Organists make pitch for Miller Park job

The Milwaukee Brewers will soon hold auditions for a new organist at Miller Park. The baseball team received applications for the job through Jan. 17 and will soon begin interviews and auditions, spokesman Jon Greenberg said.

The resumes were collected by Mike Jakubowski, the Brewers’ director of electronic services. The applicants ranged from church organists to people with professional performance experience, Greenberg said. “We’ve got double-digit applications. He tells me he’s got several really good candidates,” he said.

To attract the organist applicants, the Brewers posted a job description on the team’s Web site. The job will be a “part-time, seasonal” position, according to Greenberg, who declined to disclose the organist’s salary.

The team is seeking someone who can play traditional Milwaukee baseball fare, such as “Take Me Out to the Ballgame,” “Go, Brewers Go!” and “Roll Out the Barrel,” Greenberg said. However, the successful candidate also must be able to play popular music, he said. The team will pipe in recorded music to supplement the live organist.

When the Brewers open up with a pre-season game against the Minnesota Twins at Miller Park on March 28, the organ will return to baseball in Milwaukee for the first time since 1986, when Frank Charles tickled the ivories.

“We’re trying create that special feeling, that when you hear an organ, you think of baseball,” Greenberg said.

The idea of returning an organist to the ballpark came from a fan who made the request to Ulice Payne, the Brewers’ new president and chief executive officer, during a fan forum at Miller Park in October.

– Steve Jagler

Telaric changes name, bolsters growth consultancy

Telaric, a Mequon business advisory firm formed in 2000, has changed its name to Telaric Alliance and now operates as a new type of consulting firm that helps business owners and CEOs grow their companies, according to the firm’s founder.

"The members of Telaric Alliance, as senior executives for more than 20 years, were frustrated by the type of outside growth assistance available in the market, so we have been working for more than a year to put together the expertise and structure that would provide real value to business owners and CEOs," said Allen Oelschlaeger, a founder of Telaric Alliance (www.telaric.com).

Telaric started a technology business incubator in 2001 and had also focused on launching businesses with proprietary technology. The focus is now beyond start-ups and early-stage support.

Telaric Alliance’s focus is on business growth. Oelschlaeger noted that studies have shown that the key to a strong regional economy is the presence of a large number of rapidly growing companies. "Telaric Alliance is dedicated to working with business owners and CEOs in the region to make them part of this statistic," he said.

Oelschlaeger said Telaric Alliance "is the only consulting firm in the US that addresses all four ingredients of growth: the sources of growth (innovation and marketing) and the inputs to growth (money and people) through a tight integration of the following four practice areas:"

Strong training can make winners of low-skilled workers
Question:
We are a small manufacturing firm and operate in a “job shop” environment. Our problem has been that the folks we bring in at the entry level are less and less skilled than what we normally would find to be acceptable. We’ve lowered our standards to the point where I’m not sure we can go any lower. Many of these employees have poor basic skills, low self-esteem, poor work ethic, etc. and bring their personal problems into work. With unemployment so low, we can’t afford to be choosy and turn people away. I guess what I’m wondering is how to go about addressing their low-level skills as they come on board.
Answer:
I’m sure this is a question with which many of our readers can resonate. This is an interesting question and one that does not have a lot of easy answers. But we’ll give it a try.
First, let’s step back for a second and talk about the general context in which people work here in the late 20th century.
Clearly, the nature of work has changed. Jobs have become more technical and demand higher skill sets, even at the entry level. In fact, according to the U.S. Department of Education, approximately 90% of the jobs which have been created in the last eight years have demanded college-level math and reading skills.
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor, 21st century jobs will be increasingly even more demanding; 65% of all jobs in the new millennium will require more than a high school education. Twenty percent of jobs will require a bachelor’s degree and/or postgraduate education. Only 15% of jobs will be unskilled.
What you are seeing in your organization represents local evidence of the gap which exists between employees’ skill sets and the demands of the job. The U.S. Department of Education estimates that only about half of the students entering the workforce have the skills they need to do the jobs they are filling. Studies by other government agencies as well as private industry have concluded the same thing: US students graduate with poor academic skills, dysfunctional work habits, and inadequate occupational training. The widening gap between what is expected in the workplace and what prospective employees bring to the table is of concern to a variety of shareholders including educators, employers, and government officials.
Yet despite all of the negative commentary about the quality of education our students are receiving, it is also clear that one of the best things that a future worker can do is to stay in school. While it may be the case that staying in school does not guarantee the acquisition of skills which generalize to the job, leaving before graduation almost certainly portends a bleak future. In this regard, the U.S. Bureau of Labor tells us that the unemployment rate for high school graduates who do not enter college approximates 20%. Those who do not possess a high school diploma fare even worse.
So what then can be done to address this problem? One approach which is gaining momentum in some parts of the country is what is known as a school-to-work program. In essence, these are partnerships between business, labor, government, education, and community organizations that focus on preparing students for today’s high-tech business organizations. According to the U.S. Department of Education, the goals of such a program include:

