumers will continue to be cross-quoting and attempting to push the price of our products lower and lower. We must fight this damaging trend. Undercutting the supposed competition in order to secure meagre business is bad business. APPA found when we did a mail out to non-members from another database that 30% of them came back ‘no longer in business’ or ‘no forwarding address’. The fallout is happening, and working on no margins will only add your name to the list. Personally, I’ve worked closely with the National Board to protect APPA’s interests, keep APPA on a path of integrity, and increase our profile while promoting professionalism not only to members, but to end users. I want to thank all the sponsors who did contribute this year. They sacrificed funds when it was very difficult to do so. I would also like to thank the APPA National Board. Each of them provided guidance, support and encouragement that helped APPA achieve many successes this year. I especially want to thank our President, Ms Narelle Beaton for volunteering countless hours needed to run the association. Her work ethic and steady hand helped to keep APPA growing and changing with the times. I want to personally thank my staff for providing exceptional work in a very busy and stressful year. Yashodha, Wayne and Kellie are to be commended for always putting the members first and working countless extra un-paid hours to meet our member’s expectations. Finally I would like to wish each of you a joyous holiday season and a happy, safe new year. We will come together next year, hopefully rested and ready to make 2010 profitable, successful and happy. All the best William Kestin I CEO APPA :: New Zealand – Regional Report B y the time we all read this another year will be drawing to a close and things are looking far more positive from a New Zealand perspective. As an Association we have had a busy six months with the New Zealand Committee working very hard to ensure our members reap the benefits their Appa membership brings. Our wonderful secretariat Kellie Tremayne has worked tirelessly in this her first year with us, to establish herself and to put together our trade shows and table tops and to bring on board some fantastic service providers. We are proud to include the following within that category; Hayes Knight Accountants, Keily, Thompson, Caisley- employment law specialists, Courier Post and TNT, Air New Zealand with Koru Club membership, and AEL Legal- cash flow and debt management specialists. Socially we have had a full calendar with a mid Winter Christmas get together in July featuring an evening with Phil Madsen a very talented singer songwriter. Our most recent Quiz Night in October was so close run it resulted in a four way tie breaker which was very exciting! This year our Christmas Party was held in Parnell, Auckland on Thursday 19th November, it was a sell out event and a great night out. I’m pleased to say we have also been able to provide a wide range of factory visits and educationals including the fabric forum which was most informative. This is being presented in Australia as well so make sure you attend if you get the chance. Our AGM was held in late September and I’m pleased to report the committee for this term is as follows; Cheryl Rae, Presents of Mind – Education Simon Morgan, Key Imports – Social Sandra Thomas, Bic Graphic – Membership/ Social Sara Shepherd, Promo Product Solutions – Membership/ Education Andre Schenk, Design A Gift Promoworld – Education/ Membership Christa Parsloe, Hanna Match New Zealand – Chairperson/ National Board representative. Dates to look forward to; Roadshows across Australia and in Auckland in March 2010 and Convex Show in Sydney August 17th, 18th and 19th. The contact – Christa Parsloe New Zealand Region Chairperson [email protected] All the very best for the upcoming festive season. Stay safe and keep busy. As a committee we look forward to catching up for a drink and a chat at the next event. Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year Christa Parsloe I New Zealand Region Chairperson :: www.appa.com.au 17 What are Members saying about the Wintershow 2009? • APPA 09 “I think Yashodha, Wayne & Bill + the Team organise the event extremely well - nothing is too much trouble - so thanks for that!” • “The staff at APPA always are pleasant and are so easy to deal with. Rotating venues will help.” • “All good and once again helpful APPA staff, they have it all for you when you need it, forgotten staples, bubble-wrap, extra boxes, thanks so much!” • “APPA show was great, Steve and I could not keep up with enquiries. The response was overwhelming. The show has maintained our focus.” • “We found it to be a well run and professional expo. Thank you” • “The difficulty for APPA exhibitors is fragmentation of the visitor and exhibitor numbers between opposing shows. APPA will need to continue building its attraction to potential members, both by its credibility and exclusivity. About 60% of my promo products re-seller sales are to APPA distributors, so if APPA can keep adding quality members to significantly expand show visitors and exhibitors, then I’ll be happy to drop APE completely.” • “This was our first APPA exhibition and the quality of leads was so much better than we expected! We will definitely be exhibiting again. Traffic through the exhibition was steady for both days. I might suggest a 3pm close on day two. Quality of the visitors were exceptional, leads generated gave us a chance to promote our company well, thanks again!” • “A great show, congratulations to APPA Staff, Regional and National Boards, your commitment and dedication is inspirational.” • “The show worked very well for us and we congratulate the APPA team on their efforts.” Prominent Promotional People Profile John Withers – JPS MARKETING LTD Q Where’s Home? A Browns Bay on Auckland’s North Shore. Q Best thing about your job? A Variety! To be able to work with just about any product. If one product is down, another one will be up! You can’t say that about many jobs. Q What’s your pet hate? A People that don’t delivery what they say. Q Favorite food? A Scallops and anything that can be done on the BBQ! Q First job? A Export clerk for international supplier company. A great experience to have for our company. Q A 18 www.appa.com.au Best achievement – business and personal? Business – winning 32 promotional marketing industry awards, 17 on one night. Personal – having an active involvement in the development of a special needs child and winning top trophies in sailing and golf. Who is PSI Limited? P SI is a specialist print company. We recognize the value of brands in todays market, and the expertise to reproduce your brand, logo or promotional message on a wide range of shapes and a variety of different products and surfaces including textiles. Single or Multi-colour prints, whatever the shape or surface – round, curved, cylindrical, vertical or horizontal, on plastic, glass, wood, aluminium or a speciality surface – PSI has the experience and the know-how to handle the job. Who and how many staff? PSI has in the last 12 months developed its Core Promotional Products range. We saw the market needed more than one choice in product wholesaler and print shop combined and knew with our resources and knowledge that this was the logical progression for us. Along with wholesaling has come the ability to indent direct for customers and this side of our business has also been growing. Our Mission Statement Tracey Phizackerley – Managing Director Connie Leat – Production Manager Sandra Wilson – Head of Art Department Mabel Zhang – Indent Specialist / Accounts George Irwin – Factory Manager PSI has a fulltime staff of 17 and we have a pool of casuals we also call on. The contact – PSI Limited Tracey Phizackerley – Managing Director Ph: 09 636 4851 Fax: 09 936 4867 Email: [email protected] www.psinz.com For an expert job….ask the experts – We look at every job and will not approve it if we think we can do better. Our Best Kept Secret Nothing - we share all the good bits with our customers. Shhhh don’t tell anyone but the 5 people listed have a combined knowledge in the print and promotional industry of 75+ years. :: www.appa.com.au 19 7INTERSHOWGALLERY 20 www.appa.com.au APPA 09 www.appa.com.au 21 7INTERSHOWGALLERY 22 www.appa.com.au APPA 09 www.appa.com.au 23 7INTERSHOWGALLERY 24 www.appa.com.au APPA 09 www.appa.com.au 25 7INTERSHOWGALLERY 26 www.appa.com.au APPA 09 www.appa.com.au 27 7INTERSHOWGALLERY 28 www.appa.com.au > APPA 09 Sharon Wills, The Promotions Bank won best hat of the night! www.appa.com.au 29 7INTERSHOWGALLERY 30 www.appa.com.au APPA 09 www.appa.com.au 31 .:4ABLETOPGALLERY 32 www.appa.com.au How do I win an APPA Award for promotional excellence? We often get asked how do we win an APPA award? What is the secret? Here are some helpful hints when entering your promotion for judging. First a few facts. The APPA Awards are judged by independent senior members of the marketing community. Judges include the Editor of Marketing Magazine, The Editor of New Zealand Marketing Magazine and A Director of the Australian Marketing Institute who is currently a professor at Sydney University in Marketing. Judges are unaware of which company has entered which promotion. The APPA Awards have generated thousands of dollars in business for the winners. The free publicity of having the winners featured throughout the year in multiple publications supplies a steady stream of interested new clients. The Winning entries receive free professional photos of their promotion along with the written case study for use in their own marketing. Promoting yourself as a winner of an APPA award has proven to not only generate business but has been acknowledged by many winners as the key factor of winning tenders against competitors. New Rule: APPA has added this new rule when entering the awards: • All entries must adhere to copyright and patent protection laws or they will be immediately disqualified. If it is found that any product/products entered contravene any exclusive distribution arrangements, patent or copyright, the entry will be disqualified. This will apply even if the promotion has already been awarded. It is the Distributor’s sole responsibility to ensure that these ethics are upheld and members could face censure or fines for knowingly entering illegally copied products. WHAT DO THE JUDGES LOOK FOR? Short, sharp, succinct bullet points explaining the creative and logistical aspects of the promotion. Try to keep your entry to less than 3- 4 pages. 100% creativity from the promotional company. Judges are impressed when a simple or vague brief is fully realised by the Distributor thus helping and surprising the consumer. Success statistics about the effectiveness of the promotion. It doesn’t have to be a multi-million dollar promotion to win. But if it can be statistically shown that the objectives of the promotion exceeded expectations, that’s a plus. REMEMBER: ALL SALES FIGURES AND CUSTOMER CONTACT NAMES ARE KEPT CONFIDENTIAL. If a promotion has increased sales by 50%, we will endeavour to use those figures without naming actual dollar amounts. Please specify in your entry if there are ‘percentage of effectiveness’ statistics you do not want published. ALWAYS ensure you have included your Client Verification Letter/ Email. Some excellent promotions have been disqualified because the client verification letters were not included. Presentation, presentation, presentation. Attractively prepared and packaged entries help showcase the promotion. It doesn’t have to be a multi-million dollar promotion to win. Highlight any way you have gone the extra mile for your client. This is a service industry and the award winners should showcase that promotional advertising is not just about ‘products’ it’s about service and creative solutions. Last but not least, look to enter some of the less entered categories to increase your chance of winning. The “Business to business” and “Consumer Programs” are always the largest categories entered. Look to find great promotions in some of the other categories, it will give you a greater chance of winning. We look forward to all of your entries. Help us showcase the best our industry has to offer. See you at the awards ceremony in August! :: www.appa.com.au 33 APPA National Board Members 2009/2010 Edition 2 - 2007 The contact – William Kestin Christa Parsloe Narelle Beaton Chris Terry CEO President New Zealand Region Representative Education Director Northern Region Representative Secretary/Treasurer Jehad Rasheed Clive McCorkell Karen Long Communications Director Membership Director Southern Region Representative Social Director NSW/ACT Region Representative [email protected] www.appa.com.au APPA NZ mid winter get together Earlier this year APPA members got together for the Mid Winter Christmas at the Marsala Restaurant in Mission Bay. We were thoroughly entertained by the extremely talented Phil Madsen. Everyone had a fabulous night and it was great to see so many Suppliers and Distributors at this event. Special thanks must go out to the following: • The APPA Regional committee for organizing another successful social event. Arranging these events take time out of their busy 34 www.appa.com.au weeks but they are always willing to step up and ensure everyone has a fun night out. • Key Imports, Europawatch and Headwear kindly put some money on the bar and for some delicious food platters. • APPA NZ Region also has a “Social Fund” which is used to subsidize some social events. Thanks to the following generous suppliers their contribution. Key Imports, Hanna Match and Tuapeka Gold Print. :: Add real impact now from our stock range Take a style and make it your own Your promotion is guaranteed to be successful when you choose a quality umbrella from our stock range. Made with sturdy frames and fabrics ideal for screenprints or transfers, let your logo go y g make a real statement when yyou g with an umbrella from Legend Life. With 10 colours and 12 styles to choose from, make your own combination for maximum impact in even the wildest weather! Your logo will look totally unique when you get creative and go Legend Express. And the good news is that it’s just a 6 week turnaround from digital sample approval approval* *Minimum order of 100 pieces per design and colour. STYLES AVAILABLE www.appa.com.au 35 APPA bottomline b Great value for APPA Members in 2009 – APPA Memberships from our Service Providers who offer exclusive discounts to al Apex Insurance Brokers Saving members over 40% off their previous rates – Now more than ever, income protection and liability insurance is crucial. Contact: [email protected] Ph: 1300 85 APEX The Qantas Club A verification of membership letter from APPA is required to redeem this benefit. 