- We Turn Emotions Into Memories!

Your Focus Determines Your Reality: Onboarding Lessons from Star Wars

May the Fourth be with you! Happy Star Wars Day, readers. I have a treat for you: a Star Wars-themed blog!

I know what you’re thinking: “What does Star Wars have to do with anything you write about, Alexis?”

Well, it has to do with onboarding. If you haven’t gotten the chance to learn what onboarding is and why you need it, check out our NEO post.

In The Phantom Menace, Qui-Gon Jinn trained a young Anakin Skywalker and told him, “Your focus determines your reality.” What does that mean? What does that have to do with onboarding? The reality is that your employees won’t develop a strong connection with your company unless you have focused on an incredible onboarding plan. Onboarding helps new employees focus and connect with their new employer.

“But what does this have to do with Star Wars? They didn’t onboard their employees.” You make an excellent point, but you can learn important lessons from the franchise that will help you create a strong onboarding plan. Continue reading…

Leave a comment

#ChuckSaid – Don’t Leave Sales on the Table

I’ve heard the same mantra for years. Distributors walk by our tradeshow booth and say, “WOW, your awards are so beautiful. I wish my customers wanted this stuff!” Well, the truth is they do want this “stuff.” However, they’re getting it from someone other than you!

Don’t believe me?

I’ve been in this game for 25 years and I know from experience that the game is changing. The demand for recognition awards outside the promotional products industry is growing. However, within the promotional products industry, the demand for awards is shrinking. Continue reading…

Leave a comment

Anything But a Boring Plaque!

Imagine for a minute that you work for a state fire department. Your job is to find awards for an annual banquet that honors brave and hard-working firefighters. Your first instinct is to stick with what you’ve always given: a plaque.

But then you realize something: the plaque is getting repetitive and kind of boring.

What kind of award will turn heads? What can represent them and their profession to the fullest? Is there something unexpected to give them? Continue reading…

Leave a comment

#ChuckSaid – Make It an Easy Sale; Sell Value

As a dealer, you know it is much easier to work with a customer who wants to buy than one that needs to be ‘sold.’ When your customer wants to buy, the selling process is easier, faster, and less stressful. However, when a customer needs to be ‘sold,’ your job gets harder. You wonder, “When and how I am going to close this sale?”

You can avoid this tenuous situation by leading with value and following up with product features. Continue reading…

Leave a comment

Give Your Executives the Gift of Crystal!

Keeping top talent is hard. It’s one of the biggest challenges facing your business. And the executives at your company have worked hard to get where they are. So what happens when you don’t show your appreciation?

They leave.

When they leave, you lose your leaders and their creativity. You lose decision-makers who guide your company toward success.

What can you do to motivate them, strengthen your relationship with them, and create memories? Continue reading…

Leave a comment

#ChuckSaid – How to Create a Gold Medal Presentation

The 2018 Olympics recently wrapped up. I love the Olympics. I tried to watch as much as I could. My favorite part is watching one winner after the next receive their prized gold medal. I try to imagine what that moment must feel like for the winner, standing in front of thousands of people who celebrate my victory. What a rush! Can you even imagine?

I watched the winners bow their heads slightly to receive their medals, then look up and wave at their adoring fans. This moment of recognition is executed flawlessly. The people that organize the Olympics make presenting an award look easy. But, I assure you, planning and executing a once-in-a-lifetime award experience is not as easy as it looks.

I have been giving awards to my employees for 14 years. That totals roughly 140 award presentations throughout my career. Most presentations went well while others have gone terribly. I have learned the hard way that there is a certain technique to presenting an award. There is a way to connect with the winner on stage in an authentic way; saying the right thing at the right time. I have discovered that it takes both authenticity and practice to make a gold-medal award presentation.

I want your award presentations to be meaningful and effective. So I will share with you what I’ve learned – here’s WHAT TO DO and WHAT NOT TO DO. Continue reading…

Leave a comment

#ChuckSaid – Awards and Apparel

A first-time customer stopped by my office last week. She is an industry veteran and one of the top salespeople in her organization. She told me that she just started selling awards. Astonished, I had to ask her why she had waited so long. She said, “Chuck, I thought awards were just too hard to sell. Boy, was I wrong.”

Over the years, many distributors have told me the exact same thing! Once you give it a shot, you’ll realize that selling awards is not hard, just different.

I want to debunk the myths that surround award sales by comparing award sales to the largest product segment in our industry – apparel. These myths are:

It is hard to make money selling awards; I can make more money selling apparel
My clients don’t ask for awards
There must be a lot of competition selling awards
Award sales are too time-consuming

Leave a comment

Your Company's Leaders, The Cherry on Top

Honor Incredible Leadership with a Crystal Award

A leader creates a vision for the future, motivates and inspires, and builds a team. They solve problems, look forward, and have a “not good enough” attitude. Peers look up to them and come to them for guidance and advice. Leaders deserve an award that makes them feel that they are truly a valued member of the team and should be rewarded for their continued dedication.

In a way, leaders are the best part of a delicious ice cream sundae. The company is the ice cream – a great base and wonderful all on its own. The employees are the toppings like whipped cream and chocolate and caramel – the things that make it better. And leaders are the cherry on top. They make the sundae perfect with their attitude, abilities, and impact on the company.

What types of leadership activities are worthy of recognition? And what kinds of awards can you give? Here are a few awards that we’ve created to recognize different leaders in an organization. Continue reading…

Leave a comment

#ChuckSaid – Counter Cyclical Sales

When I ask distributors “What it the best time of year to make money?” without hesitation, they usually answer, “Third and fourth quarter.” This is the time of year that most distributors think of as their “cash cow months.” Product moves and sales boom.

Then January hits and distributors take a collective deep breath, thankful to have survived another stressful busy season. But why?

Wouldn’t it be awesome if the boom didn’t stop just because the ball drops every New Years Eve? What if your business could continue booming all the way through the first and second quarter? Wouldn’t it be great if your “cash cow months” kept mooing?

If continuing to make money during the traditional slow season sounds good to you, stick with me. You’ll be glad you did. Continue reading…

Leave a comment

Top Dealership Award – A Showstopper

Sometimes dealers call us and they’re totally stumped. They have no idea where to start in designing or selecting or decorating an award. When customers are at a standstill, our most seasoned Solutions Specialists step in to provide ideas. They help get the wheel of ideas turning to create momentum and help the dealer serve their customer.

We create some of our most remarkable awards this way. We start with next to nothing and then develop an idea into a tangible product with a personalized decoration. And we get really excited about the opportunity to assist with a project at its moment of conception. Continue reading…

Leave a comment

Older Posts

Newer Posts