It’s a New Year, and judging by the incredible outpouring of views & votes this month, you guys are certainly full of new enthusiasm. I mean, 425 views just on Monday alone! Nearly 200 votes! The mind boggles.
Needless to say: Thank You, as always, to all the contestants & all the viewers & voters for taking the time to participate. This contest runs solely on the competitive spirit of small businesses like yours and mine. And the ideas? They all come from the hearts and minds of small businesses across the USA. I’m thrilled to be working with all of you to make it a success.
The Big Winner this month is… “Teamwork: 1 + 1 = 3” from Charles Daoud, who is the Sales Director over at Camelot Business Management Software. As you can see, it took almost half of all votes cast, and I think that’s because his entry carries a substantial weight for SBE owners: We always–always!–have to reassess the truths we take for granted. By wedding ourselves to strategies that should work but don’t, we not only hurt ourselves but everyone associated with our SBE. And that point bears remembering for all of us. You can read the entry for yourself right here.
And a special “shout-out” and thank-you to Kate Meyers at Brown & Meyers Inc. for putting up such a strong showing–neck and neck until the final hour. Congratulations to all the other contestants from The EXPERTS Bench, Certify My Company, & Cocktail Caterers for getting in the game and making it a great contest.
This contest is sponsored by Supplier-Connection, an initiative where 19 large companies have committed to connect U.S.-based SBEs to their supply chains. Registration is open to all U.S. Small Business Enterprises.
“Interviews With Experts” on The SBE Lifer
This is a new feature where I interview experts in different fields and ask them one simple question: How can the average SBE use your advise to grow their business? So far, I’ve gotten great responses from Mike Stelzner (Social Media Examiner), David Newman (DO IT! Marketing), & Jason Falls (Social Media Explorer). I really think these interviews will prove invaluable to your SBE, and since we’re rolling out a new installment nearly every week, you’ll definitely want to keep checking in.
The Prize for Winning The Supplier Spotlight Monthly Contest:
In exchange for their efforts, Camelot Business Management Software has earned the following opportunity to promote their company on Supplier-Connection for the month of January:
– 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 Camelot Business Management Software can attribute any new customer order to this promotion I’ll follow up by interviewing Charles Daoud, and post the interview on The SBE Lifer blog.
The February 2013 contest starts NOW!
And, by now, you know The Supplier Spotlight contest starts all over again on February 1st. And with 19 Member Companies, 500+ 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 February 8th. Send them to dangallo@allassogroup.com to qualify for February’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 Friday, February 1st to read about the winner of last month’s contest: Integrated Security Consultants, 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 a lot more on the Supplier-Connection portal.
