May 2013: Vote Now for The Supplier Spotlight!

Right on the heels of our record-setting month we run smack into struggling for entries (isn’t that just like running an SBE?)! I have a BIG Thank You to all SBEs with 100%  completed applications for enduring my “get out the contest entry” emails.

So, this month we’ve got 3 entries from 3 new-comers to the Contest Arena:  We’ve got valuable insights on embracing the off-site meeting, the trickle-down benefits of professional networking, and a great take on the benefits of hiring Veterans & students.

Entry #1: Embrace The Leading Edge | Total Webcasting
Entry #2: Network, Network, then Network Some More | Enterprise Mobility Management
Entry #3: Why We Hire Veterans & Students | DIAMONDEFENSE

The company with the most votes gets promoted on the Supplier Connection web portal for the month of June. Voting ends Tuesday evening, May 28th at 8:00PM Eastern. Check back often to see what happens!

Supplier Connection SBE Updates

Head of the SBA, Karen Mills talks SBE Success on The Washington Post
We just wanted to alert you to this series of articles Karen has been writing about how American SBEs will see their roles change & evolve in the future economy.  Read our round-up of the articles here.

New on The SBE Lifer: THE SBE JOURNAL
Since we last spoke, I’ve written 2 more entries in The SBE Journal, one is about how I handle incredibly busy days, and the other is about a big product development effort and the demands that go along with it.  So if you haven’t had a chance to read them, check out the whole Journal here: THE SBE JOURNAL.

Have you used the new Social Media Resource Page yet?
We’ve assembled the best “how to” articles on every major social media platform, curated with the SBE in mind! Articles on Blogging, Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, etc. all in one place–a great resource for you. Click here to read.

Have you read great articles not included in my roundup? Send them to me, my staff and I will read them and post the best ones.  Let’s get involved and help each other out by making this the best curated content on the web about… EVERYTHING Social Media.

6 Ways for Trade Shows to Deliver an ROI

5 Simple Steps to Increase Your Social Media Impact (complete with a free download)Available to everyone right here.

Reminder: Your Supplier Connection Anniversary is coming!
What does that mean for you?  It means you have to do 2 things:  1. Log in at least once every 12 months:  If you don’t, your account (no matter if your application is %100 Complete or not) will be Deactivated.  2. Verify your Company Profile:  Log in to the Supplier Connection portal and verify your Profile within a year of the date you completed it, otherwise your Profile won’t be visible to any buyers.

Do that right now before you forget: http://Supplier-Connection.net.

Remember, running an SBE is a long, hard journey… stop doing it alone!

Dan Gallo
SBE Advocate, Supplier-Connection
Chief Operating Officer, myVRM
Managing Director, The Allasso Group, LLC

Let’s connect!
Watch my 1^st video blog on Outgrowing Great Employees
Join our LinkedIn Discussion Group
Follow me on Twitter @dnagallo and I’ll follow you back
LIKE Supplier-Connection on Facebook
Visit Supplier-Connection Web Portal

Check out April’s Contest Winner: S.O.F.T. Inc.
To submit an entry in The Supplier Spotlight contest you need to be a registered member of the Supplier-Connection initiative with a completed registration. Registration is FREE. For more information you can watch this 1.5 minute video or read more on the Supplier-Connection portal.

How “The Supplier Spotlight” Works

Updated May 30, 2012, please read: Clarification of Rules

What would it be worth to your company to advertise on a business portal that had thousands of qualified monthly eyeballs? Where billions in contracts are up for grabs from 18 of the biggest companies in the USA? AND your company would be prominently featured as the only advertised business on the site for an entire month?

Would it be worth an idea?

Your best ones?

We think so.

Announcing a monthly feature we call “The Supplier Spotlight.”  It’s part reality show, wholly interactive, and completely beneficial to everyone that participates.

It’s really pretty simple: Every month all registered small business suppliers with a 100% completed application email me (dangallo@allassogroup.com) the best ideas they use to make their business more profitable or more efficient.  And since we’re using this contest to raise awareness of our participating, registered SBEs and the Supplier-Connection initiative, all SBEs can vote on the best idea. The business that submitted the idea with the most votes wins a one-month opportunity to promote their business on the Supplier Connection portal.

