Are you thinking of ending your business partnership? Are you unsure as to how to go about ending a business partnership? It is never easy to break up a partnership whether it is within a personal or business relationship. In this article I will be writing about the best ways to formally end a partnership agreement.

So you have decided that you want out, it is time that you ended the business relationship with your partner and to go it alone. You are slightly unsure about how to proceed as you do not want to upset anyone.

The best thing to do in this situation is to plan exactly what you are going to say to your business partner. I would suggest a meeting to explain the full reasons as to why you feel the end to break up the partnership. Ending this type of relationship via e-mail or text is just unprofessional and is basically out of order.

Your partner should at least have a right to reply, face to face and there is even the possibility that you may be able to iron out your differences at this meeting.

Before attending such a meeting you should fully prepare all of the finances and how such a break up should proceed. Your partner is likely to want to gain more than your initial offer mainly due to the anger factor that they are likely to feel. Your initial offer should therefore be quite a way higher (in your favour) than what in reality you would be willing to accept.

Any agreement should be signed and sealed within a legal document. It would be nice to believe that a shake of hands would be sufficient however business is business.

Ending a business partnership is a messy, stressful ordeal therefore you need to be one hundred percent sure before you propose such an action.

Steve Hill is a webmaster from Birmingham, he has interests in a number of websites including: stuttering therapy, stuttering treatment

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Tags: professional, ethics, workplace, article, training

There is absolutely no room for unethical behavior in the professional world. This statement is exceptionally important for publicly traded companies and their accounting practices. From financial officers to accountants to auditors, and so on, there is no greater impact on stakeholders when these persons perform unethically.

Unfortunately, there are multiple reasons for which one might consider acting unethically when preparing financial information. The most obvious reason may be quite simply, for self-interest-greed.

An accountant may embezzle funds from his or her employer for financial gain. Or perhaps the CFO of a publicly traded corporation may prepare financial statements to appear as though the company is performing much better than it actually is, because he or she wants their stock portfolio to increase.

Another example for why unethical behavior might exist is from corporate pressure. An accountant may feel pressured from his or her client to report false information. Or maybe a CFO is experiencing demand for improvements from the board of directors, the company’s president, owners, or stockholders; or he or she may be in fear of losing their job.

An accountant may decide to work for a company even though a conflict of interest may exist. If the accountant is owed money or has a significant stake in a firm, he or she may not be the ideal individual to prepare certain companies’ financial statements.

Finally, and perhaps the most common form of unethical behavior, is the failure for an accountant to conduct an in-depth analysis when preparing and revising financial information. There are many individuals who prefer to take short-cuts in life; and frankly, this simply is not acceptable when expected to perform in a professional manor.

There have been many laws enacted, on both state and national levels, intended on preventing one from conducting unethical accounting practices. In addition to these laws, have been many recommendations to implement changes geared towards the improvement of professional ethics.

Two such individuals, who have spent much time working on this topic, are: Jane B. Romal and Arlene M. Hibschweiler. According to the June 2004 CPA Journal, Romal and Hibschweiler recommended that “states should be encouraged to mandate ethics training as part of CPE requirements”.

This notion forced the Texas State Board of Public Accountancy (TSBPA) to begin a more intense training regimen for accounting educators, CPAs, and accounting students. This included having every licensee taking four-hour ethics courses on the board’s Rules of Professional Conduct every two years. The Arizona State Board of Accountancy requires every Arizona CPA to take an ethics class for licensing renewal.

In addition to state level mandates, is the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. Section 406 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act requires that publicly traded companies disclose their code of ethics for senior financial officers. The Act was designed to promote honest and ethical conduct; full and accurate disclosure in periodic reports; and compliance with applicable government rules and regulations.

Even with the actions of Romal and Hibschweiler, the TSBPA, and the Sarbanes-Oxley Act; no one can regulate another’s integrity. Some individuals, regardless of their profession, will always look for some form of personal gain, even if it means conducting themselves in an unethical manner. This article is designed to help educate people on unethical accounting practices, why they occur, and how we as a nation can promote ethical behavior.

Roderick A. Jacobsen, CPA
Karpinski & Jacobsen

For quality Accounting Services in Arizona, visit Phoenix CPA where you can find Accounting Resources.

References:

Gaumnitz, B. (2004). Codes of ethics with impact. CPA Journal, vol. 74, issue 5, 64-66.