1 year (inclusive of joining fee) $555 (usually $775) 2 years (inclusive of joining fee) $800 (usually $1100) Contact [email protected] Blaise-Drake & Co International Promotional Product Sales and Marketing Training Contact: [email protected] or [email protected] Ph: 0011 1610 685 9700 Fastway Couriers A verification of membership letter from APPA is required to redeem this benefit. Contact: [email protected] This is an Australian service only. Pantheon 5% discounts on specific upgrades exclusively for APPA members. The Xebra system covers sourcing and quotes with images, through accounting, “the ultimate software for Promotional Products Distributors”. XebraSource™ and MyPromoSource. Contact: [email protected] Ph: 02 4389 8600 AdNews 10% discount advertising rates in the Promotional Directory and 30% off subscription price. Morgan Consulting (AUS Nationally) Specialising in recruitment services – finding and retaining the right talent has never been more important. Contact: [email protected] Ph: +61 3 9600 0535 Ryders International Freight Forwarders (New Zealand) Contact: [email protected] or Ph: 64 9 275 5229 36 www.appa.com.au Couriers Please A verification of membership letter from APPA is required to redeem this benefit. As of January 1st the Blue Coupon rate may be changed to the Yellow Coupon rate on outgoing packages (Depending on your routes driver). Unfortunately, the Yellow rate is more expensive than the Blue rate. Couriers please has reduced their National discounted rate to APPA. Contact: [email protected] Micro 2000 Australia Provide DRAWings 4 and Corel Draw packages to APPA members at a discounted rate. DRAWings 4 uses it’s own graphics engine or Corel Draw to constantly produce professional embroidery faster and better than traditional digitizing packages, at a fraction of the cost. Suitable for start-up embroidery businesses or experienced digitizers. Contact: Hugh Wingate [email protected] or Ph: 02 4257 4144 Blue Book & Blue Blast Worth over $30,000 in discounts exclusively for APPA members. Contact: [email protected] Australian Air Express Bags A verification of membership letter from APPA is required to redeem this benefit. 1Kg Airbag – $7.00 |3Kg Airbag – $ 7.50 5Kg Airbag – $12.00 Contact: [email protected] Prolease & Finance Pty Ltd Help members overcome obstacles with: Motor Vehicles, Equipment, Property and Cash Flow. Finance specialists with discounts exclusively for APPA members! Contact: Alan Sacharowitz [email protected] Ph: 02 9906 1164 Mob: 0404 884 321 For a friendly helping hand with the financing of your next purchase... AEL Legal offers a unique product called “The Black Book”, which is Call Alan at Prolease our letter based service, where our collection costs are NOT onor a on 02 based 9906 1164 email [email protected] percentage but is a FIXED PRICE with APPA members paying $60.80 per outstanding debt. This service has on average a 90% success rate. For APPA members receive a discount of 20% off other services. enefits provides tangible value ll APPA Members. TNT Discounted rates in Australia and New Zealand. TNT is one of the world’s largest freight providers and offers APPA member’s exclusive rates on both Road Freight and Air Freight. You must have a letter of authorisation from APPA to receive this discount. Contact: [email protected] TNT Australia – [email protected] or Ph: 02 8304 8008 TNT New Zealand – [email protected] or Ph: +64 9 256 7893 MediaBizNet MediaBizNet is a new directory, search and networking site for the media and marketing industries. MediaBizNet has a special introductory rate for APPA members. Currently every member already has a free listing, and only APPA members are allowed to be listed in the promotional products section. Enhance your listing for less than $40 per month. Contact: [email protected] or James Winter – National Sales Manager Ph: 02 9327 3876 www.MediaBizNet.com.au CourierPost is one of New Zealand’s premier courier providers, with a reputation for the speedy and reliable delivery. CourierPost is now offering exclusive additional benefits to APPA members. As a member of APPA, CourierPost is happy to offer special pricing across our entire product range, i.e. trackpaks, parcel tickets, freight forwarding and our Eco range. To take advantage of this offer, simply contact us to arrange either an account with CourierPost, (or for existing customers to arrange an amendment to your current pricing). Contracts will be on CourierPost’s standard terms and conditions for business customers. For more information simply contact: [email protected] for the necessary forms to complete. Allens Arthur Robinson (Intellectual Property Law Firm) 20 minute free Kiely Thompson Caisley is a boutique law firm which provides specialist employment law and industrial relations advice. They have offices in Auckland and Wellington. Special offer to APPA Members 15% discount off the fee component of their first bill. Opportunity to attend at no cost a series of 6 free employment law seminars in a group of 12 or more small business owners. Contact: [email protected] for more details Discounted PMS Books from APPA Pantone Colour Guide – Solid, Coated and Uncoated for $187 AUD, $195 NZ and Metallic Boos $99 AUD, $102 NZ (all inclusive of GST). Contact: [email protected] or [email protected] Free APPA Educational DVDs APPA supplies 9 free titles of educational DVDs for members to train their staff. Contact: [email protected] or log in and order from the APPA online store at: www.appa.com.au Marty Daley Graphic Design With years of industry experience and offers special rates exclusively to APPA members. All forms of graphic design, logo re-draws, artwork preparation and artwork approvals. His expertise and pricing provide excellent benefits to APPA Members. Call to find out more. Contact: Marty Daley [email protected] or Ph: 02 9802 1515 Hayes Knight is an innovative chartered accountancy practise. We offer APPA members a 10% discount off the time and cost of preparation of your annual financial statements as well as free attendance to our regular Business Booster and Business Evaluator seminars and workshops. consultation in every region including NZ. Contact: [email protected] for information SGS Product Testing, Product Inspections Overseas, Product Safety Reports. Contact: [email protected] or [email protected] Ph: 03 9790 3400 www.appa.com.au 37 WHAT’S IN IT FOR ME? PLENTY! Permanent Savings for Distributors APPA has negotiated with Suppliers to offer exclusive pricing benefits on each and every order to members only! Australian Printed Ribbon 10% off normal whole sale pricing EXCLUSIVELY for APPA members [email protected] I 03 9544 0034 Boost Up Pty Ltd Order over 50 pcs of any JACKET and receive - FREE Embroidery (up to 5K stitches) - Plus FREE Set-up – RUSH ORDERS may incur additional charges - Excludes discounted products. [email protected] I 03 9770 8339 Cash’s (Australia) Pty Ltd 10 % discount on 1 – 150 pieces. 15 % discount on 151 – 500 pieces. 20% on a volume of 500 + pieces. These prices will apply to the final quote. Exclusively for APPA members. [email protected] I 03 9781 2655 City Life (Aust) Pty Ltd APPA has negotiated with Suppliers to offer exclusive pricing benefits on each and every order to members only! This is in addition to the $30,000 worth of discounts currently available through the APPA Blue Book. Through additional discounts from TNT, Australian Air Express bags, Insurance rate reductions and QANTAS Club, members are saving thousands of extra dollars every years. On every order placed with the following Suppliers, you receive additional bottom-line savings for being an APPA member. APPA - over 21 years of industry support and services helping your bottom line with every order. 5% discount on every order EXCLUSIVELY to APPA members. 5% discount ex gst for watches, packaging, setup. [email protected] I 0417 752 180 DLG Designs t/a A Royale Corporate FREE SET UP on all orders over 50 units. This offer relates to TIES and SCARVES and is a permanent discount for APPA Members only. [email protected] I 1300 MY TIES ( 1300698437) Europawatch & Design Pty Ltd Exclusively to all APPA Members, 5% permanent discount off our price list on every order. [email protected] I 1800 008 511 Noveltees Pty Ltd Next Quantity Pricing Break on all orders EXCLUSIVELY for APPA Members. Offer extends to Contract Printing and all Products! [email protected] I 02 9905 0847 Premium Apparel Ltd A Discounted Price List for APPA Members only - Please call or email us for a copy. This is a permanent discount. [email protected] I +64 9 528 9977 Suppliers interested in joining this program should contact either [email protected] or [email protected] www.appa.com.au 39 APPA Importance of a strong T he past year has seen significant changes through the Global Financial Crisis and as a Promotional Marketing Industry our members are facing similar challenges. Today more than ever, a strong, unified “Industry Body” through APPA is critical, and your continued support is paramount to this success. The importance of APPA to our industry is paramount. Hours of tireless work is done behind the scenes to develop, support and represent our Suppliers, Distributors and Industry on the whole. 3. Conciliation and Arbitration: Unaware to many members, APPA on a daily basis is working with both Suppliers and Distributor through arbitration / mediation / conciliation. Our goal is to ensure our Industry is represented in the spirit of fair play and upholding the values of our Industry’s expectations. A strong Industry body is critical in representing all areas of our Promotional Marketing Industry and here are a few points of interest that illustrate what APPA provides to its members daily. APPA’s involvement through mediation and arbitration has increased dramatically over the past 12 months; resolutions have produced very satisfactory responses and in turn protected important business relationships. What does APPA do for its members? 4. TNT and AAE Freight Offers: APPA has received outstanding feedback from members on their significant savings in the APPA TNT Freight Offer. “We are saving over 40% on what we thought were great rates previously” says Bruce Bunn of The Carbine Collection. APPA members also spend over 2.5 million dollars on our AAE airbag deal. These offers are tangible substantial savings that pay for your membership many times over. 1. Promotions and Advertising: APPA represents the voice of our Industry and is continually supporting and financially investing in communication pieces through a wide range of forums on behalf of its members. APPA has represented its members in 22 feature stories in 12 publications over the past year including: Adnews, B&T, Marketing Magazine, Direct Magazine, New Zealand Marketing Magazine, Auckland Today, Wellington Today and Canterbury Today. 2. University / Education: The past 12 months has seen APPA actively presented to over 4,000 University marketing and event management students in Australia & New Zealand about how to use promotional products in the marketing mix and the importance of using APPA members. APPA has spoken at Monash University, William Anglis Institute, Victorian University, Box Hill Tafe, Sydney University, Canterbury University and Otago University. 40 www.appa.com.au APPA views this as a critical program to further strengthen the importance and understanding of Promotion Marketing in the budgets of our future Marketing Managers. The students of today are your clients of tomorrow. 