Here’s how it works:

Day 1 - 8 of each month: 

Any small business registered on Supplier-Connection can email me at dangallo@allassogroup.com any ideas that promote innovation, create efficiencies, cut costs, or all of the above.  You can enter as many ideas as you’d like each month.

Day 9 – 11 of each month

I’ll evaluate all submissions and post a poll listing up to 5 of the best submitted that month along with the name of each SBE Supplier.  If your idea has been chosen I’ll send you an email to let you know you made the cut.

Day 12 – 26 of each month

I’ll post the poll by the 12^th of the month and then any SBE can vote for the idea they think is the best.  Since the POLL is limited to one vote per email address and IP Address, it won’t likely turn into a popularity contest… Especially since you’ll only be able to vote once each month.

The votes are tabulated in real-time so you see the results as soon as you vote.  No hanging chads… No mysteriously missing votes from the oppositions precincts… No intimidation at the polls. Just you and your PC, or MAC, or iPad, or SmartPhone.

After you vote you can post a comment debating the merits of the ideas, especially the impact you think they’ll have on your business. So even if your idea didn’t make the cut, chances are real good there’s an idea in the bunch that can improve your business in some material way.

Day 26 – through month’s end

On the 26^th day of the month the polls will close at 8:00PM New York time and the idea with the most votes wins. Within the next 24 hours I’ll contact and post the winner. We’ll then work the rest of the month with the winning company to get their marketing materials posted on the Supplier Connection portal.

Clarification of Rules…

The primary objective of The Supplier Spotlight contest is to foster an envirnoment of community to help SBEs improve their business, promote our registered SBEs to Member Companies and to each other, and improve awareness of the Supplier-Connection initiative. In this spirit we provide the following clarifications:

1. All “end dates” falling on a weekend or Business Holiday will be extended to the next business day. This applies to the 1. date we receive entries, 2. the date entries are posted and 3. the date voting ends.
2. We will extend the entry date if we have not received two entries by the standard “end date” which is the 8th day of each month, or if the 8th falls on a weekend or Business Holiday, the first business day after the 8th of each month.

• We will extend the deadline for entries by one full Business Day until we receive two entries, as this will allow all SBEs the opportunity to choose to send a submission.
• Registered SBEs will be contacted via the Supplier-Connection LinkedIn Discussion Group as well as by email. Supplier-Connection will use its best efforts to contact all registered SBEs but will not be responsible for incorrect email addresses, downed email services, your spam filters, etc.
• You can not offer to pay anyone to vote for your entry (including automated systems such as Amazon’s mTurk). If you do, and we find out, you will be disqualified from the contest.

Danny! Tell them what they’ve won…

For the next month the company with the winning idea will earn the following (it’s your job to supply all marketing materials, graphics, etc., not us!):

• Your company’s graphic/logo prominently displayed (300 pixels) on the Get Connected home page under the Supplier Spotlight banner, on the User Login Home Page, and a link on the Supplier-Connection Home Page.
• A 200 word description of your business to be posted on the Get Connected home page under your graphic.
• WINNING COMPANY’S OPTION: Write an article on the winning idea you submitted, explaining the value it’s brought to your company and we’ll post it on the portal.
• A link to your corporate website, your Facebook page, your Twitter account, your company blog(s).
• A link to online sales presentations with audio
• Link(s) to product videos, commercials, and/or your YouTube channel
• Posted links to white papers you’ve written
• A link for interested parties to schedule an online sales meeting
• An email will be sent by Supplier-Connection to the entire registered Buyer community highlighting the winning company with links to the company and to the Get Connected page on the portal (New!)
• If you can attribute any new customer order to this promotion I’ll follow up by  interviewing your CEO or head of Sales and post it on my Supplier Connection blog.

I’m really looking forward to reading proven ideas coming from real businesses and the ensuing discussions over their merits. This is a great opportunity to share ideas, promote your company and find ways to improve your business—every month.  And isn’t incremental improvement one of our prized goals?