Milwaukee’s Lincoln Avenue redevelopment on target
by Heather Stur, SBT Reporter
It all began with the purchase, renovation and sale of a residential duplex. In 1989, the Lincoln Neighborhood Redevelopment Corporation embarked on its mission to spur revitalization efforts of an area of Milwaukee’s south side stretching east-west from Lake Michigan to 21st Street and north-south from National Avenue to Oklahoma Avenue, with a main focus on the development of Lincoln Avenue.
Today, almost 10 years and $2 million later, the Lincoln Neighborhood Redevelopment Corp. lends its services – and its funds – to small businesses in its community.
“The businesses we lend to often are ones that might not be able to get a loan from a bank,” says Hilde Dewulf, project manager for the Lincoln Neighborhood Redevelopment Corp. “But that doesn’t mean anyone can come in here and expect to get a loan. If someone needs a loan to start a new business, he or she must show a grasp of what it really means to be an entrepreneur, and that doesn’t come just by going to a seminar on how to start your own business.”
In addition to business loans, the redevelopment group provides neighborhood businesses with technical assistance, especially in accounting, the area Dewulf says small and start-up businesses seem to need the most help in.
A restaurateur on Lincoln Avenue spent several years in business paying his employees and his bills in cash straight out of his restaurant cash register. The redevelopment corporation not only taught the restaurateur accounting and bookkeeping skills, it also bought the building that housed his restaurant and rented it to him until he could buy it back.
This year, the Lincoln Neighborhood Redevelopment Corp. received from the City of Milwaukee a $10,000 Community Block Grant to finance accountant services at the redevelopment corporation. The grant was renewed for an additional $10,000 for 1999. Thanks to the grant, businesses that receive loans from the Lincoln Neighborhood Redevelopment Corp. can get free accounting services for three months, including training to use the QuickBooks accounting program, and then pay $125 each month after that for continued accounting and tax-return servicing.
Although currently it owns no property, the redevelopment corporation has involved itself in renovation projects in the area. And through a partnership with Bay View High School from 1993 to 1997, students in a Bay View High construction class rehabilitated seven structures purchased by the Lincoln Neighborhood Redevelopment Corp. with the help of $60,000 in grants from the city of Milwaukee and Milwaukee County, and $100,000 in donations from various sources.
“We don’t want to own any property; we just want to fix up buildings so that private organizations will buy them,” says Michael Gapinski, executive director of the redevelopment corporation. “We want to get more people involved in the responsibility of redeveloping the area.”
The organization also participated in a project, known as “Basilica Square,” to enhance the physical quality of the street scene on Lincoln Avenue. The city approved a $750,000 capital improvement project, and Wisconsin Electric Power Co. invested more than $250,000 to bury overhead wiring around the Basilica of St. Josephat, while Landmark Lighting installed a system to illuminate the basilica at night. Harp lighting, newly planted greenery and a park were added to complete the project.
Initial project: renovation
In 1989, Merchants & Manufacturers Bancorporation was chartered and founded a community development corporation, the Lincoln Neighborhood Redevelopment Corp., led by Lincoln State Bank, which sought to comply with the Community Reinvestment Act via a community development corporation. Its initial action involved the renovation of a neighborhood duplex, but the holding company soon realized more was needed to help the area thrive. Thus, the Lincoln Fund was established.