5. National Road Shows and Trade Shows: Although we are a non-profit industry body, we still require income to provide the many benefits we regularly provide. APPA derives 2/3 of its income from our National Convention and Roadshow Trade Events. That is only one of the reasons it is imperative that members provide their full support of these shows by attending and exhibiting. APPA shows provide members with a screened, ethical and qualified environment to conduct the best business possible. Our screening process ensures only legitimate Suppliers exhibit and only legitimate resellers attend. APPA is proud to boast a long list of exclusive exhibitors who only show at the APPA tradeshows. g Industry Body These companies including most of the major promotional products Suppliers in the industry across many product categories. APPA is the only show that provides a full, detailed contact list of attendees, thus providing no room for exaggerated numbers and unsubstantiated claims 6. APPA Awards for Promotional Excellence: APPA, through its annual Pyramid Awards, provide members the opportunity to be recognised for their creativity and imagination throughout the year. This recognition showcases our members on the National stage and has provided many new business opportunities for the winners. APPA Award winners are featured in many editorial articles in business and marketing publications. A Winners Supplement is often inserted into the magazines and some select case studies are featured in public lectures on the industry that APPA conducts at university and end-user events. Both Suppliers and Distributors are acknowledged and it is the best social event on the APPA calendar. 7. Industry Recognitions: APPA represents the Industry by acknowledging its pioneers and its budding youth that makes our Industry so unique. APPA Awards exceptional contributions to our industry through our Life Membership, Industry Distinction Recipients and Generation Next Awards which are given at the Awards Night Gala. Currently APPA has 9 Life Members, 6 Industry Distinction Recipients and the inaugural “Generation Next” award has been won by Simon Morgan from Key Imports NZ in 2009. 8. Regional Committee / Industry Training: APPA has 4 Regional Committee’s (Southern Region (WA, VIC, SA & TAS), NSW/ACT Region, Northern Region (QLD and NT) and New Zealand) who work to ensure our members are given the opportunity to educate, communicate & socialise throughout the year. APPA has established training sessions for its members including supplier factory tours, decorator forums and sales training. New and engaging topics are always being launched and are FREE OF COST for members. Business is about building relationships, and APPA social events facilitate the perfectly safe environment for industry professionals to share ideas and experiences. 9. SEEK / Employment: APPA’s website provides members with the opportunity to advertise “vacant positions” within the industry FREE OF COST. This offer includes a number of listings which appear regularly on SEEK that drives traffic to our APPA job board. This greatly enhances your opportunities to gain the best person, to a broader market, free of charge. We also allow CV’s to be posted by potential candidates which members can review and contact for interviews. APPA is proud to have filled many positions in the industry through this free service. 10. Blue Book, Discount Offers: APPA’s “Blue Book Offers” provide Distributor members over $30,000 worth of discounts while offering Suppliers the opportunity to promote their products and services. Further saving opportunities include discounts on business financing, Qantas Club Membership, Apex business Insurance, Pantheon Software package discounts, AdNews subscription at 30% off and 10% off advertising rates, highly discounted PMS Books and FREE APPA Educational DVD’s. APPA has also recently negotiated flat discounts on every order placed from 9 APPA Suppliers exclusively for APPA members. On behalf of the entire APPA Board member, we hope this information gives you a better insight to the work APPA as an Industry Body does for its members and look forward to your continued support in the coming travelling road shows and importantly the August Trade Show. Sincere Regards Jehad Rasheed Board Member - Communication :: Regular social functions include Tenpin Bowling, Golf Days and Christmas Parties which are opportunities for networking and sharing of vital industry information. www.appa.com.au 41 Arrivals and Departures Garment Printers have moved. EPIC IS ON THE MOVE! New contact details will be effective as of Monday 23rd November 2009. They are now located at: 59 Denison Street ( Le Forge Building) Camperdown NSW 2050 Phone: 02 9557 4222 Fax: 02 9557 4211. ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– Gautam Sharma is the new contact at Fossil Australia. Email address: [email protected] ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– Crippz (Auckland) and Crippz (Wellington) has a new owner – Rick Kuluz. Office & Warehouse address Unit 3, 21 Bearing Road, Seven Hills NSW 2147 PO Box 397 Baulkham Hills NSW 2153 (remains unchanged) Ph: 02 9620 7700 Fax: 02 9620 6700 Email: [email protected] ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– Farewell Mark Reynolds. Farewell Mark Reynolds from Osmosis who has relocated to their London Office, the new contact is now Pearl, welcome aboard. You can contact Rick on [email protected] –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– Doug Derriman has left Epicentre and is now a National Sales Manager at New Waves Merchandising. You can contact Doug at [email protected] ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– Kiely Thompson Caisley. New Zealand Members had the valuable opportunity to attend a series of 6 FREE seminars on Employment Law over a six month period conducted by New Zealand’s leading employment law firm, Kiely Thompson Caisley (New Arrival APPA Service Provider). Congratulations to Monty’s Promotions Winner of the “Best Promo Company in NZ” award in the 2009 People’s Choice Corporate Events Guide. Prominent Promotional People Profile Arran Haydon-Clark – Bloomfield Creations Pty Ltd Q Where’s Home? A In Tallebudgera Valley, part of the Gold Coast Hinterland – be jealous. Q Best thing about your Job? A The opportunity to make things better than they were before. Whether it’s through creative ideas, innovative solutions, better systems or just plain honest feedback. Q What’s your pet hate? A People that can’t use Ctrl+X, Ctrl+C and Ctrl+V and resort to right clicking, I HATE THAT! Q Favorite food? A Fresh veggies from the garden steamed and served with sour cream and grated cheese. Q A First Job? Newspaper delivery (12), Dishwasher (14), Petrol Station Attendant (14), Landscaper (16), Ticket Sales at Ski Resort (16), Self Employed (16) , Waiter(17), Fitter-Turner (18), Electronics Technician (22), R&D Technician (23), Draftsman (24)…then here…and every one of those jobs has taught me things I use almost everyday at Bloomfield Creations except maybe the Waitering job…I was terrible at that one. Q A Best achievement? Business & Personal Business – 2nd place in Queensland in Shell Livewire Business Plan competition with Bloomfield Creations business plan in 2002 Personal – getting hitched to a hot Sheila from Australia and moving to Australia narrowly beats winning 4th place in the North American Inter-Varsity Public Speaking Championships in 1998…beating last years World Champion from Harvard (who was admittedly pretty hung over at the time) Q What’s the meaning of life? A Whoever dies last, wins. 42 www.appa.com.au Custom Made Jackets and Dyesublimated Garment SpecialiSt EXPRINDENT ESS coming so on ww w.indentexpress.biz Level 1, 45 Whiting Street Artarmon NSW 2064 Ph: 02 9432 3888 Fax: 02 9432 3866 email: [email protected] 95 new giftware items + new colour ranges New for 2010 With over 119 exciting new 8ViVad\jZ 24 new writing instruments Over 1,000 item instock 119 new products products added to our already extensive range, we’ve now got more than 1,000 products instock and ready for delivery. We’ve also extended the colour ranges of our favourite products, further extending your branding possibilities. lll#DGHD#W^o www.appa.com.au 43 Business is Tough – Now wha By - William Kestin S elling in difficult economic times requires strategy and being open to doing business in a different way. Although the sprouts of economic recovery are promising, our industry is still facing the challenges of marketers holding on to their budgets tighter than ever before. products in a self promotion to your clients? (yes, Suppliers that goes for you too!) – WAKE UP! How can you expect to effectively sell promotional products if you are not showing your clients how it’s done. Distributor and Supplier self promotion’s should be flooding the market place now… Cross quoting and hard price negotiations are a part of most initial briefs these days. But what do the experts say on the best way to succeed in these conditions? APPA is happy to provide some answers: Explore Other Low Budget Marketing Opportunities – Are you offering your services as a public speaker that might get you in front of more clients? Are you networking at industry and other business events? Are you getting your company in the editorial stream of major media by writing effective media releases? Focus on Value – Highlighting the total value of what you are selling is crucial. This includes service and delivery targets, guarantees and safety assurances and quality checks on all provided products. Don’t let yourself get caught in a price war, this is above all an industry that is ALL ABOUT SERVICE and FOLLOW UP. Engage Right Brain Thinking – Left brain technical thinkers might be good in some parts of you business but when selling as a consultant you must use your right brain. Be creative, come up with new ideas, network at your client’s office and build human connections with others, ask about and solve challenges, and simply listen. Persistence – Never give up, work through any challenge or issue, work through the difficult clients, don’t throw in the towel, you need to persist through your failures and persist to get better on your own success. Nothing in the world is perfect, the successful promotional product professional understand that being persistent is the key. Connect with your clients, now more than ever. Continuous Learning – You have to be a continuous learner, and not always in your profession, learn something. So many jaded promotional product salespeople and business owners think they know it all. Doing successful business evolves, are you evolving with it? Practice What You Preach – Are you using promotional 44 www.appa.com.au Connect With Peers – Hard times in the form of industry shakeouts impact more than just your business. Another useful approach is to apply the wisdom of crowds. A term coined by James Surowiecki in his bestselling book The Wisdom of Crowds, this asserts that group wisdom is greater than the individual. APPA Events supply the perfect opportunity for this. Using the crowd wisdom philosophy allows you to extract the knowledge and best practices applied during a business slump. Fundamental Focus – In good times, business comes easy. Your sales presentation or marketing may be less effective but will get results. Surviving hard times requires going back to fundamental principles of business. Doing regular financial checks, providing sales training, managing your customer relationships, all fundamentals that need to be re-learned and re-visited. Maintain a Strong Cash Stream and Vehement Collection Policies – Liquidity problems are the major downfall of any business. Don’t borrow from Peter to pay Paul. Apply cost cutting measures that don’t impact on your delivery and service abilities and don’t let your clients use you as a bank. Watch your stock inventories – But don’t get caught holding them down too far which will loose your sales. Typically during a slowdown, there is an imbalance between slumping sales and at do I do? bloated inventories, look at excess stock and create a weekly monitoring system that collects information for your next reorder. Don’t just dump discounted stock into the market. Strategically contact a few key clients to see if they would be interested in a one off discount on a item that would give them a market advantage to sell it at a great price into their client base. This moves product without devaluing the perception of the item altogether. Make a Statement – Make sure your financial statements provide information that is timely, relevant and accurate. Cash flow statements are superior in this regard to income statements and balance sheets. Be able to project where you will stand three months in advance. Negotiate When Necessary – Negotiate with suppliers, contractors and landlords for better prices or short-term reductions, and even consider trading goods and services on a barter exchange for credits instead of for cash. Prompt Payment – Take advantage of supplier discounts for prompt payment, and don’t pay cheques for no-discount bills before they’re due. If you have cash flow problems, talk to creditors BEFORE the bills are past due. You will have a much better chance of cooperation if you speak to them before overdue notices go out. Where you can, always pay bills on time, good payers get better treatment in hard times than consistently late payers do. Separate the “nice to do” from