Spread the word around your company. Gather your best ideas and email them to me at dangallo@allassogroup.com.  Don’t hesitate. Don’t delay. You can’t advertise on the Supplier Connection portal for any amount of money.  Nope.

The only currency we’ll accept is your best ideas.

May the best SBE idea win!

Dan Gallo,
Social Media Director & Small Business Advocate, Supplier-Connection
Managing Director, The Allasso Group

Contest is available only to businesses that qualify as a U.S.-based Small Business, that have registered on www.supplier-connection.net, and have completed their Supplier Application. Go to www.supplier-connection.net for more details on the program.

Entry #3: Why We Hire Veterans and Students

CLICK HERE TO VOTE→

I’m sure everyone who reads this would say employee retention is very important. Hiring new employees costs a vast amount of time and resources. Wouldn’t it be great for your company if you could easily find employees that have a significantly higher long-term retention rate?

We think so, which is why we don’t underestimate students or Veterans.

Every proud American company focuses on employing Veterans, right? If not, it could cost you more then you realize. Of course the individuals with years more experience on the civilian side, with extra certifications and prior industry experience are valuable. But they’re also the ones fielding 20 recruiters calling them to take the best opportunity from the highest bidder. However, in our experience, Veterans tend to be the best long-term and mission-focused employees you can find. Investing a couple of extra resources in order to develop them as employees will likely win you their loyalty for years to come.

Students, on the other hand may be a huge gamble, so the thinking goes: They haven’t proved themselves, they’re very green, and they’re still in school!  Nevertheless, it may be worth considering that this student is likely going to be a faster learner and is already trained up on the newest cutting-edge technologies, processes and procedures. To us, students are the untapped gold mine because you can employ them as interns, build their experience, save money and strengthen the country’s future–all at the same time.

Also, you just might be surprised when they exceed every one of your expectations and set a new standard for success.

So, if you’re tired of hiring & training new employees who disappear after a couple of months, take another look at our Veterans & students–either way you go you can build loyalty and serve the interests of our country.

Warm Regards,
Jared Rader, Co-Owner  
DIAMONDEFENSE
O: 703-468-4646
C: 540-764-0322
F: 703-436-1825
Jared.Rader@diamondefense.com
https://www.diamondefense.com
Company Blog

Entry #2: Network, Network, then Network Some More

CLICK HERE TO VOTE→

We believe in the power of networked partnerships because of the success we’ve experienced. Running a small business is about networking, networking, networking.

Creating and maintaining relationships with your existing clients can lead to referrals to new clients.  It can also help you understand your clients’ needs more fully, which can take away the guesswork when it comes to expanding or varying your service offerings.

And maintaining strong relationships inside your own industry can give you a valuable knowledge resource—about new industry trends, or even just behavior & practices you can use in your own organization.  We’ve kept regular meetings with our colleagues over the years, in which we exchange views and learn about the Telecom Expense Management industry in other markets, discuss common issues, share knowledge and information, and often find ways to run our businesses more efficiently.

But most importantly: if a core chunk of your business depends on partners reselling your services, make sure you network with them consistently.  After all, it’s not like yours is the only product they’re reselling, so a strong relationship built with them will lead to continued support & growth for your business.

In a world that is daily becoming more global, with communications that allow us to send documents instantly over a telephone line, networking is vital in our business. Without it we will limit the possibilities of expanding our business and servicing our clients.

Thanks,
Kimberley Lawton, Executive Vice President 
Enterprise Mobility Management
Toll Free: (888) 501-4114
Local: (612) 338-5424
Fax: (866) 998-7428
KLawton@SaveWitheM2.com
hello@SaveWitheM2.com
http://SaveWitheM2.com
BBB Review

Entry #1: Embrace the Leading Edge

CLICK HERE TO VOTE→

We’ve all heard that businesses are traveling less for meetings and relying more on webcasting and Skype calls—and it’s true, probably more so in the SBE community than in others.

But how do you guarantee a professional experience, free of technical glitches, wayward connections, & poor audio quality?

