While you were fighting with that family of six for the best spot to see fireworks last month, Joel Solloway, owner of Eventworks Inc., and his family were enjoying a casual evening on the South Lawn of the White House as a guest of the staff.
“I’ve never been in Washington, D.C., on our nation’s birthday. So I find that incredibly fascinating,” Solloway says.
Solloway is no stranger to the White House. His event planning company has done work at the White House and was invited to the inauguration, but this was the first time for July 4th.
“That view from the South Lawn is the most spectacular view in Washington.”
Par for the course
The labor market’s still tight. Your competitor’s trying to steal away your best employees by offering them more money and better benefits. Good employees are getting harder and harder to find.
That’s the situation in Northeast Ohio and the rest of the U.S. during this booming economy, but the region’s employers are doing all they can to level the playing field. The average minimum hiring wage for the lowest entry-level position is the region is $7.49, according to a compensation study by the Employers Resource Council. That’s more than $2 per hour higher than the federally mandated $5.15 minimum wage.
A survey of 315 Northeast Ohio employers, found the most popular benefit was an annual bonus — 76 percent of senior-level employees and 73 percent of office and professional workers received some type of bonus pay.
Here’s how local companies’ salaries stack up with salaries one year ago:
Shaking the Y2K bug
Most business owners have addressed their Y2K compliance issues, but there are still a few people waiting until the last minute and hoping nothing goes wrong. So why leave it to chance when there’s no reason to panic about the millennium bug’s impact on your business? The truth is, there’s still time to tackle that ominous remediation project, but you have to start now. Here are five basic steps you can take today to overcome that Y2K anxiety:
Awareness. Get the facts through reliable resources. Don’t assume that because you haven’t seen any problems that they aren’t there.
Inventory. Look at your software applications or utilities. How many rely on dates?
Assessment. Assess which software and systems are at risk and determine how to correct them. Is there an easy solution or will you need to replace the entire system?
Testing. Begin your plan now. Test your solutions to determine if they fix the problems. If not, go back and choose another plan.
Implementation. Implement your Y2K compliant plan and get your systems back on line. If your business relies on your network systems, you can’t afford to wait any longer.
You can please them all
If you’ve attended enough trade shows, you know that they attract a wide variety of attendees, each with a different need. The Chicago-based Incomm Center for Successful Exhibiting has broken them down into five main types of visitors, and offers suggestions on how to best target them to get the most from your company’s booth:
1. Education Seeker
These people just want to browse, look and learn. They’re in a “tell me about your company” mode, not a buying mode. Provide them with information about what’s on display and encourage them to wander around your exhibit. But don’t spend too much time with them. It’s more important to keep yourself available for serious prospects.
2. Reinforcement Seeker
These are typically existing customers of your firm who want reassurance that they’ve made the right decision to buy your product. Provide a space for them to speak with marketing or R&D people at the show and brief them on future plans.
3. Solution Seeker
These visitors are in buying mode. They’re looking for an answer to specific problems. They’re willing to spend the time to get those answers, and they’re giving you an opportunity to tell them how your product or service can help them. Talk less and listen more to these people, and you’ll win their business.
4. Buying Teams
Research shows that 50 to 60 percent of booth visitors have other people involved in the decision-making process. And 80 percent of these teams will select their vendor while they’re at the show. Ask visitors if they’re part of team, and set up private demonstrations or meetings with the entire team. Take advantage of these opportunities.
5. Power Buyers
These are upper management or key buyers with major authority. They often don’t wear badges because they would rather not attract attention. If you spot these people, approach them and welcome them personally to your booth. Ask what prompted their interest and attend to their needs. There aren’t many of them at the show, and worst-case scenario, you spend an extra five minutes schmoozing an education seeker.
For more trade show tips, visit Incomm’s Web site at www.tradeshowresearch.com.