the “have to do,” and eliminate nonessential expenses as much as possible – Ask yourself, is that activity necessary? If not, don’t do it. Also consider cutting personal spending. Simple solutions such as brown bag lunches and car pooling can make a difference. Watch & Build – Build up your capital reserves and watch the credit-worthiness of your customers, even bread and butter accounts. Remaining close to existing customers, and checking to see how they are getting on during the economic downturn. This will help avoid unpleasant surprises but should also lead to new opportunities. Head off eager competitors and encourage all sales people (including yourself) to call on every customer on a regular basis. Offer long-term contracts with your most important customers and offer prepayment incentives. Look for opportunities to reduce rented space – If, similar to many companies, you acquired space in anticipation of staff expansion that ultimately proved unnecessary, this may be a good time to sublet that space. Consolidate operations and remove unused equipment. Make sure your space isn’t draining your bottom line. Be prudently aggressive in the marketplace. Actively seek new business, and perhaps add a salesperson or two or an extra service to give you the edge over competition. New staff can be managed in creative ways such as freelancers, short term contractors or part time employees. Timing is everything – Great service cannot be overstressed. Studies show that perception of service is fixed primarily in terms of time in a customer’s mind. Three examples are: waiting time to obtain service; reaction time to deliver service; and length of time of the service. According to studies if consistent updates are provided to customers, they are willing to wait longer for the service or product to be provided. Communication is the key. Advertising Check List: • Monitor your competitors’ advertising. If they’re cutting down, consider increasing your advertising budget and hitting harder. Center your message on benefits and advantages such as convenience or efficiency (rather than making emotional or price appeals). • Use direct-response advertising techniques. A strong call to action. • Avoid ads that look like ads. Make them appear to be vital messages to the consumers offering them the most value for money. • Stress quality and durability. Consumers are looking for as much value as possible in a weak economy. But don’t actually use the words “quality” and durability,” as they have degenerated into advertising cliches. Show, don’t tell. • Study advertising research thoroughly. Know which page positions get the most attention. which copy works effectively, which colors work best. Get Staff on Board – A team effort is always the best effort. For example asking staff how they can see costs cut without layoffs. Shorten hours, job sharing, ideas on boosting productivity, foster ideas for a team spirit of survival. You might not always be able to ‘show them the money’ but studies show that ‘showing them the love’ can be just as effective. Goodwill surprises (doughnuts or lollies) hand written thank you notes for their hard work and employee recognition for achieving targets. :: www.appa.com.au 45 John lees Editorial The code to use and remember for mutual sales success is…“213” The contact – John Lees Consultant – Sales and Marketing [email protected] www.johnlees.com.au I f you were to imagine that the market you serve is made up of three specific layers, each representing a key stage in mutual business success…you would see this image: 1. Buying How to use the ideas featured in this article: The question to ask is this: Do our sales people use code “123” or “213”? 2. Succeeding 3. Consistent The only way to answer this is to work with sales people; ask them to do a trial sales presentation to you, or watch the way they work at market level when selling to customers and prospects. If you are quite sure that code “123” is currently being used by most or all of the sales team (this is the case with most organizations), the obligation is to work with the team to create a code “213” sales approach (see the latter part of the article for the steps to take), after which the team must practice using the approach until they are confident and fluent in their use of the new approach. The ideal step after that is to direct each team member to select one customer and one prospect to sell to, using the code “213” approach, as a way of practising…before going to market and talking to all customers and prospects. Your notes on action to be taken on the topic covered in this article… 46 www.appa.com.au So, the code “123” does not work because you will be blocked at point 1, and 90% of sales people ‘try’ to do business at this point and they are constantly knocked back in the process. As with touching a faulty appliance and getting an electric shock, getting rejection from customers and prospects is not something you want to keep doing…and so sales people become tentative and sometimes apologetic in their behaviour. This way they can make ‘calls’ and not feel like a leper, for the simple reason that they don’t actually reach the point of talking business! Customers and prospects don’t complain of course, because almost nothing happened, so what is there to grumble about? Staff always dance to the tune of management, and so if managers accept responsibility for this sad state of affairs they can change it any time. The code to use is “213” and this involves selling ideas to create improved performance for the customer (at level 2), then organising a purchase (at level 1)…and, finally, making it your business to ensure that the customer achieves continuing success with your product (at level 3). This is how to use code “213”: Briefly explained, the 1st layer concerns the purchase of a product (or service) by the customer; the 2nd layer relates to the success (or failure) experienced by the customer when using or reselling the product…and the third layer refers to the ultimate selling goal, namely that the customer continues to enjoy success with the product. With this clear picture in view, it would seem obvious that the code to use in creating sales success is “123” – meaning that the customer must buy first, then use or resell the product… and then experience success or failure in the medium to long term (or short term, in the case of failure). This code does not work though, for two important reasons. The first is that the customer or prospect will already have a buying arrangement in place for the kind of product you sell, and they will not want to change this arrangement or add to it, because what they buy now is likely to be quite satisfactory. If your product deal or price is very low then you might stand a chance at level one, but this stance is of course self-defeating. Buying ‘on price’ is also a dangerous path for customers and prospects, because they don’t know what your supplier service performance is really like, and they must be wary of using false economic platforms within their businesses (e.g., what if you can’t sustain the lower price?). • Following a brief introduction, you inform the customer or prospect that you assume that level 1 is being taken care of, and so you make it clear that you are not there to suggest alternative buying arrangements • You then make it clear that you (your company) specialise in creating improved results for customers, and then provide information that shows the difference between ‘basic’, ‘better’ and ‘best’ results…during which time the customer will ‘see’ where he fits in the performance spectrum. You then ask incisive questions that will tell you if the customer is at ‘basic’, ‘better’ or ‘best’ • You then explain how ‘best’ results are gradually or immediately achieved, and suggest a simple, acceptable trial plan to work together, without interrupting the current buying arrangements (the plan involves a purchase) • You then work to ensure success for the customer, and if success is achieved, you will put yourself in a strong position to reach level 3. Code “123” is unproductive and depressing. Code “213” lifts both sales and motivation. :: www.appa.com.au 47 There is a New Breed of Entrep O Our industry has always provided for work/life flexibility. That is one of the reasons such diverse Distributors have been so successful. APPA has seen a new breed of Mum’s who want to stay relevant in business, but still raise their family. They call themselves ‘Mum-preneurs’ (Women working from home while raising children) and it is a trend that can’t be ignored. There has been a recent surge in home based businesses and almost half are run by women. Many contributing factors have caused this including lack of paid maternity leave and more recently by the economic downturn. However, the internet has made setting up a small home-based business both obtainable and cost effective. We spoke to Miki Massey, founder and director of the online eco merchandise store Positive Impact . Miki was forced - or as she prefers to say “gently nudged”, into setting up a home based business at the end of last year. “When I returned from maternity leave I was made redundant and like many others at that time I had to review my options”. Massey says, “I had always been a business woman but a greenie at heart, so I decided to combine the two and start my own business.” The growth of the ‘Mumpreneur’ sector has lead to numerous online support networks. Massey comments, “I feel inspired every day by what other women are achieving not only here in Australia, but around the world. It is really encouraging to see women really are doing it for themselves (and their families). These networks help particularly on the hard days”. We asked Miki some questions about being a work at home Mum: Do you, as a working Mum in the promotional industry, rely more on local Suppliers? Yes we rely mainly on local suppliers and in an ideal world, being a green company we would only sell local products. Currently this is not feasible but in the future we hope to stock 48 www.appa.com.au more Australian sustainable / recycled products and just deal with local suppliers and manufactures. Do you import at all yourself? Yes we do occasionally import bamboo USB’s and Lanyards How do you stay motivated working at home? With limited time available you have no choice but to be motivated and use your time as effectively as possible. It is also essential to take time out for a coffee or a lunch break and where possible it is good to get out of the house for these. That way you get a proper break and don’t have to clean up afterwards! Given your time constraints, are you more selective of the local Suppliers you use? What informs your decision on who you deal with? My business only sells green/sustainable products so I am limited to the number of suppliers I can use. Suppliers are selected on their environmental policies, product credentials and ethics. Members can check out the link to the questionnaire we sent to all suppliers http://positiveimpact.net.au/product-sourcing How much does a local Supplier’s on line service capabilities influence your choice of Suppliers? If so, who do you find the easiest to work with? Accessing information online (out of office hours) is very useful but generally my client requests are specific and require direct contact with my suppliers / decorators. All my suppliers are great to work with. What happens if your clients want to see you face to face? How often does that happen in general? I schedule all my meetings on Mondays and Fridays when my 20 month old toddler is in day care. My husband also helps if I have a breakfast meeting or a networking evening. Most clients are time poor and prefer to receive information via email and samples in the post and therefore only have a preneur couple of meetings per week. I always prefer to meet face to face but it is often difficult to get in to see them. Do you protect your margins even though you’re working with lower overheads? As a business it is essential to protect our margins, however being a start up business there are some instances where I have had to decrease my margin in order to be competitive, but I am very selective about when I do that. There are times I am unsure how some of my competitors are able to operate with such an aggressive pricing strategy and low margins, but I feel selling on quality is more important than selling on price. It is important to educate today’s clients on what is comparable. Given the fact that much of your client contact is over the phone, how do you structure samples with your clients? Samples are sent in the post with a request to return if an order is not placed however this rarely happens so I have had to allocate a budget to allow for this. Once the business is established we might set a policy where samples have to be purchased but in the interim this budget has to be considered as marketing. Thank you for your honesty and time Mumpreneur, Miki Massey. We wish you luck and great business success! Email: [email protected] :: APPA Health Know the Difference between a Cold and H1N1 Swine Flu Symptoms SymptomCold H1N1 Swine Flu Fever Fever is rare with a cold. Fever is usually present with the flu in up to 80% of all flu cases. A temperature