In the same year that Merchants & Manufacturers Bancorporation was formed, Wisconsin Community Capital Corp. (WCC) approached Lincoln State Bank with a plan to create a pool of funds to be used for urban economic revitalization.
That plan evolved into the Lincoln Fund, a revolving loan fund of $550,000 for use by new or existing businesses located on Lincoln Avenue. Lincoln State Bank, Franklin State Bank and Lincoln Community Bank each contribute $150,000, along with WCC’s $100,000 contribution. In 1994, Warner Cable Communications, Inc., contributed $35,000 to the fund with the instructions that the money be used to start woman- and minority-owned businesses, and in 1996 M&I Marshall and Ilsley Bank joined the board of the community development corporation with a $150,000 contribution to the Lincoln Fund. To date, 60 loans – each ranging from $5,000 to $150,000 – have been given out for a total of $2 million loaned to businesses on and near Lincoln Avenue.
Historical precedence
Lincoln State Bank was founded in 1919 as a community bank to serve the local, widely Polish community that was underserved by downtown Milwaukee’s banks at the time, says Dewulf. The demographics of this south side neighborhood have changed over time – a largely Hispanic population has taken residence in the area – but the Lincoln Neighborhood Redevelopment Corp. functions much to the same end that Lincoln State Bank did almost 80 years ago.
When Jose Lopez decided two years ago to expand his National Avenue bakery by opening a second establishment at 1601 W. Lincoln Ave., the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce referred him to the Lincoln Neighborhood Redevelopment Corp., which aided him in all aspects of business expansion – from approving him for a loan to helping him get the proper licensing to set up a business in his chosen location.
“I saw a need in the neighborhood for the kind of product I offer,” says Lopez. “People in the neighborhood were tired of second-hand bakery and second-hand service. I have what they want. Also, the building on Lincoln Avenue was right for my business and was in a good location. I went to (the Lincoln Neighborhood Redevelopment Corp.) for financial assistance, and they helped me throughout the entire process.”
And the expansion of Lopez’s bakery isn’t stopping with the Lincoln Avenue store. In about two months, he plans to open a coffee shop and bakery at a third location at Mitchell and 11th Streets.
El Toro Bravo, a specialty meat market and deli located at 1518 W. Lincoln Ave., is scheduled to open in February or March due to the help of the Lincoln Neighborhood Redevelopment Corp., according to owner Raymundo Vazquez.
“[The Lincoln Neighborhood Redevelopment Corp.] has been holding my hand through the whole process of getting the business set up,” says Vazquez, whose family runs a similar business in Guadalajara, Mexico. “Lincoln Avenue was the right place for me to open the business.”
A model organization
In addition to continuing to act as a lending organization for businesses in the Lincoln Avenue area, the organization hopes other community development corporations will model themselves after the Lincoln Avenue one, says Dewulf. Such already is happening in the Midtown neighborhood around 27th and Galena Streets. According to Dewulf, M&I Marshall and Ilsley, Park and TCF banks put together a loan consortium to duplicate the Lincoln Fund in the Midtown neighborhood.
“Banks in other neighborhoods can look at Lincoln Avenue and see that neighborhoods that might have been neglected have great potential,” says Gapinski. “There are good businesses out there, and we’re hoping that more banks get involved to give these businesses a chance to revitalize the neighborhoods they’re in.”

