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CEDMag.com - February 2013 Articles
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FEBRUARY 2013
- Do Your Best Practices Smoke the Competition – or Burn Opportunity?
Management
By F. Barry Lawrence, Ph.D.
The reason best practice launches go up in flames – and most do – is not because it wasn’t a true best practice. It’s because management didn’t tie it tightly to ROI, and also forgot to prepare the staff.
Many firms believe that competitive advantage comes from finding something the competition does not do and your customer values. The assumption is there is some "silver bullet" out there that will devastate the competition. The cold hard truth is that you don’t have to look further than your bookshelf to find these practices. Many authors (yours truly included) have described best practices like inventory stratification, customer stratification, pricing optimization, sales force deployment, and others in depth with many examples. The impact is impressive, in most cases unbelievable, so much so that consultants routinely understate the outcome to establish credibility.
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- Just Say Yes
Meet the Chairman
By Joanne Costin
AED 2013 Chairman Mike Quirk is known for saying ‘Yes’ to difficult jobs. Expect him to roll up his sleeves to enhance the value of your AED membership.
Mike Quirk has made a career out of saying yes; of taking on the jobs that most wouldn’t find desirable. And when asked to take the helm of AED in 2013, of course he said "yes." A realist, Quirk understands the equipment business is different than it was 15 years ago. "It is a different set of dynamics," said Quirk. "Challenges continue to grow. There is tremendous uncertainty." Yet as much as distributors need to have an eye on their businesses, Quirk is confident there is value in being part of AED.
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- You Can't Run and You Can't Hide from Obamacare
Health Care
By William Atkinson
Audit your current plan, consult with trusted experts, stay informed and strategize; but above all, communicate, communicate, communicate.
Health care has been very much on the minds of AED members for a long time. In fact, well before Barack Obama was elected president in 2008, AED dealers considered health insurance reform among their highest ranked policy priorities.
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- Follow That Customer The Top 4 Internet Marketing Trends of 2013
Web Advertising
By Ed Steenman
Savvy tricks for keeping pace with equipment buyers online, wherever and however they're looking
The way your customers are researching and making choices is a fast-moving paradigm, and as a business owner it is important for you to be aware of the new trends and tools available to you to gain a competitive edge. Technology has gone beyond having a decent website, or even a robust Facebook page. The purpose of this article is to highlight some key Internet marketing trends taking place as well as to provide an overview of the opportunities these trends present for savvy business owners.
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- Fiscal Cliff Bill Makes Tax Reform Even More Likely in 2013
Washington Insider
By Christian Klein
The focus will shift to the business side of the tax debate, and for AED members that could be a good thing.
With the fiscal cliff drama behind us, many in the nation's capital are asking whether tax reform is still the top priority for the 113th Congress. It is. Here's why: The fiscal cliff bill (aka the American Taxpayer Relief Act or ATRA) permanently extended the 10, 25, 28 and 33 percent tax brackets for those earning up to $400,000 per year ($450,000 for joint filers). It also permanently extended capital gains rates (except for high earners), marriage penalty relief, child tax credits, exclusions for employerprovided educational assistance, student loan interest deductions, and Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT) relief.
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