of 100°F or higher for 3 to 4 days is associated with the H1N1 flu. Coughing A hacking, productive (mucus- producing) cough is often present with a cold. A non-productive (non-mucus producing) cough is usually present with the H1N1 flu (sometimes referred to as dry cough). Aches Slight body aches and pains can be part of a cold. Severe aches and pains are common with the H1N1 flu. Stuffy Nose Stuffy nose is commonly present with a cold and typically resolves spontaneously within a week. Stuffy nose is not commonly present with the H1N1 flu. Chills Chills are uncommon with a cold. 60% of people who have the H1N1 flu experience chills. Tiredness Tiredness is fairly mild with a cold. Tiredness is moderate to severe with the H1N1 flu. Sneezing Sneezing is commonly present with a cold. Sneezing is not common with the H1N1 flu. Sudden Cold symptoms tend to develop over a few days. Symptoms The H1N1 flu has a rapid onset within 3-6 hours. The flu hits hard and includes sudden symptoms like high fever, aches and pains. Headache A headache is fairly uncommon with a cold. A headache is very common with the H1N1 flu, present in 80% of flu cases. Sore Throat Sore throat is commonly present with a cold. Sore throat is not commonly present with the H1N1 flu. Chest Discomfort Chest discomfort is mild to moderate with a cold. Chest discomfort is often severe with the H1N1 flu. www.appa.com.au 49 Your customers value the quality of their brand, make sure their gifts do as well For over 100 years Parker, through quality and craftsmanship, has encapsulated the personality and reflected the passion of the people who use them. Through innovation and inspiration, Waterman fine writing instruments use a variety of materials, colours, designs and styles that reflect their rich history while celebrating individuality and elegance. For More Information: 130 Denison Street, Hillsdale, Sydney NSW 2036 Ph: 02 8336 6900 | Fax: 02 8580 6370 P.O. BOX 605, Matraville NSW 2036 | [email protected] www.penline.com.au Barry Urquhart Micro firms are not small Business The contact – Barry Urquhart Economic Forecaster Ph. 08 9257 1777 [email protected] www.marketingfocus.net.au THE AUTHOR Barry Urquhart is Managing Director of Marketing Focus, Perth, a full service market research and strategic planning practice. Barry is an internationally recognised conference keynote speaker, facilitator of business development workshops and author. He has worked with big and small entities throughout Australia, New Zealand, Britain and North America. Barry Urquhart is author of the two largest selling books in Australasia on quality customer service, being:“Serves you Right!” “Service Please!” Labels can be misleading. By nature micro-businesses have five or less employees, including the owner. However, throughout the world micro entities are big business. Time spent on administration, marketing, selling and networking can be all consuming, with little immediate returns. The financial imperatives of generating cashflow and earning need to be forsaken, even if for a short time. Systems, structures and resources are typically limited and often not cutting-edge. They are small. Many are dynamic and innovative. Individually, businesses in this sector have been greatly impacted by the current economic turmoil. Finance lead-times can be short and margins wafer thin. Conversely, a full commitment to “doing the job” can have significant adverse intermediate and longer-term consequences. Neglecting administration, marketing, selling and networking can be perilous. It’s a fine line between the two. Cashflow is often the true and central lifeblood of such entities. The categorisation “credit card” financial management is an over simplification and harsh judgement. However, these aspects and references are indicative of opportune realities for this business type and those who seek to service them. All too often micro-businesses do not have comprehensive, detailed and objective business plans. Cashflow projections documented by external accountants do not suffice. Many are in reality documented hopes, dreams and aspirations without addressing the issues of “why” and “how”. Collectively, micro-businesses are numerically greater than the number of medium sized and major regional, national and transnational corporations which operate in Australia, New Zealand, Britain and North America. So, one should be driven by and needs to respect the underlying philosophy of economics. That is, the allocation of scarce resources. The skill set and entrepreneurism of the owners are often insufficient to generate growth, beyond the initial years of trade, and to sustain competitiveness and advantage. That may explain in part why many in this subgroup do not aspire to substantially grow their operations. That mindset and parameter is often not recognised or respected by external consultants. Increasingly, the greatest and most widespread needs for micro-businesses are integrated systems, structure and discipline. In short, support and infrastructure. During the past three decades, major corporations have learnt and profited from the utilisation and marshalling of the capacity and drive of small and micro-business. Countless supply chains exhibit the evidence and consequences of downsizing, outsourcing, re-engineering with the proliferation of micro-businesses. Buying groups, marketing networks, franchise chains and operating co-operatives provide immense scope if and when they are able to overcome one major impediment. That is, the allure of the desire for independence by small business owners. DIVISION OF LABOUR The lessons of the past have been lost on, or possibly have never been learnt by, many contemporary owners and managers of micro-businesses. Frederick Taylor has long worn the label of the father of “Scientific Management”. His research, findings, philosophies and applications about the division of labour were the touchstones of mass production, which was instrumental in the growth and success of entities like Ford, General Motors and General Electric. Regrettably, the science of mathematics work against microbusinesses. The capacity for division and multiplication is limited with a maximum workforce of just five. 52 www.appa.com.au SMALL THINKING One epidemic which pervades the current crisis ravaged global marketplace, including among micro business owners, is short term, negative and small thinking. A strong focus on cutting costs can and often will achieve the set objective … to save costs. The unanswered question is: “At what cost?” Growth, enhanced margins and increased customer satisfaction appear to be off the agenda. That is lamentable and often unnecessary. Considerable value is possible from an effective and objective skills audit of all employees. Emphasis and priorities can be set, reset and refined. Complementary skills and resources may be necessary. Most important and often overlooked is an analysis and determination of what is the driving force of the business. It may be production, services, sales, research, product development and logistics. Cross referencing the two sets of findings can be enlightening, highlighting strengths, competitive advantage, gaps and deficiencies. It can also register and quantify the advantages of being part of grouping, regardless of its individual character and structure. That is the true worth of the division of labour. AN IMPORTANT FOOTNOTE In these testing times, nepotism can and often does come to the fore. Looking after those in the nuclear and extended family is understandable, possibly laudable. However, in business it can be simply dumb. The issue is not family employment, but rather skills deployment. Our DNA and genes are not necessarily the best proconditioners for sound employment and deployment decisions, be it first, second or third generation. Micro entities and business at large deserve better. That in itself is a rare, unique and disciplined science. :: [Advertisment] www.appa.com.au 53 Letters to the Editor What your fellow members saying about APPA and the issues that face our industry. The contact – The editor [email protected] www.appa.com.au THE EDITOR We welcome all APPA members to submit their comments good and bad to the Letters forum. Dear Editor, Dear Editor, Firstly want to tell you how great I though APPA show was. Very professional looking – all stands were innovative, colourful and exciting to attend. I also want to thank the APPA staff who have been so helpful when I need assistance in contacting Suppliers I met but have misplaced their business cards etc. Great job on the 2009 APPA August show. I’m getting some good early follow-ups from Wintershow visitors already! Once again – congrats on a great show! Dugal McIntyre, Manager Corporate Solutions Akubra Hats Pty Ltd Dear Editor, Alison Handley, Office Manager I INFOCUS merchandising Dear Editor, Excellent to hear the August APPA 2010 Convex is at Fox Studios, then we can shop while we’re there! We thought the Wintershow 2009 was really good, we didn’t have too much new stuff, but it was good to just speak to customers and get feedback etc.. Well done and many thanks. THANK YOU APPA for a great show, We thought the show was exceptionally good, all suppliers that were there, were great and the best part was not having to sort through all those dodgy Suppliers. The quality of exhibitor made my job 100 times easier. Thank you and Have a brilliant day! Lisa Gork I Sweet Memories Promotional Gifts Pty Ltd Kate Richards, Promotional Department PENLINE Mon Ami (Australia) Pty Ltd Melton Enterprises www.meltonenterprises.net Specialising in Sporting Goods Bags Packaging Promotional Items Tea Towels Linen Goods 54 www.appa.com.au 10% OFF* WSH-BK, WRI-SS & WRI-LE ORDERS *ORDERS MUST BE PLACED PRIOR TO 31 JAN 2010 FO R R D ER HE O N OM T EA R C F A E L R P CE R MO XCELLEN O 0 0 E E $10 ECEIV PIECE TI M E E AN D R G R AN YER M S RDSR COLE A C GI F T Y L I F E F O N CIT ATIO TAC T C ON E IN FO RM R MO www.citylife.com.au PHONE 0417 752 180 EMAIL [email protected] APPA Focus on decoration Screen-printing APPA Focus takes a closer look at decoration processes and shares valuable information with our members. The contact – The editor [email protected] www.appa.com.au What products or surfaces DO work best for screen-printing? Flat, smooth, single layer surfaces are best suited to screen- printing. 100% cotton fabrics poly/cotton blends, most nylons, vinyl, calico, transfer papers, corflute and metal sheeting THE EDITOR We welcome all APPA members to submit their comments good and bad to the Letters forum. What products or surfaces DO NOT work best for screen-printing and state those that do not work at all. Heavily textured and/or curved surfaces are not suitable for screen-printing. Products with multiple layers/linings do not work as well as single layered products as movement can occur giving a bleed on logo’s which result in blurry images. What kind of life expectancy does your work offer? So long as textiles are washed as per the care instructions and other screenprinted products are not subjected to mechanical damage; the print will last the life of the product. Key factors are good curing and correct ink selection to ensure this. What would you consider is an advantage to your decoration method? Screen-printing has the ability to produce strong vibrant spot or process prints on woven textile products at high production rates resulting in low per unit costs. It also allows for relatively large images compared to other print processes. What would you consider to be a disadvantage on your decoration method? The resolution and detail we can achieve with current screen-printing technology has been pushed to its limits, while digital printing can achieve high resolution it is generally at the expense of vibrancy What is your average lead-time or what would you consider is right? 