Kieso, D., Kimmel, P., Weygandt, J. (2005) Financial Accounting (5th ed.). Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

VanZante, N. (2005) Improving professional ethics. CPA Journal, vol. 75, issue 5, 9-11.

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Tags: article, behaviour, examples, unethical, workplace

10. Have a ridiculously comfortable desk chair: The nicer your chair is, the longer you can stand to sit in it before your desk without having to get up because you’re antsy. And of course if you’re antsy and walking around the office with a general aimlessness, you’re not working.

9. Make a To-Do List: Lists are great because the simple act of making the list gives you something to do in those moments of lost energy when you don’t actually want to be working. By making a list you’ll find yourself doing something remotely work related, and you may simply motivate yourself by looking at the sheer length of a list of things you have to get accomplished! (The Tasks feature in Microsoft Outlook works great for this.)

8. Be Better Than Someone: You don’t have a lot of control over this, so pick your target wisely. Nothing makes people feel better about themselves than feeling like they’re better than someone else. Choose your target- it could be a parent, sibling, friend, or even a lackluster coworker. The smug sense of satisfaction you get from besting this person will be enough to keep you driven every day to never lose your edge.

7. Set up Google Reader or Technorati: You can tell yourself that you’re just taking time out of your busy day to keep up to date with the latest industry news, but what you’re really doing is reading a few industry blogs intertwined with Popsugar or Best Week Ever. If having your own personal interest blogs mixed in with the industry ones make it easier to remember to read blogs, do it. You may not be enriching your working knowledge as much as you’d like to think, but the industry stuff will stick and you’ll be able to bust out interesting relevant factoids in meetings and the latest celebrity gossip at the water cooler.

6. Piss off your Friends and Family: This is a surefire way to free up your time for more work at the office. If everyone you know outside of work is mad at you, that removes the temptation (or option?) to go out after work for drinks or spend your weekends poolside with the family. Who needs weekends anyway? Just lost opportunities for more work!

5. Supplies: Make sure you have the supplies you need to do your job. If you’re running out of staples, get some. If a certain program would increase your productivity 10%, ask for it and make your case. It’s much easier to do the job when you have everything necessary. Once you get into the niche where there’s not much else for you to ask for you’ll be able to apply all these tools to hone your skills and do a better job. You have to prove to the company that you’re worth investing in.

4. Money: Of course, that’s what we’re all in this game for, right? Get the jobs that get you the khakis that get you the chicks. I believe it’s probably a fact that your work ethic and dedication to the company goes up exponentially as your salary goes up. Don’t be afraid to ask for a raise every year if you’ve seriously been rockin’ at work. Be sure to do something that makes the bigwigs take note and want to give you more money and you’ll find it’s much easier to get out of bed in the morning!

3. Befriend your Coworkers: If you have a vested interest in the people around you, inherently that comes with a vested interest in how work goes for them. A job well done on your friendly coworkers’ part will often help make your job easier, and vice versa. As long as you have a mutual respect for what your coworkers are trying to accomplish and how that fits in with your goal, you will be more willing to go the extra mile on your end. Eventually your coworkers will reciprocate by making something easier for you and it will become a productive cycle.

2. OCD: OCD, or Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, really helps in those tedious projects that just need doing. Spend hours late into the night working at something as boring as updating a database for formatting for the simple reason that everything HAS to be right. Not only with this give you a false motivation to get a project done, but your supervisors will gladly take advantage of this affliction of yours and praise the results!

1. Care: It’s as simple, really, as caring about doing a good job. Have some pride in what it is you produce or how it is you help the company overall to succeed. If you genuinely care about doing your job well, that’s really all you’ll need to motivate yourself and have a great work ethic.

Like this article? Read more here

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Tags: work, ethics, article, workplace, social

At 7:00 a.m. in a perfect world, there wouldn’t be a criminal coming to an automotive dealership, wandering the showroom while waiting for his car to be serviced, and while there, taking a credit application and several copies of drivers’ licenses that were left on a salesperson’s desk the night before.

Unfortunately, this major safeguards rule violation and others can happen at any time at any dealership unless there’s an enforced process of adhering to finance and insurance compliance laws.

Some dealerships use the threat of termination to force employees to comply. This approach is effective on the surface, but doesn’t truly make the employee care about protecting the dealership.