Approach to senior management can make you a hero – or a chump
Fifth in a series
Last month we discussed getting to executives through a carefully positioned access letter. This month and next, we’ll talk about how to work through a contact at a target company to reach an executive.
No sales dialogue better tests a salesperson’s mettle than a discussion with a lower-level contact regarding getting to senior management. That single conversation requires every ounce of confidence, business sense and relationship skills you possess, along with a deep sense for the subtleties of the spoken word. Do it right, and you just might become immune to competition for the account. Do it wrong, and you could wind up toast.
You must consider several things as you decide how to frame your dialogue:

Johnson Controls CEO Jim Keyes
As chief executive of Johnson Controls, Inc., a multi-national company with 76,000 employees and $12.6 billion in annual sales, Jim Keyes faces numerous challenges as he works to keep Wisconsin’s largest company out ahead.
So how does a CEO with 10 years at the helm keep abreast of goings-on in a global company so large and spread out?
He reads plant safety reports. More than just a record of safety practices, the reports tell him a lot about morale and management of a particular plant.
“It tells how well our people are looking out for out employees – how they are treating them,” says the 58-year-old Keyes, who is the 1998-99 Sales and Marketing Executives of Milwaukee “Marketing Executive of the Year.”
If Keyes sees a plant racking up a lot of safety incidents, it’s an indicator of a larger problem, he says. Seven years ago, Johnson Controls automotive battery plant here in Milwaukee was the corporation’s worst performing unit in terms of safety. One manager threw up his hands and said the injuries were due to the heavy lifting that goes along with making car batteries.
Keyes made sure the safety issue was addressed, and today the battery plant is Johnson Controls’ best performing unit when it comes to safety.
“Safety reports tell you a lot more than just how safe the working environment is,” Keyes says in an interview at the company’s headquarters in Glendale. “It’s usually a sign that morale’s getting bad or something’s going wrong.”
It is that kind of analytical ability to focus and fix problems that has seen Johnson Controls quadruple sales during his tenure – from $3.1 billion when he took over as CEO in 1988 to $12.6 billion for the fiscal year ending Sept. 30, 1998. Sales rose 13% in 1998 over the previous fiscal year, with each of the company’s business units achieving record sales and earnings.
[Johnson Controls is the largest car battery manufacturer in North America. The company also makes automotive interior systems, and controls which regulate indoor environments. It also manages more than 600 million square feet of building space as part of its Integrated Facilities Management division.]
Keyes sits on the board of a number of Milwaukee area organizations. Marquette University President Father Robert Wild says Keyes lends a keen analytical presence to Marquette’s Board of Trustees.
“He misses very little,” Wild says. “He is wise. And he is not afraid to speak up if things should be done in a better fashion, He is a person we listen to and take very seriously. We are very fortunate to have him on our board.”
Keyes is an early riser, getting out of bed at 4:30 a.m. for his swim at the Milwaukee Athletic Club. He’s in the office by 6, and typically works a 12-hour day. He attributes that tendency both to his father – who worked until he was 80 – and his small town roots in Belmont, a village of 800 residents in southwestern Wisconsin.
“I think, for the most part, that people from smaller communities have a very good work ethic,” Keyes says, pointing to the success of Gov. Tommy Thompson, who is from Elroy. “But there’s a lot of luck involved.”
Keyes frequently travels internationally to stay abreast of Johnson Controls’ far-flung enterprises. Last year, the company acquired Becker Group and its European subsidiary for a reported $550 to $600 million, a move which is expected to increase the company’s international sales of automotive interior systems.
Organizations that stand still risk losing whatever competitive edge they currently possess, Keyes says, adding that product innovation and new product development are critical to the long-term survival of a business. [JCI’s Inspira thin-metal battery is significantly smaller and lighter than traditional lead-acid batteries, and could reduce vehicle weight by 20 pounds when it is introduced two years from now.]
Keyes is a major proponent of process improvement.
“We live in an environment where we don’t get price increases,” Keyes says. “Every year, our customers want price decreases in some form. So a lot of that cost reduction has to come from changes to make our process more efficient. We spend a lot of time on that.”
In meetings with his top managers, Keyes asks what the various business units can do to ensure that they are following the best business practices within their industry, or anywhere on the planet, for that matter.
“You’ve got to continually raise the bar,” Keyes says.
Since he first took a seat on the Johnson Controls board in 1985, the company has shifted its primary focus from building controls to automotive systems. Just as the business has changed over the last 13 years, don’t expect Johnson Controls to be the same company it was another 10 years from now.
“Business is going to keep changing very rapidly,” Keyes says. “I believe we are entering a period where all businesses are going to be greatly impacted by the Internet. Electronic commerce will make a great change, so the way we do business will be different, and the product we sell will be different.”
But the basic values of the company, Keyes says, will remain the same.
Keyes is a big believer in human capital as a strategic asset. He says acquiring talented people and putting them in the right position is a key to any company’s success, and should be part of any growing company’s strategic plan.
“If you spend more time there, you’ll need to spend less time in other places,” Keyes says. “At our last management meeting, both myself and our president stressed to our managers that they need to have top talent underneath them, because if they had to do the same thing tomorrow that they are doing today, then they aren’t going to grow anymore.”

Employee retention is no longer as simple as higher pay and more responsibility, says Howard Sosoff of BDO Seidman in Milwaukee. Employee retention is now one of a company’s greatest assets. Employers must recognize the value of retaining their workforce, as opposed to the costly pursuit of recruitment and retraining, Sosoff says.
The following are a few ways to retain your employees:
ˆ? Create lifestyle perks packages that include flexible scheduling, custom-made benefits packages, employee assistance programs and on-site amenities (such as child care, dry cleaning service, and shoe repair).
ˆ? Reward employees for a job well done with movie passes, tickets to sporting events, or an extra vacation day. Handwritten notes also go a long way toward recognizing performance.
ˆ? Establish a corporate culture that values employees.
ˆ? Offer “dress down” days in which employees can wear casual business attire.
ˆ? Institute a goal and incentives reward program.