10 working days is average however it is important to be flexible in this industry and often “standard” lead-times are depending on size of order and receipt of stock and artwork. What is the average set-up time and run length (in units) for a job? Of course this varies with the complexity and quantity required for the job. A single colour print may take an hour to run film, prepare a screen, mix ink colours, select squeegee type and produce a test print, consequent colours may add 15 – 20 mins each to prepare and register before a test print. The same applies to the actual production run; the run generally starts with test pieces and a slow pace to ensure consistency 56 www.appa.com.au and is gradually sped up. For example on a run of 1000 the first 100 may take an hour while the last 400 are completed in just under an hour. Flatbed screenprinting machines for signage and poster work can do as much as 600 single colour prints per hour; same can be said for clothing printing, however often these figures are distorted as there are many factors during printing that will slow this down rates such as 300 units per hour. Are repeat set-ups a simple task and do you need to charge for this? While repeat set-ups are in theory simple, again this varies with the complexity of the job. Assuming the screens have been filed and not reclaimed they still need to be prepared for ink, set in the machine and registered before a test print is produced. The need to charge repeat set up varies with the complexity and size of the job. On 25 units with multi colour prints to waive repeat set-up is simply not commercially viable, on 5000 units with a 1 colour print it can easily be covered in the print cost. All that remains from a previous printed job is the film, hence repeat set-up costs. Is sampling recommended? This depends on the supplied art, the expected result and the size of the run. For example 4 col process on 5000 dark shirts should always be sampled while 1 col black on 50 white tote bags shouldn’t require a sample. Is there a rejection rate in screen-printing? A rejection rate of 1% is considered to be the industry norm. This applies to number of prints not number of units printed, a T-shirt printed 4 colours front, back and each sleeve has a much higher chance of one of the prints to be rejected compared to a 1 colour 1 position print. What is the best artwork file to supply for screen-printing? Encapsulated post script files [EPS] in vector format with Pantone fills and outlines and text converted to curves. What is 4 colour process and what does dot gain mean? 4 colour process is a method of screen-printing photo-like images. Colours and tones are achieved by the combination of the 4 process colours Cyan, Magenta, Yellow and black printed with a half tone, a series of different size dots that go together to make up the image. Dot gain is when the print result varies during a run due to ink build up in the screens resulting in a change in individual dot size and therefore the final image. Screenprinters need to take extra care with 4 process printing and often these orders are slower to produce, the upside of this process is that the end result shows many different colours hue’s compared to spot printing. What does the term screen rulings mean for printing jobs? The number of half tone dots available to be printed both across and down the screen and angle they are set at. For example 55 line at 45 degrees indicates 55 dots in a linear inch running at an angle of 45 degrees to the vertical.Note that screenprinting on garments requires a much courser dot size as to plastics as ink deposits vary greatly between the 2 substrates. Can you create different effects? Specialty inks like glow in the dark, glitter and high density ink can be used to create different effects. Foils can be applied to shirts which require printing prior to foiling. What is a white base? A layer of white ink printed under colours on dark products to return the product to a mock white so true designs can be presented in their required colour scheme. Note that even though you create a white base for a design, should this design have strong white images within then these need to be printed with a second white layer, which we call “high whites” it means that only these parts of a print are printed in white on top of the base white. What is ink curing mean? All inks must go through a curing cycle to ensure longevity, curing is achieved by heat, evaporation or chemical reaction to bond the ink to the substrate What does dye migration mean? Dye migration is when the dye in the product is drawn out during the ink curing process affecting the print result. 100% polyester is most susceptible to dye migration , so are certain nylons/lycra’s. Is printing over edges/seams achievable? It can be achieved without a noticeable distortion of the print image where it covers the seam or runs off the edge, years ago orders would be rejected for finishes of this kind whereas today this is considered to be a “modern look”. Out of all the various promotional products available what is the most decorated product within your line of work? T-shirts and non woven totes. However we print anything from windsocks to tablecloths, umbrellas and many more items. Are PMS colours reproduced easily and do you quote your PMS colour reproduction in Coated or Uncoated colours? Yes, PMS colours are reproducible and the use of coated or uncoated colours as a reference generally depends on the product and the colours to be printed. As a rule we aim to match Coated PMS colours for the majority of jobs. The ability to match coated or uncoated colours is largely dependent on the pigment concentration of any given ink colour and the colour of the product to be printed. A special mention needs to be made when using white bases under colours; some colours will work brilliantly on white base such as yellows, reds, greens but blues are sometimes not as successful due to the pigmentation properties of inks. www.appa.com.au 57 APPA Focus on decoration Screen-printing Does it matter if a client informs you what surface/product you are going to decorate prior to receiving to goods? Being aware of the product specifics prior to production allows better preparation for printing and the opportunity to test print substrates, certain artwork application need to be followed for particular materials, so yes a proper description by way of code and colour mentioned on the print order reduces delays and confusion. Could you tell us of a situation where you were not able to decorate an order successfully? There are certain print orders which are not as successful as others, such as extreme print sizes on products, such as umbrellas, bags and compendiums. You need to keep in mind that we are working on fully manufactured products and may well be printing on surfaces which have multi layers, pockets and other accessories. Experienced printers can advise clients almost instantly if this is going to pose problems, we have seen situations where distributors don’t accept our advise on prints/positions and this resulted in high rejection rates. If there is anything that you can inform the Distributors of today so they can speak in confidence on screen-printing what would this be? After more than 34 years screen-printing the best thing I can advice is: 58 www.appa.com.au Remember The 10 demandments 1. Research any prospects logo’s and designs before you decide on decoration methods. 2. Ask for, no, demand, correct art. They have it and have paid dearly for it. 3. Check that the supplier of the product proposed recommends screen-printing as a decoration method. 4. Ask for a sample of a previously printed product so we know the clients expectations 5. Anticipate the use and handling of the product by the end-user/recipient. 6. Demonstrate that high end decoration does not lift the value of a low end product. 7. Communicate to your printer EVERY aspect of EVERY job. 8. Ask your clients what they expect of the decoration result and relay that to the printer. 9. Allow enough time for the printer so the best result can be achieved. 10. Be sure the product will remain fit for its purpose after decoration. :: Tax break can save you thousands I t’s been over a year since the Global Financial Crisis triggered the downfall of Lehman Brothers and the share market collapse. Since that time most of the advanced nations of the world have gone into recession. If one takes a moment and thinks about the position they were this time last year, it would be difficult to say (provided you have your job and your business) that we are worse off now. Interest rates are the lowest they have been in more than 30 years, although now on the increase. The government has been giving hand outs and tax breaks; I would argue that some people and companies which have been “Lucky” enough to ride out the recession storm are in a far better position in comparison. Individuals received 2 handouts of $900 most of which the government proudly states has gone back into spending. For businesses, the tax breaks that have been granted have provided the economy with much stimulation. (The actual cost will only be known after July 2010) One tax incentive that I would like to bring to the attention of the APPA community is the 50% bonus tax deduction on “new equipment”. Never has there been more of an incentive to invest. Equipment has in this case been loosely defined and includes all new capital items, such as computer hardware, plant and equipment, yellow goods (forklifts) and motor vehicles(including demonstrators), and capital improvements to existing machinery and equipment. What does this mean? Businesses with an annual turnover of less than $2million that purchase equipment costing more than $1000.00 BEFORE 31st December 2009, are entitled to claim 50% of the cost of the equipment. These tax deductions are in ADDITION to the normal depreciation you can claim on the cost of the equipment. The delivery of the equipment does not have to be completed before the 31st December2009; the only requirement is that the order has been placed by that date. The goods have to be delivered by 31 December 2010. Below are two example of how this works; A business buys a car for $50,000. The business will be able to claim a tax deduction of $25,000 in their 2009-10 income tax return in addition to their normal depreciation. This is a tax saving of $7500 (assuming a company tax rate of 30%). The contact – Prolease & Finance Alan Sacharowitz email: [email protected] Ph: 02 9906 1164 www.prolease.com.au *This article relates to Australian Tax Law only. A business buys a new computer system for $10,000. In their 09-10 tax return they will be entitled to a $5,000 tax deduction in addition to their normal depreciation on the computer. If you are planning to purchase any equipment in the next year, ensure that you make the necessary arrangements and place the order by 31 December 2009 in order to take advantage of these incentives. If you want any advice or wish to obtain more information or arrange finance for any purchase. :: For a friendly helping hand with the financing of your next purchase... Call Alan at Prolease on 02 9906 1164 or email [email protected] www.appa.com.au 59 David Blaise Editorial Providing Great Follow Up and Not Loosing Promotional Sales A widely quoted statistic among business people says that it costs five times more to generate a new client than it does to resell an existing client. The contact – David Blaise Business Consultant THE AUTHOR David Blaise is the author of Getting Started, Top Secrets of Promotional Products Sales, Top Secrets of Multimillion Dollar Producers and Sledgehammer Marketing. He is the co-author of The Power of Promotional Products with Maria Carlton. To access his email newsletter or video and audio podcasts, visit: www.TopSecretsWebsite.com 60 www.appa.com.au But in Practice, I Think We’d Agree That it Seems to Cost More Than That! So what can we do to ensure repeat business for ourselves? What methods can and should we use to remain in touch with our clients? Sure, we all intend to provide our customers with great service, but where do we go wrong with our follow up procedures? Many People Consider it “Follow Up” to Simply Contact the Client on a Regular Basis to Ask for More Business... But that Approach Can Grow Old Pretty Quickly That’s why it often helps to build into our business, thoughtful, intelligent follow up procedures that are designed to benefit, rather than badger or annoy our clients. For example: 1. Part of the paperwork our salespeople had to submit in order to receive their commission included a copy of the “Thank You” note that they sent to each customer immediately upon receipt of an order. This ensured an immediate customer follow up that was not only good business, but good manners as well! 2. Look for newspaper or trade articles about your client’s type of business. Clip those articles and send them along with a note saying, “Thought you’d want to see this!” It shows you’re interested in what interests them. 3. Get industry success stories (aka “case studies”) from your suppliers, multi-line reps and from industry publications that show how other companies have used promotional products successfully. Adapt these successful ideas to your client’s business. It demonstrates creativity and forethought. 