Sometimes those snafus are unavoidable—screws fall out all the time, the world’s an imperfect place—but if you have the budget, you can outsource the webcasting & technical setup.  Televisual companies are cropping up all over the place, and with each passing year their services get more affordable, while using fewer man hours, which saves you money.

But perhaps you’re located in an area where human capital is not a vast resource, or perhaps it is simply not in your budget to hire a large team—you can still find places where technology can be substituted.

Whether it’s a personal assistant app, a social-media-post-scheduling-website, or even plain old Skype, there are myriad technology options to help make your business more effective and efficient.

Best,
Sayra Havranek, Marketing Manager  
Total Webcasting, Inc.
Office: 845.883.0909
sayra@totalwebcasting.com
http://totalwebcasting.com

The Winner of the April 2013 Supplier Spotlight Contest is…

First things first: This has been the most active month in the history of the Contest.  770 votes!  Over 3,600 page views!  And that’s not all: This month we blew past 30,000 all-time Supplier Spotlight views!  I can’t thank everybody enough, but suffice it to say: This contest has always been for the SBE Community, and I’m happy to see it embraced.

Another momentous occasion! This is America, where small businesses drive our economy, and we throw birthday parties for dogs.  Kodi wasn’t thrilled about the birthday hat, but he was more than willing to suffer for that plate of Jell-o. (Just for fun, send me your silly pet pics & we’ll publish them…)

But we must get on with the show:  The big winner this month–in a real back-and-forth brawl with WeezLabs–is Get Referrals, Not Fool’s Gold by Dallin Swenson at S.O.F.T. Inc.  I think it won for two reasons: 1. They were most aggressive in promoting the contest to their network, and 2. it espouses common-sense that we  forget from time to time: People you already know, know other people.  Any satisfied customer is a built-in advocate for you & your services, all you have to do is reach out to them.

As always, a heart-felt Thank You! to all the other Contestants: Evacus Technologies, LLC, WeezLabs (who received amazing support from, among others, Belarus!), Vector Consulting, Inc., & Six Dimensions.

This contest is sponsored by Supplier-Connection, an initiative where 20 members have committed to connect U.S.-based SBEs to their supply chains. Registration is open to all U.S. Small Business Enterprises.

…Meanwhile, over at THE SBE JOURNAL…
I’ve been getting a lot of great feedback (keep it comin’!) from my journaling lately, and if you haven’t checked it out already, I think anyone who’s ever run an SBE can relate–all the ups & downs, the tight spots, the nausea, the occasional conflicts, the impossible magic tricks… it’s all there.

Read the latest entry, “10 Lbs. of Tuesday in a 5 Lb. Bag“

Twitter Chats with Supplier Connection:
Today, Tuesday April 30th at 1PM ET, Supplier Connection is starting monthly Twitter chats on @SupplierCon. They’re kind of like “Office Hours,” a time when you can drop by to ask questions and get helpful tips on making the most out of Supplier Connection. Each chat will focus on a dedicated topic, and there will also be an expert on hand to answer any questions that any registered SBEs or potential SBEs may have.  Use #ConnectBiz to tweet and join the conversation!

The Prize for Winning The Supplier Spotlight Monthly Contest:
In exchange for their efforts, S.O.F.T. Inc. has earned the following opportunity to promote their company on Supplier-Connection for the month of May:

– Company logo and links prominently displayed on the Dashboard (New! Check it out now), highlighted under The Supplier Spotlight banner on the Get Connected page, and links to their profile from the Home Page.
– A 200 word description of their business posted beneath their logo
– A link to their website, Facebook page, Twitter account, company blog(s), etc.
– A link to an online sales presentation with audio
– Link(s) to product videos, commercials, and/or their YouTube channel
– Posted links to white papers they might have written
– A link for interested Member Partners or SBE Suppliers to schedule an online sales meeting
– A promotional email gets sent to all registered buyers from the 18-Member Companies

And finally…
– If S.O.F.T. Inc. can attribute any new customer order to this promotion I’ll follow up by interviewing Dallin Swenson, and post the interview on The SBE Lifer blog.