As INSpire Insurance Solutions has grown, so has the need for programers to develop software for the property and casualty insurance industry.
The Sheboygan location has gone from 85 employees in 1989 to 200 by 1998, says Rick Gaumer, vice president of support services.
But, it’s not enough. INSpire could use an additional 25 to 30 programers, but there is no one in sight to fill these positions. In response, INSPire decided to grow its own by recruiting students right out of high school to attend a newly-formed program at nearby Lakeland College which trains them in computer science, and gives them the skills they need to go to work for the company.
“We’d like to hire experienced people where we can find them, but the reality is we have to grow some of our own,” Gaumer says.
Lakeland College and INSpire have formed an alliance in which the company pays up to $6,000 of a student’s annual tuition in exchange for a commitment to work for the company, says Dirk Zylman, Lakeland’s director of development. For each year they work after graduation, they receive reimbursement of $6000 per year up to $30,000. The 16 students currently enrolled in the pilot program will go to school 12 months out of the year, and will take a curriculum geared to INSpire’s criteria.
The students are invited to company events, and receive internships at the company by their second or third year of college, Zylman says. The students must maintain a grade point average of 2.75 in order to stay in the program and get a job with the company. Lakeland hopes to recruit 30 students a year to enter the program.
“The hope is, by spending three years in the program, and by getting to know INSpire and getting to know the community, these people are going to want to stay in the area and become part of the community,” Zylman says. “Hopefully, they are here because they want to be here, and not just looking at this as a weigh station.”
The problem is that many information technology workers are seduced by offers from companies in larger metropolitan areas. This setup is intended as a “golden handcuffs” arrangement in that the students will feel some obligation to stay after going through the program and having part of their tuition paid by their future employer, Zylman says.
For those who want to move on, INSpire has offices in Fort Worth, Columbia, S.C., and San Diego, Gaumer says.
“It’s a win all the way around,” notes Zylman, a former Firstar banker. “For INSpire, it’s a pool of prospective employees who know the company. For Lakeland, it represents a steady stream of incoming students, and it’s a win for the community because they are going to be positive, contributing members.”