4. Put together a regular e-mail update you can send your clients, which features good, useful information about how to better market their businesses. This will help you to establish yourself as someone who can provide promotional solutions, rather than just trying to sell them something. “The Real Reason We Lose Promotional Products Business” Every day, I get questions from industry salespeople about how to handle problems that cost them business and clients. Here are three recent examples: • “I just lost a long time client to a competitor over a small difference in price...” • “So far this week, I have lost 5 jobs to one particular item... the set up charge.” • “A problem with a bulk email has lost me two customers.” What can I do about this? In Each of These Cases --- and in Most Cases Where We Lose Business or Clients over Something that Seems Fairly Insignificant --- the Problem is Generally Not What We Think it is... The problem is probably not the small difference in price, the set up charge or the email problem. The problem is with the relationship. If we lose clients over a small difference in price, it means we haven’t effectively conveyed the value we provide over our competitors. If we lose clients over something like a set up charge, it means we haven’t solidified the relationship enough to justify the additional expense. If someone dumps us because of a botched email, it means our relationship was not nearly firm enough to begin with. So Rather than Addressing Symptoms by Attempting to “Match the Price” or “Eat the Set-up Charge” Why Not Attack the Root of the Problem? Ask yourself: • “How can I improve this relationship to the point where I won’t get the heave-ho over a small difference in price?” • “What do I have to do to make the value that I bring to a client more than justify any necessary set-up charges?” • “What level of familiarity and rapport do I need to reach with my client to ensure that small issues can no longer derail the entire relationship?” Then go to work each day on building the types of business relationships that will withstand issues like these. Your clients will appreciate the extra attention, and you’ll be far less likely to lose them to hobbyists and price-cutters. :: www.appa.com.au 61 Some of the basics on one thi “The right to be let alone - the most comprehensive of rights and the right most valued by civilized men.” - Justice Louis Brandeis said in 1928, Olmstead v. U.S. Government What is spam? Spam is the common term for electronic ‘junk mail’– unwanted messages sent to a person’s email account or mobile phone. The content of spam messages varies. Some messages promote products or services, while others attempt to trick users into providing bank account or credit card details. Many spam messages contain offensive or fraudulent material, and some spread computer viruses. Spam now makes up the majority of email traffic. Billions of unwanted spam messages clog up the internet, disrupt email delivery, reduce productivity and irritate users. It is important to note that APPA has never (and will never) provide or sell our database to any outside company. Distributors details are listed on the front end of our website, but a list can not be downloaded. So if you receive Spam and you suspect they have gotten your information from APPA, they must have individually downloaded each members details. Suppliers information is protected. Some OS factories do individually copy each member’s details. If they use the APPA name as a referral, please notify us immediately as we immediately take action to report and control information from that company in the future. Many of you have received unsolicited emails asking for random quotes on large quantities of branded or unbranded stock. Many of these ‘customers’ are willing to provide credit card details. These are almost always scams. Never ship stock to an unknown location, even if the credit card clears. Credit card companies allow reversal of charges if the product or service doesn’t meet the customer expectations. Before you know it, the charge has been reversed and your stock (and the ‘customer’) are long gone. If you have any questions about the legitimacy, please contact APPA for advice. 62 www.appa.com.au Messages do not have to be sent out in bulk to be considered spam. Under Australian law, a single electronic message can also be considered spam. Australia’s anti-spam legislation – the Spam Act 2003 - covers email, instant messaging, SMS (text messages) and MMS (image-based mobile phone messaging) messages of a commercial nature. It does not cover faxes, internet pop-ups or voice telemarketing. Telemarketing calls are covered by the Do Not Call Register. Some spam messages are sent by professional spammers, while others are sent by legitimate businesses that have failed to comply with Australia’s spam laws. There are a number of ways to deal with spam from intentional and unintentional spammers. If you receive an email that seems suspicious, for example, you don’t recognise the sender or the subject line looks dubious: • don’t reply or click on any links, including ‘unsubscribe’ - doing this may result in receiving even more spam or lead to malicious software being installed on your computer. • don’t buy products or services advertised in the message. • delete the message without opening it. If you receive a message from a legitimate business, for example a financial institution or shop, but do not want to receive messages from that organisation, you can: • unsubscribe - legitimate businesses do not operate in the same way as professional spammers, so unsubscribing to their emails can be a quick, low-risk way to prevent future spam. Under Australia’s spam laws, businesses must honour your unsubscribe request within five working days. How do I know its spam? Any message that doesn’t meet the following three conditions is defined as spam: • Consent – the message must be sent with your consent • check the email addresses the business has sent the message to - sometimes emails from your old addresses are automatically forwarded to your new address. You’ll need to know the old address if you want the business to remove it from their list. • Identify – the message must contain accurate information about the person or organisation that authorised the sending of the message You can also lodge a complaint or report spam to the ACMA in a number of ways, which are detailed in the Reporting spam section of their site. • Unsubscribe – the message must contain a functional ‘unsubscribe’ facility to allow you to opt out of receiving messages from that source. While the Spam Act covers the sending of spam messages, it does not cover their content, other than to determine whether or not a message is commercial. If you would like to report spam that contains illegal content such as pornography or ing we all agree to hate! online gambling links, contact the ACMA’s Content Assessment Team by emailing [email protected] or by complete an online complaint form. How can I protect myself from spam? You can reduce spam by: • protecting your email address and mobile phone number • installing and using spam filtering software • checking the terms and conditions when you purchase products or sign up for services or email newsletters Exemptions. The following organisations are exempt from the Spam Act: • government bodies • registered political parties • charities • religious organisations • educational institutions (for messages sent to current and former students). • boosting your internet security to ensure that spammers can’t send spam via your computer Messages sent by these organisations must relate to goods or services and the sender must be the supplier of those goods or services. Email scams and fraud. Codes of practice. Spam is often used to carry out fraud. Be suspicious of any offer that sounds too good to be true – it probably is. Australia’s e-marketing and internet industries have developed separate, complementary codes of practice to supplement the Spam Act. The codes elaborate the requirements of the Spam Act and provide procedures to enable organisations to comply with the Act and handle spam complaints. Zombies: spam is sent through your computer without your consent. Sometimes spam is channelled through your computer and sent to other computers without your knowledge or consent - so you appear to be the sender. This known as zombie spam. Zombie spam can occur if your computer is infected with malicious software such as a virus. Visit “Protecting yourself online” on the ACMA’s website to find out more about zombies and how you can protect yourself from malicious software. I want to forward my spam emails to th ACMA anonymously. This option is not recommended. This is because the process of forwarding the spam email removes important information about the spammer that the ACMA requires to track down the spammer. This means the ACMA may not be able to fully investigate your report and ultimately identify the spammer. However, if you want to forward spam anonymously, you can email it to [email protected]. A note on registering as a spam reporter. Registering your details makes your spam reports much more useful to the ACMA than reports from an anonymous source. Reports of spam that include a submitter’s name and contact details provide stronger evidence than anonymous submissions, increasing the likelihood of a successful prosecution. Please note that registration is only available to citizens of Australia or one of its territories (e.g. Christmas Island, Norfolk Island, Australian Antarctic Territories). Under the Spam Act, it is illegal for unsolicited commercial electronic messages that have an Australian link to be sent, or cause to be sent. A message has an Australian link if it originates or was commissioned in Australia, or originates overseas but has been sent to an address accessed in Australia. The legislation sets out penalties of up to $1.1 million a day for repeat corporate offenders. The main Acts associated with anti-spam legislation are available on line by searching under the Spam Regulations 2004 and the Telecommunications Act 1997 (incorporating the Spam (Consequential Amendments) Act 2003). The “e-Marketing code of practice” was registered on 16 March 2005. The Australian Direct Marketing Association (ADMA), which developed the code of practice with other industry and consumer representatives (including APPA), also developed the “Best Practice Marketing Guidelines” for industry. The Internet Industry Association (IIA) developed “The Internet Industry Spam code of practice” and it was registered on 16 March 2006. For more information visit the IIA’s website at www.iia.net.au. Where can I get more information on spam? The ACMA’s website provides comprehensive information and practical tips about spam on this website. You can find out more about: • understanding spam • avoiding spam • ensuring that you don’t spam • reporting spam • protecting yourself online • lodging a complaint • contacting the ACMA’s Anti Spam Team about spam • the legislation and codes of practice relating to spam the ACMA has developed free software for you to download if you wish to report spam directly from your Microsoft Outlook and Outlook Express email programs. Once installed you can delete and report spam you receive in your email directly to the ACMA - with just one click of the mouse. Contributors: ACMA – www.acma.gov.au and Electronic Frontiers Australia. www.efa.org.au :: www.appa.com.au 63 APPA Training Tips – Giving By - William Kestin W • • • • hatever your role in an organisation most likely you are interested in: Improving performance Increasing morale Providing quality service Developing better team work One of the best ways to do that is to create a Feedback Culture. Feedback is one of the most important skills in the work place, yet most people do not effectively give or receive it. But what does it cost you if you don’t establish a feedback culture in the work place? Not much, you say, well think again. Some 90 million working days are lost each year in Western cultures due to mental stress. 40% said that the mental stress was caused by emotional stress at work. In the UK alone workplace conflict costs businesses 1 billion pounds a year. Approximately 20% of any workforce are affected by personal problems that impact on their work performance. In the U.S. there has been a 15% increase in stress related claims and before you chalk that up to us over sensitive Yanks, over 35% of government payouts in New Zealand were stress related claims relating back to miscommunication in the workplace. • Research shows that Feedback given improperly has a detrimental effect on people. • It affects their morale, ability to do the job, confidence in doing the job. • In fact poorly given feedback is the greatest cause of conflict in the workplace. Tips on Creating a Feedback Culture Skill #1 - Make Feedback Specific Don’t focus on attitudes or personality but be specific about behaviours, results and what they are or are not doing. Specific examples are a must. There are two important reasons why feedback should be specific. Vague feedback will leave the recipient ambiguous and unclear. Vague feedback is 40% more likely to be seen as a personal attack • 76% of employees viewed feedback and counselling as a caring facility Negative (or constructive) feedback is obviously much harder to give than positive feedback. But there is a simple formula that really helps your feedback to remain specific and clear. • 70% said it helped with workplace change • When you…. (State the Problem) • 57% saw it as a way to manage stress •It’s a problem because…. (Give specific reason it is a problem) A Feedback Culture: A feedback culture is where everyone feels comfortable and has the skills to tell each other honestly what they think of each others job performance, ideas, suggestions and working styles. They don’t talk behind each others back; ignore unproductive behaviour – In short, a vibrant, open culture of communication. 