Unintentional mistakes can happen during hectic days. For example:

* A salesperson leaves the permission-to-drive slip in the car after a customer’s demo drive.

* A sales manager pulls the credit of a “phoned-in” co-signer.

* With several deals waiting, an F&I manager has a customer sign a blank menu “”in the interest of time”".

But in a government investigation, offering busy-day excuse for such mistakes is like hiding behind a skinny lamppost to avoid machine-gun fire.

The way to bulletproof your dealership and potentially save millions of dollars in lawsuit payouts is to comply with every rule, regulation, policy and procedure.

This is attainable if all dealership personnel are committed to creating and maintaining a culture of compliance. This starts with building habits.

The first step is to totally secure all personal and private information in the finance or sales office with locked doors and file boxes. Identify who will control that information and designate them in your information security plan. Every employee should be aware of the designated managers, and sign an acknowledgment.

Maintain a protected central location for copies of driver’s licenses, deals in the works or any information the sales staff will need to access on a daily basis. Set up a procedure that defines the use of this information. Impress upon the staff that this is the system. Their daily routine will conform accordingly.

Stored deals from previous years and dead deals need to be in locked file cabinets at all times, with only the people designated in your information security plan having access. Sales people will soon realize that only an authorized manager can look up an old deal.

Teamwork is important to a culture of compliance.

Make sure every employee hears you say “we” are protected because of these procedures. And stress this: “We’re a team in every aspect of this dealership, including doing things right.”

That fosters sales people’s respect and reinforces their desire to help keep the dealership compliant.

The goal is compliance as a natural way of doing business.

Take personal responsibility if you catch a violation.

Sit down with the offender and say, “We messed up, I’m counting on you to not let this happen to us again.”

Explain that to protect “our dealership” is why, for example, the employee must fill out a permission-to-drive slip for a dealer plate. Say: “Don’t let the customer leave it in the car next time; it compromises their personal information.”

Because of gained respect for the F&I department, sales managers will enforce 100% turnover to F&I, knowing customers’ personal information is secure.

In turn, the F&I department will help the sales department hold more front end gross.

Good habits developed in compliance will pass over to all areas of operation, such as menu selling.

The F&I manager will give a properly presented menu with all optional products fully explained and disclosed for every delivery every time, no matter how busy the day gets.

In a culture of compliance, the F&I manager will happily get used to making more money and enjoying higher customer satisfaction scores.

Robert W. Linkonis Sr.

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Tags: law, ethics, article, business, marketing

Can a sweet, chocolate coated figure appeal for the sweet and dreamy seduction?

…Probably not…
The evolution of new class in Indian society – ‘Educated labourer class’ is on the verge of asserting this fact. Recalling the days few months back, the lucrative job proposals rained by the BPO world at the doorstep of Delhi University was applauded not only through out Delhi but almost all the northern states like – Uttar Pradesh, Bihar Punjab, Haryana. In that scenario no one was in mood to spare his/her chances to boast on the matter of unemployment. Why not…, in fact the population which is going to caress 1.5 billion mark in future seems to be mammoth challenge before ‘we the people of India’. Currently, over 7% of the labour force are totally unemployed which comes around 400 million. Through the NREB (national rural employment bill 2004) the present UPA government tried to intercept the cyst of unemployment in rural areas. This bill was aimed to provide anyhow, at least the employment in the rural areas. But it is a matter of introspection of the psychology which was adopted while drafting the NREB how effectively that psychology will handle the educated labour force of India. No considerable measures have been adopted as yet to address the problem of improving the higher education status in India and positive resources to absorb them.

Every year, 2.1 million graduates and 0.3 million post graduates pass out of non-technical colleges. This figure, somehow, attracted and fetched the attention of those countries that were looking for the chance to slash their operational cost in business. Leaving millions of work force unemployed the top notch companies from the US, the UK, Australia and many other bourgeois countries started to outsource their parts of business in terms of services, data maintenance and so to the developing countries. Thus, the term BPO evolved and strengthened its position in the world market. On one hand where it started to boom the developing countries like India, on the other hand it received a curse of million of unemployed work – force of those countries who came on road overnight. The cause was evident and crystal clear – ‘Profit’. However, business is responsible for its impact on society also whether intended or not. But the origination of this consortium comes from the womb of curses, negations, hue and cries of millions of lamented populace. Naturally, the aftermath reflected in the US election which was contested on the center point of outsourcing, the Democrat defeated the Republicans with a great mandate and in addition to that William Greene (US international trade commission) had figured out the flaws related to the policies of outsourcing in his report heading “Growth in service outsourcing to India: Propellant or drain on the US economy” in Jan.2006. Thus, for how long booming BPO will keep booming us became a burning question in the countries like India.