Global economy creates opportunity for small manufacturers
On top of global competition and ever-higher customer expectations, small manufacturers face a labor shortage with no end in sight.
But, for those who are willing to meet the challenge, the global economy offers chances to small manufacturers they haven’t had before, says Vince Barker, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee associate professor of management, and an expert on the dynamics of competition.
The first step is the simple realization that as a small manufacturer, you can tap into the advantages that exist in today’s global economy, Barker says.
“There’s no doubt, doing business is harder today, ” says Barker. “But [small manufacturers] have more opportunities to sell globally themselves, or to sell their goods to those who do.”
Two successful Waukesha County manufacturers which have done just that shared tips not only on surviving, but thriving in today’s world economy.
The first step is to cover the basics, says David L. Bahl, president of Weldall Manufacturing in Waukesha. Zero defects, 99% on-time delivery, and low price are minimum customer expectations today.
“You have to be able to deliver a quality product on time. That’s a given. And price is always a factor,” he says.
Weldall, a full-service metal fabricating job shop, has a 25-year track record. It began as a 250-square-foot welding shop in Wauwatosa. Now housed in a 45,000-square-foot facility in Waukesha, Weldall employs 90 workers, including welders certified to work on carbon steel, stainless steel, and aluminum. It has estimated annual sales of more than $5 million.
Customer expectations about quality have grown tremendously over the past decade, says Bahl. But Weldall has, by necessity, always paid close attention to quality.
“The type of equipment we manufacture – cranes, excavating machinery – has to be done right,” Bahl says. “People’s lives depend on them. They carry high liability.”
To ensure quality, Weldall documents all incoming material and identifies it for traceability. In addition, it requires its welders to be certified.
What’s different today is the need to have your quality verified before you can move into some markets. Weldall’s attention to quality enabled the company to earn ISO 9000 certification, giving it approved-supplier status with major Fortune 500 companies.
The key to staying competitive in quality and price is finding quality workers, says Bahl. That’s his companies biggest challenge.
“The work is out there,” Bahl says. “It’s a matter of finding quality people to do it.”
Bahl hopes to hire 50 additional workers over the next two years. “I could go out and hire 50 workers today, but I need the right ones if I want to keep a good reputation.”
After your own house is in order, then you work on relationships, says Bahl. What you need is a strong base of steady customers.
Weldall depends on one in-house sales person to represent the company to potential customers, and “I’ll make calls myself,” says Bahl. It’s important that your sales person be knowledgeable both about your operation and your customer’s needs, he adds.
To build and maintain strong relationships, both with customers and employees, Bahl says he lives by “two golden rules” that have served him well. First, be honest with customers. Manufacturers today face such turn-around times that “you don’t have time to quote a price. You have to work on a time-and-materials basis. Your customers have to feel confident you’re giving them a good deal.”
To keep customers, you also have to be honest about what you can and can’t do, he adds. “We’ve turned down jobs because the lead time was too tight. You have to be able to follow through.”
His second rule: Treat employees well. “To succeed, you need good employees. When you have them, you want to keep them for a long time. If you don’t take care of them, someone else will.”
Another Waukesha success story, Acme Machell Co., Inc., is thriving on the second tier by supplying precision-molded rubber parts to other manufacturers who take them on the global market. That’s how every McDonald’s restaurant that sells soft-serve ice cream got a machine with Acme Machell parts in it.
Along with Waukesha Rubber Co., Acme Machell is responsible for making Waukesha County the leading rubber-product manufacturing region in the state. Its annual sales exceed $10 million.
Acme Machell serves an increasing number of manufacturers in the appliance, automotive, construction, electrical, food and beverage, machine tool, machinery, oil and gas, and paper industries. Among its world-class customers are Briggs and Stratton and Harley-Davidson.
To be a successful second-tier manufacturer, investing in quality control is key, says J.C. Riebe, president of the company his father founded in 1953.
“The number of vendors our customers use is shrinking,” Riebe says. “They are being more selective.”
Getting ISO 9002 designation has been important in obtaining new business, he says.
“It is a big sales tool,” Riebe says. “Now you have to be an approved-supplier to even get a quote on a job.”
Getting ISO 9002 certification requires a big investment, says Riebe. Not every manufacturer can do it. Riebe estimates it costs most companies between $25,000 to $50,000 to get the necessary quality controls in place.
But that’s not all the verification many large manufacturers need before they’ll do business with you, Riebe adds. “They will do their own quality audit before they give you an opportunity to bid.”
And they don’t stop checking on you after they award a contract, he adds. Major manufacturers send their own teams to do quality audits, many twice a year. Acme Machell hosts quality inspection teams from various manufacturers several times a month, says Riebe.
While quality has gained in importance in the past decade, price is just as much a factor, says Riebe.
“We constantly look for ways to make a product cheaper while maintaining its quality,” he says. “Sometimes you can’t reduce production costs. Then you may want to take a loss in your profit margin, just to keep some customers’ business.”
To sell the company as a high-quality supplier, you need to have the right sales people, says Riebe. Acme Machell uses carefully selected sales representatives.
“You must have knowledgeable sales people to get the word out. They are the first contact,” says Riebe. “They need to know what rubber is, what it can do, how it can meet a customer’s needs …”
Acme Machell uses a team approach to determine a customer’s needs, says Riebe. The firm sends personnel to work directly with national manufacturers for government contracts to supply all branches of the armed forces.
In addition to government contracts, 30% of its sales come from manufacturing high-precision automotive components.
That narrow, financially-rewarding niche has served the company well. “In 10 years, we went from nothing to $50 million gross,” says co-president Kevin Sinnett, who founded IDC with his brother John.
“We’ve been able to establish our little niche. But it’s never good advice to get stuck in one marketplace. There were some years that were pretty lean,” says Sinnett. “But now, it’s paying off.”