66 www.appa.com.au Most companies believe they have a Feedback culture, but in fact most don’t. This is primarily because you must have a combination of both the motivation to create a feedback culture and the skills to implement it. • What I would like you to do in the future is…. (Provide solution to the behaviour) • Let’s look at an example and apply this formula. Bill is taking too many smoke breaks while he packs things up in the warehouse. Others are starting to resent it and are g Feedback Basic Skills requesting equal time in breaks. How should Bill be given the feedback that change must happen? Where Research shows that Negative feedback constructively given is more likely to increase performance, improve goal setting and change behaviours. “Bill, when you take as many smoke breaks as you have been, it’s a problem because the other staff members feel they should be given the same time off. This is not only a productivity issue, but also clearly defined in the employee manual that breaks are only given in accordance with labour laws. So, what I would like you to do in the future is limit your breaks to two 15 minute breaks in addition to your scheduled lunch.” The effective way to give negative feedback is to provide a mix of both at the same time. It is important that feedback is given in private and free of interruption – Get the person’s agreement to the solution. Skill #2 – Take Responsibility Complaining about co-workers, employees or bosses is unproductive and negative. Yet, research shows one of the most common reasons for people not creating a feedback culture is that it is only the boss’s responsibility to give feedback. In today’s companies things are flatter. Creating a feedback culture is about everyone taking responsibility for communication, not just the directors of the company. That doesn’t give licence to talk down to co-workers, but talk with them about how the environment can be the best it can be. Empowerment and teamwork aren’t just vague inspirational catch phrases; they are the building blocks to everyone taking more responsibility in the creation of their work culture. Skill # 4 - Avoid Delay A study at the University of Illinois shows that timing is one of the biggest problems when giving feedback. The longer delay between the actual event and the feedback given only makes the correction of the problem much harder. One of the problems is that many organisations only provide feedback once a year at the employee’s performance reviews. But to create a true feedback culture you must make the communication of feedback specific and timely to be effective. When things are delayed employees feel they have wasted time and also kept in the dark. You might say this is common sense, but research shows this is not common practice. Next Issue watch for Giving Feedback Advanced Skills! :: Most people site lack of motivation (what’s in it for me) and lack of skills (I don’t want to get yelled at) for the reasons why they shy away from giving feedback. Skill #3 - Give Balanced Feedback You must give a balance of both positive and negative (or constructive) feedback to be effective. But what is the balance of the two? Well, that depends on what you want to accomplish: Positive feedback: increase morale, motivation, makes them feel good, and inspires them to greater loyalty. www.appa.com.au 67 John lees Editorial The answer to this invaluable question will create valuable strategies, team motivation… and incredibly good sales! The contact – John Lees Consultant – Sales and Marketing [email protected] www.johnlees.com.au H ere is the question: ‘being realistic and fair, what would it take for a valued customer of your opposition to give their business to you?’ The answer must be in three parts, based on a) the prospect accepting your introduction, b) the prospect being highly motivated by your proposition, How to use the ideas featured in this article: • If you lead a team, arrange a workshop to tackle the question raised in the article, asking staff to form two or more groups to compete at providing the best answers • If you operate on your own, or if you lead a team, make it your business to talk to some customers that you know well, and ask them two questions: 1. ‘If you have ever made the decision to move from one service provider to another, in cases where the new supplier simply put together a more attractive proposition (rather than the fact that you were disappointed with the incumbent supplier), what was offered by the new supplier that led to your decision?’ 2. In consideration of your current arrangements with key suppliers, what would it take for an aspiring supplier to win your business in a fair and reasonable way?’ •Consider using the ‘A 20’ strategy to win new customers (call me if you need help with this challenge). 68 www.appa.com.au c) the prospect agreeing to test your proposition, prior to making the switch. As I hope you can begin to see, if you can successfully answer the question in all three areas, then you will know precisely how to go about winning new customers…and more business with established customers. Before looking at what I believe to be the correct answer, we should first of all remove the potential range of incorrect answers from consideration… INCORRECT ANSWER A: Offer the equivalent of what they are getting now, in the hope that their current supplier has just died. INCORRECT ANSWER B: Offer what the incumbent supplier offers, but at a much lower price, so at least one party finds the deal profitable. INCORRECT ANSWER C: Offer what they get now, but also invite them to attend a weekly footy game with you…so that they can see what real competitive action looks like. Believe it or not, although inane and comical in a sense, the three incorrect ‘offerings’ listed are quite commonplace, as well as being commercially suicidal and a great disservice to both customers and the company’s sales force. To answer the question in a serious and creative way, we should look at b) first…representing the proposition you take to market. If you were in the shoes of the customer, meaning that you would be pressed for time and responsible for generating improving results…what kind of offering would attract your interest? Surely it would have to be a proposal that promises much better business results for your company, driven by radical ideas. The positive side of the term ‘radical’ means to go to the root of an issue and to aim for serious, positive reform. There are two ways for suppliers to create radical ideas: one is to design and test them from within the organization, and the other is to search for them externally, in the market…involving an audit of how the best customers succeed with your kind of products. Either way, it is imperative to possess ideas that will create a serious and positive difference to the results most ‘needed’ by the market (as opposed to what might be ‘wanted’ by the market, such as lower prices, etc.). I have recommended in the training session I conducted for APPA at the March show earlier this year, the use of a proposition called ‘A 20’ (meaning an ‘assessment’ to determine if results can be improved by a minimum of 20%), and currently I am working with a company on a version called ‘A 30’…and without question this kind of device makes it very clear to the market that you are willing and able to make a serious difference to results. Next, we look at c), that part of the answer that aims to provide a trial to show the prospect that you can in fact make good on your proposition promise…or evidence of what you have done for other customers. Again, if you were the client, you would not be swayed by words and promises alone, and so it is critical that you are prepared to ‘show’ what kind of improved results can be achieved…as the forerunner to a formal supply arrangement. Finally, if you are able to go to market with an excellent proposition, supported by an organised way for prospects and customers to see for themselves the benefits of what you offer…then the a) factor concerning your introduction strategy will be easier to develop. Your initial contact with prospects would make it clear that your ‘purpose’ is not to replace the incumbent supplier, but to offer a presentation that aspires to produce much better results. Very careful thought should always precede decisive action, and so it is vital to face the question raised in this essay. The alternative is to act without due thought of what it takes to win business from a competitor…which would be very, very careless! :: www.appa.com.au 69 OUR BOTTOMS ARE TOPS! bloody s s s s s s s ! tough is here! UPF50+ 345 gram Duckweave Cotton Enduramax® Abrasion patches on pockets and knees Silicone washed for increased comfort Provision for removable knee pads Triple seam stitching Concealed Flop Nail Bag Available colours: Navy, Khaki and Black Pants BARTACKED BELTLOOPS FOR EXTRA DURABILITY CONCEALED FLOP ‘NAIL’ BAG ENDURAMAX POCKET BASE PREVENTS CUTS BAGGED-OUT POCKETS IN HEAVY DUTY FABRIC SECURITY ZIPPER POCKET BULK CARGO POCKET WITH PHONE AND PEN HOLDERS ENDURAMAX KNEE PATCHES FOR EXTRA ABRASION RESISTANCE SILICONE WASHED 345 GRAM DUCKWEAVE COTTON Shorts BARTACKED BELTLOOPS FOR EXTRA DURABILITY CONCEALED FLOP ‘NAIL’ BAG ENDURAMAX POCKET BASE PREVENTS CUTS BAGGED-OUT POCKETS IN HEAVY DUTY FABRIC SECURITY ZIPPER POCKET BULK CARGO POCKET WITH PHONE AND PEN HOLDERS For details see www.workwear.com.au 2A & 2B, 6 Boundary Road, Northmead NSW 2152, Australia T: 1300 136 463 F: 02 9890 8476 E: [email protected] www.creativeproducts.com.au SILICONE WASHED 345 GRAM DUCKWEAVE COTTON Attention: Decorator, Supplier and Service Provider Members APPArition Magazine – Reserve your advertising space for 2010! APPA is now releasing 2 premium issues of APPArition each year. Edition 1: Post Convex Show Autumn Issue (for release May - June) Edition 2: Post Wintershow Holiday Issue (for release Nov - Dec) These bumper issues will be full of industry pertinent editorial and education, photos and reports from our regions. With only 2 issues being released; the advertising opportunities have never been better! APPArition Magazine - 2010 / Advertising Rates & Booking Form Space Post Convex Show Autumn Issue Issue May-June Post Wintershow Holiday Issue Nov-Dec Both Issues Full Page $2000 $2000 $3500 Half Page $1000 $1000 $1650 Third Page $600 $600 $1100 Quarter Page $400 $400 $700 Business Card Size $350 $350 $600 Outside Back Cover (full page only) $2800 $2800 $5100 [Note: All prices listed are exclusive of GST) I wish to advertise for (please tick): Number of issues 1 Issue 2 Issues Advertising Space Full Page Half Page Quarter Page Business Card Size Outside Back Cover Company Name: Credit Card Payment Option Contact Person: (Surcharges applicable: 1.5% for VISA & MASTERCARD, 3.5% for AMEX & DINERS) Credit Card Type (please circle): Card Number: Expiry Date: Third Page VISA / / / AMEX DINERS MASTERCARD / Signature ARTWORK REQUIREMENTS Booking Forms Required by: Friday, 16th April 2010 Fax: +61 3 9314 3042 Artwork Required by: Friday, 23rd April 2010 Artwork Postal Address: APPArition Magazine c/o-APPA PO Box 5161 Alphington VIC 3078 Enquires: Wayne Boswell (APPA Resource & Events Manager) Phone: +61 3 9314 8424 Fax: +61 3 9314 3042 Artwork Requirements: 1. Artwork Disk - Format required: EPS or High Resolution PDF with all fonts and images embedded. All text & images must be supplied as CMYK and the resolution at 300 DPI. FTP upload now available. 2. Printed Laser Proof - Note: This Laser Proof will be used as confirmation of artwork, and as your final approval. Mark your calendars! Book your flights! Only the APPA Tradeshows in 2010 will have all the respected Suppliers under one roof! OUR EXCLUSIVE LIST IS GROWING FROM LAST YEAR, WITH EVEN MORE SUPPLIERS COMMITTING TO ONLY EXHIBIT AT THE APPA TRADESHOWS FOR 2010. MORE Major catalogue launches, MORE new product ranges, MORE new Suppliers and the leaders in our profession coming together to protect and grow the promotional products industry. APPA ROADSHOW 2010 Melbourne – Monday, 15 March 2010 The Atrium - Flemington The Event Centre 448 Epsom Road, Flemington VIC 3031 SYDNEY – Wednesday, 17 March 2010 Bay 4 Atrium - Locomotive Workshop Australian Technology Park Henderson Road, Eveleigh NSW 2015 BRISBANE – Friday, 19 March 2010 Members Dining Room Suncorp Stadium Castlemaine Street, Milton QLD 4064 PERTH – Tuesday, 23 March 2010 Terrace Ballroom Hyatt Regency Perth 99 Adelaide Terrace, Perth WA 6000 ADELAIDE – Thursday, 25 March 2010 Terrace Ballroom Stamford Plaza Adelaide 150 North Terrace, Adelaide SA 5000 SHOW TIMES Exhibitor Set-Up (on day of the show) 7am - 11am Tradeshow Hours (Mel / Syd / Bris) 11am - 4pm Tabletop Hours (Perth & Adelaide) 11am - 3pm Dismantle immediately after show closes TRADESHOW NEW ZEALAND – Friday, 26 March 2010 Alexandra Park Function Centre - Tasman Room Greenlane Road, Auckland Show hours: 10am - 4.30pm. CONVENTION AND EXHIBITION APPA Convex 2010 Sydney – 18 & 19 August 2010 Royal Hall of Industries – Fox Studios Lang Road, Moore Park NSW Show hours: 18 August 11am - 5pm. Show hours: 19 August 10am - 4pm. Register today! www.appa.com.au look for these buttons follow the prompts. PROMOTIONAL PRODUCT EXCELLENCE NEW ZEALAND TABLETOP TOUR – September 2010 Auckland – Wellington – Christchurch Show hours: 11am - 4pm. Dates and Locations – TBA Every APPA tradeshow is qualified and certified! We supply detailed attendance lists, clear identification of all participants, certified attendance numbers, quality education, unparalleled social networking opportunities and FREE entry for all legitimate promotional product resellers (members and non-members). Support the show that supports your business ethically, consistently and in a non-profit capacity.
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