Setting aside the speculation over the longevity and durability of the BPO, it is evident that BPO, in India, had significantly given a boost to the Indian economy by employing 4,00,000 people and having a bulk size of $9-12 million recording a growth of 37% of year on year basis. But it is expected that the BPO will face shortage of 2, 62,000 workers by 2012 which is currently facing the problem of quality human resources. Over 50-60% of attrition rate which is highest among all conventional or non-conventional sectors in India is also significant to be noted. The nine cities of India where 90% of Ites – BPO are located – Chennai, Bangalore, Hyderabad, NCR (National Capital Region), Pune, Kolkata, Kochi, Mumbai and Ahmedabad are coincidently hub of academics and reservoir of quality production in India too. Thus companies in these are forced to complete for the same worker due to their need of more manpower which leads to wage inflation, saturation of market or knocking the door of fresh work force from the production house whether it is Delhi University or any other universities ignoring the result of stumbling block in the formation of GenNext. It was recorded that in 2004-05 the salary at the captive units have increased between 9.7%-14.3percent in comparison 4-5% growth with the European countries or Americans. In fact, they are not there for any charity or work force empowerment but preying for fresh on low wages in order to curtail their expenditure. If we analyze the background of fresher, they are either from the middle class or star class of the society. Around 70% – 75% are from the lower middle class or middle class. According to the social analyst “the front runners for catching job are the students hail from vast middle class of Indian society however undeniably they have been the only reservoir of knowledge and research works for the different walks of life.” Result – to show the back to the challenges of ‘how to nurture the reservoir of knowledge’ have been inevitable. The present studies say that the enrollment in American Institutes declined from around 80,000 in 2004-05 to 76,503 in 2005-06 and will continue to fall in the forthcoming years also. But the interesting fact is that the ranks of students are swelled by 32% over the previous year. Decline in the number of candidates dreaming for technical/semi-technical studies and rapid declining value addition at the vast majority of universities are also significant to be noted. Thus, this is nothing but the penetration of money in the honey of academics and no bees are available to safeguard them.

There is growing paradox in the industry esp. the voice based call centers. Despite of the fact that the BPO firms have much innovation, flexibilities and freedoms, at the core, it denotes a relatively hollow form of life. Portrayal of ‘work as fun’ and ‘workplace as another campus’ is the central logic through which the potential workers are attracted to and engaged in the BPO sector. The superior façade of work in the sector and the vibrant ambience of workplace – with sweeping glass and concrete buildings, factory of jazzy computers, the company of smart and trendy peers –help in drawing educated and fun loving youngsters from urban middle class, who are fascinated with western ways of living and modern work environments. A review of advertisement of BPO reveals that preferred attributes of a call center are that of young graduates/undergraduates with English speaking and comprehension ability. The firm, in their profile and advertisements toss the bright ambience of workplace with lucrative offers as the prime aspect of attraction. The comparatively easy access to job, a good communicator, having little typing skills and a command over English is all that it requires. Though a newly hired agent engages in somewhat slightly elevated job of a receptionist/computer operator or a telephone operator, the firm are found labeling the job with very attractive nomenclature such as customer support associates, customer support officers, customer care officers, customer care executives and so on. All these cumulatively lead to favourable supply conditions in the labour market and the emergence of new genre of workers who stand apart from the regular workers of conventional manufacturing/service sectors in terms of socio-economic and demographic attributes. More or less, it fails to garner the prestige of “white collar job” among the youths now. The reason which can be summoned through the dialectic of data which reveals that the average year of education of the new breed of workers is16 years fills the qualified breeds to alienate from the main stream. It gives only the idea of work as fun rather than any seriousness and sincerity with professional touch.