Be ready with the right response to offset objections
The last time you made a call to a current or potential customer, was it simply to sell a new product or maybe to handle a problem? How was your call received? Were you nervous, or did you feel good about placing the call? If you were nervous about the call, ask yourself why.
If the only time you contact a customer is to sell or handle a problem, you’re conditioning your customers to expect negatives and therefore resist your calls. When was the last time that you contacted a customer just to let him know about something that may interest him? Markets have changed, and so must our approach over the telephone. Here are some tips to help assure that your telephone efforts produce the long-term results that they need to:
1. Know what’s important to your customers before you call. What’s changing in their business and in their lives? Show them that they’re not just another call on a list of many.
2. Plan the call. Have a clear objective in mind, and be prepared to state the objective in terms of the benefit to the customer. Know what action needs to be taken. Do you want to schedule an appointment, etc.?
3. Show respect for a prospect’s time. Simply ask, “Do you have a minute?”, or “Did I catch you at a good time?” Be ready to reschedule the call if the prospect can’t talk at that time. After all, would you just barge into someone’s office and start your presentation?
4. Keep the call short and to the point. If your goal is to close for an appointment, do so quickly.
5. Always be there, but not only when it’s time to sell or handle a problem.
6. Match the style of the person you call. If you are working with someone who is brief and to the point, then be brief and to the point. You will be most effective if you employ the logic that your customer most quickly responds to.
7. Match the tone and pace of voice of the customer. This will help the customer to feel more comfortable with you. For instance, if the customer has a slower rate of speech, match that pace.
8. Be conversational. Use a cue card, not a script. Rehearse with co-workers before you make a call. Have a list of common objections handy for you to refer to. Have a general outline available to remind you of the sequence, but don’t read a script.
9. Be different from everyone else. Think of the types of calls you would respond negatively to. Do just the opposite.
10. Clarify stalls by asking open-ended questions. This is where most people get stuck. Customers use stalls when something isn’t quite right. Yet they don’t want to hurt your feelings. Use questions that help reveal the customer’s true intent.
Marcia Gauger is president of Impact Sales, a training and performance-improvement company with offices in Mukwonago and in Arkansas and California. Small Business Times readers can contact her in Mukwonago at 642-9610, or via fax at 501-964-0055.
Most common telephone stalls:
Stall Clarifying Questions
Send me some information.What specifically would you like to see?
Call me in a month.What do you see changing in a month?
Or, What will you be considering during that time?
Let me talk to my partner.What do you think his/her concerns will be?
I’m happy with my current supplier.What do you like most about them?
Let me think about it.What will you be considering?
You seem high priced.How much too much is it?
Or, What are you comparing it to?
I’m going to check around.Who will you be checking with?
Or, What are you looking for that you haven’t found with us?

Dormant accounts might yield gold
Maybe they were left over from a former sales rep, several years removed. Maybe they were dissatisfied with the service your company or a former rep provided. Maybe other priorities took over, and those accounts that were small buyers at the time grew into large accounts – for your competitor.
They’re dormant accounts: one-time customers who haven’t been contacted in six months, or a year, or even longer.
And they’re filled with opportunity.
There are two main reasons that dormant accounts exist: 1)The salesrep left and, during the transition period, the customer was ignored while larger customers got all the attention, or 2) a problem occurred with your company that was never fully resolved.
Solving either type often begins with a phone call. Sometimes there’s been turnover at both companies, and the customer’s new buyer doesn’t recall a problem. You’re the first contact the account has received from your company. On those calls, mention that you’ve worked together in the past “before either one of you was in your current position,” then get the prospect talking about current and future needs. Forget the past.
Sometimes, as perfect as we all try to be, mistakes are made, or we just can’t live up to the expectations of a customer. We’d like to have those situations forgotten, too.
The best approach is to call the decision-maker, introduce yourself, and pave your way to the future. Mention that you know there was a problem in the past, but that your job is to meet current and future needs. Then ask an open-ended, needs-based question. The sooner the prospect starts telling you about his or her needs, the sooner you can both move ahead and leave the past where it belongs.
In either case, avoid pointing the finger of blame at a former employee, especially by name. If the customer asks, explain the situation briefly and without emotion.
Keep it subtle. The message will get through, and you’ll be respected.
There really is gold in those dormant accounts. All you have to do is dig.
Joe Guertin is an Oak Creek-based speaker, trainer and consultant. Small Business Times readers can contact him at 762-2450, or by e-mail at jguertin@tcccom.net.
Ten tips
For Reactivating Dormant Accounts
1 Uncover past problems. Know about past situations before you call
2 Avoid blaming former employees. It hurts your own credibility
3 Don’t dwell on the past. Customers usually won’t, either
4 Be “customer-focused.” Never say, “I’ve been assigned to your account”
5 Offer a “service guarantee.” To put past concerns to rest
6 Expect reactivating to take time. You’re earning the prospect’s trust
7 Remain upbeat. Don’t sound dejected by past mistakes
8 Defuse old “grudges.” Offer to bury the hatchet
9 Make a fresh start offer. Tell the prospect you’ll work hard for his or her business
10 Take action.