The May 2013 contest starts NOW!
And, by now, you know The Supplier Spotlight contest starts all over again on May 1st. And with 20 Members, 550+ registered Corporate Buyers, a growing number of registered SBEs, along with our daily Social Media campaign driving more SBEs (follow me http://twitter.com/dnagallo) to The Supplier Spotlight blog; you’ll agree Supplier-Connection is where all SBEs who sell B2B should want to be seen.

ACTION ITEM: Look at how you run your business. Review the innovations you’re deploying that have improved your performance. Remember, your entry is not your chance to sell your service, it’s about sharing ways you improve your company’s performance. Write them up and email the best ones to me no later than 8:00PM Eastern April 8th. Send them to dangallo@allassogroup.com to qualify for April’s contest. (For details on how The Supplier Spotlight works, click here).

Remember… You can’t advertise on the Supplier-Connection portal for any amount of money.

No. You cannot.

The only thing we’ll accept is your best ideas.

SBEs are a journey… may the best idea win!

Dan Gallo
Small Business Advocate, Supplier Connection
Managing Director, The Allasso Group, LLC
Chief Operating Officer, myVRM

Let’s Connect!
CLICK HERE to FOLLOW for my SmallBiz focused Twitter feed – @dnagallo
CLICK HERE to JOIN The Supplier Connection Discussion Group on LinkedIn
CLICK HERE to READ my blog: The SBE Lifer
CLICK HERE to LIKE Supplier Connection on Facebook
CLICK HERE to go to Supplier Connection: Visit the Get Connected page before Monday, April 1st to read about the winner of last month’s contest: Perfect Resources LLC.

To submit an entry in The Supplier Spotlight contest you need to be a registered member of the Supplier-Connection initiative with a completed registration. Registration is FREE. For more information you can watch this 1.5 minute video or read a lot more on the Supplier-Connection portal.

Entry #5: Leverage & Mentor Interns and Save

CLICK HERE TO VOTE→

Hiring full-time employees—especially in a specialized field—is costly, we all know that. But running an SBE is about finding creative solutions.

That’s why I’m working with a well-known university to develop an intern program that would provide students with real-world consulting experience under the close direction of one of our senior Cyber Security Consultant (CSC). The goal of this program is to provide students with invaluable experience supporting various security projects and programs while dramatically reducing the cost of delivering cyber security services to our clients.

I see this as a win-win-win situation:  The intern gets to experience real work under a staff augmentation assignment and learns from a seasoned security consulting professional, our company gets to provide security services to our clients while maintaining a reasonable gross profit margin and exposing the intern to what it would be like being a 1099 or W2 consultant, and best of all, the client gets security consulting services at a much lower rate without losing the quality.

So, what kind of business do you run?  Would this kind of solution work for you?

Thanks,
Mark Azzolina, CISSP-ISSMP, Director of Enterprise Security Practice
Six Dimensions
9233 Park Meadows DR
Lone Tree, CO 80124
Tel: (719) 200-5804
mark.azzolina@sixdimensions.com
http://SixDimensions.com

 

 

Entry #4: Get Referrals, Not Fool’s Gold

CLICK HERE TO VOTE→

We’re all seeking new opportunities with new customers to help grow and expand our businesses, for those of us in highly commoditized markets; this is easier said than done.

While waiting to land that next big client or sign the next big deal, opportunities at your current client base can be missed or overlooked.  If you’re currently doing business in enterprise-level organizations, there’s a good chance there are other areas of the organization you can service.  Talk to your current contacts and see who they know.  If you’ve provided them with a high-level service, ask them if they can refer you to other groups who may be in need.  It’s a lot easier to make an introduction this way and secure new revenue streams on the coattails of the momentum you’ve already established.

And when that new client introduction or contract does come through, you’ll be that much more confident in your ability to execute.

Thank you,
Dallin T. Swenson, Account Executive
Source Of Future Technology, Inc.
161 Avenue of the Americas, Suite 904
New York, NY 10013
Tel: 212-633-1515
Fax: 212-633-6429
dswenson@softinc.com
http://softinc.com