Reform may lower shipping costs, but force bankruptcies
Deregulation of the ocean shipping industry could lead to lower transportation prices for importers and exporters this year. But it could also spell doom for small shippers who could be forced into bankruptcy by the new market pressures, local industry leaders say.
For years the major ocean carriers such as Sea-Land, Evergreen and Maersk, all members of the National Industrial Transportation (NIT) League, have prodded Congress to deregulate foreign shipping. With compromises to appease the longshoremen unions, Congress salvaged an ocean shipping bill late last year that sends waves toward deregulation. Labeled the Ocean Shipping Reform Act, the bill was signed into law by President Clinton on Oct. 14.
Although the new law retains an independent Federal Maritime Commission and specifies that both vessel-operating and non-vessel-owning common carriers continue to issue public tariffs, pricing agreements will become confidential between carriers and shippers. The elimination of public disclosure of service contract rates has everyone in the industry nervous about what’s going to happen when the new regulations go into effect on May 1.
Tom Donahue, director of Export Services for Circle International, Inc., in San Francisco, one of the largest international freight forwarders, explains how the present rate system works.
“If you’re a small toy manufacturer, you have access to all the contracts and rates that a larger toy manufacturer enjoys. When the big toymaker signs a new contract, the little guy has 30 days to me-too that contract and get the same rate. The new law eliminates me-too contracts.”
Carriers, who own and operate ocean vessels picking up and delivering containers to the same ports, belong to groups known as conferences. Under the Shipping Act of 1984 and the new reform law, those conferences are immune to anti-trust laws. They get together and set rates and regulations for transporting ocean freight in their bailiwick. The practice would be price-fixing in any other industry; but for as long as most people in the business can remember, ocean-going carriers have enjoyed anti-trust immunity.
Under the new law, conference members can make maverick, confidential pricing arrangements with a large shipper as long as they notify the conference within five days of signing the contract. Moreover, all such agreements have to be filed with the Federal Maritime Commission.
Del Brahm, president of both the Transportation Association of Milwaukee and Brahm and Krenz International, Inc., a local freight forwarder and customs broker with offices in Milwaukee and Chicago, thinks there are reasons for concern with the new law.
“Almost every article I’ve read says the small shippers are going to get it in the neck,” Brahm says. “The big shippers will make sweetheart deals with the big carriers, who will make up their profits on the small shippers. The conferences still maintain their anti-trust immunity. Any carrier in a conference can make a confidential rate deal with a shipper the size of Wal-Mart, independent of rates agreed upon by their conference.”
Hellmann International Forwarders, Inc., with headquarters in Miami, has offices in 20 different countries. Jean Albers, a certified ocean forwarder who manages its Oak Creek terminal, sees the change leading to lower prices and to industry consolidation.
“Like the deregulation of the air freight industry, there will be a lot of consolidations and bankruptcies among carriers,” says Albers. “Deregulation will drop prices. Ocean prices are already the lowest they’ve ever been. But we won’t see the loopholes in the law until after May 1, when the law goes into effect.”
Hellman handles about 400 sea freight exports a month and about 100 import transactions and an equal number of air freight shipments each month, according to Albers.
Marge O’Connell, Global Transportation manager for Mercury Marine, sees deregulation as a benefit. “It’s going to be interesting,” O’Connell says. “We’re considered a mid-sized shipper. Most of our exports go to Europe. In preparation for the impending new law our corporate people, Brunswick International, are soliciting ocean carriers for package deals that will pool all corporate exports.”
At Trek Corp., in Waterloo, Joyce Keehn, director of worldwide sales for the bicycle manufacturer, views the deregulation part of the reform act as a “wait-‘n’-see situation.” She and Linda Bourdo, import- export manager, find that some of the firm’s biggest problems originate with the surcharges made to reposition containers. Last year 1.5 million empty containers were returned to Asian ports.
“That (surcharge) adds three to five dollars to each bike we produce,” Keehn explains. “We wrestle with currency rates, selling in 70 different countries. Forty percent of our business is export, and we ship about 200 containers a year.”
With its new plant in Ireland, Keehn looks forward to reduced shipping costs to European distributors.
The new law defines both freight forwarders and non-vessel-owning common carriers (NVOCC) as ocean transportation intermediaries. However, there is a difference. The freight forwarder works on commission as a travel agent does; commissions are commonly 1.25%.
The NVOCC , which combines goods into container loads, takes title to the goods while aboard ship. Its income is the difference between the carrier’s rate and what it charges the shipper. Most large international firms the size of Hellmann or Circle will function as either forwarders or NVOCCs.
To cope with the new law, small to medium-sized shippers are advised to work with their freight forwarders, who will be competing to combine shipments for the best possible freight rates. In the month of March the National Association of Brokers and Forwarders has its annual meeting. Brahm anticipates that 500 to 600 small to medium-sized forwarders will form a group to negotiate their own confidential rate contracts with carriers.
“Face it,” Brahm concedes. “It’s a way of life in this country. The little guys drown first. As for what’s going to happen after May 1? Only time will tell.”