This is really a conundrum to understand the BPO life-cycle. The average tenure at a voice-based Indian BPO is merely 18 months and 3-4 years for the other types of business process outsourcing firms in comparison to the normal service life of 25-30 years. Despite of all the positive features of attracting the young breed of ‘educated labourer class’ why the BPO is facing the annual attrition rate of around 50-60% needs an exigency of to be pondered over. The NASSCOM, National Human resource development network and ICRA in BPO report point out the cause of attrition as – wage inflation, expectation mismatch, job stagnation, lack of growth, quest for a better job, content and dissatisfaction with the company policy. But ultimately it gives inconsistency within. The BPO culture however, has resulted in the creation of a new class of workers with distinct features and differently conceived identity eroding even the basic rights at work. This class is not only squaring him from the education but willing to be trapped into the seduction of money and repent on their decision when their golden phase of learning comes to a permanent end. They joined initially for the sake of fun only but later, when they address the real challenges of their reel of life which is many more than the pharaoh monetary need, it becomes too late to move back. Either they are kicked off under the ‘push attrition’ measures of the company in order to save themselves from the long time commitments of their employee or voluntary attrition due to non-compliance of expectations which are natural due to nature of the work.

That’s why, the immediate challenge of the researchers and social scientist here is to delineate and explore the insecurities and vulnerabilities are so veiled in the organizational logic of the firm. However, every act decision and deliberation of business management has economic performance as its first dimension but if any firm or organization does not leverage the specific cultural heritage of a country and people, social and economic development is unlikely to take place. It is really an emergency of confining the ambits of hiring process in the BPO world as basic factor in economic development is the rate of brain formation not the employment guarantee. Any country can not afford to outsource its ethics in the name of economic development only. If we do not address the need to save the contraception of brain formation and quality production on time; this is appalling to say, but there will be no one to participate in the booming media sector which is going up at the rate of 19% per annum where real academic qualities are needed whereas the BPO does not require the academic qualification essentially. The poor status of research and development is again a different chapter. Science and technology on the basis of which any nation can represent it proudly on the world forum is still remained unaddressed. How long will we keep boasting on the pseudo victory where that victory is going to prove itself lethal for a balanced development? The tier division of educated class is the only way out for the ongoing enigma; of course, hunting for new scapegoats in the university campus is not justifiable.

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Ritesh Kumar – EzineArticles Expert Author”

Tags: ethical, issues, article, business, code

I am a follower of rules. I believe that rules are there to give everyone an equal opportunity to enjoy the benefits that our great nation provides. I get angry when people don’t follow the rules.

I don’t like seeing people park in handicap zones, with or without a handicap tag, when they don’t need to. I get irritated when shoppers take 15 items and check out in a 10 item or less line. I don’t like to listen while people talk about how they managed to by-pass the cable company and get their cable TV for free. You get the idea. When people don’t follow the rules, those of us who do pay the price. I guess those folks believe that the rules are made for everyone else and not for them. Their selfishness comes before rules.

I have a sign on my wall that reminds me of this, it says, “”He who follows the rules gets screwed.”" It is not there to suggest that I not follow rules, rather to remind me not to get too angry when people don’t. Every now and then I get comforted when I see someone who did not follow the rules get their just reward.

Last week a news story reported that an elementary school teacher was arrested in her classroom in front of her class. The story, and of course, the lady arrested, thought it was horrible that the police came into the school room in front of these young children and embarrassed her over a parking ticket that she did not pay. It turns out she had more than one outstanding parking ticket and they were several years old.

To bad lady, you broke the rules and thought you could get away with it. The fact that you were embarrass in front of your class is your own fault. Do you think those of us who follow the rules should be considerate of your feelings when you obviously don’t care about ours? And the kids, let them see what happens when people don’t follow rules. Let us reinforce good actions by clearly punishing poor actions.

My hope is that by doing so, these kids will grow up following rules. Remember, the way people act in their normal lives will carry over to their business lives. Do you want businesses to become less corrupt? Cheer the small victories we get when those who refuse to follow rules get caught. I want to change my sign to read, “”He who follows the rules wins.”"

To Your Success -

To receive a free copy of the audio CD “”The 5 Foundations to Business Success”" go to this site and sign up to be on our mailing list.

Rick Stephens is a recognized business advisor and consultant. He specializes in working with small to mid-sized business owners to strengthen their business processes and ultimately grow their business. Rick has been accredited by the Institute for Independent Business, an International accrediting body for senior executives.

Rick holds an MBA from the LeTourneau University located in Longview, Texas.

Rick Stephens is the Principle Advisor of the Consulting firm RG Stephens & Associates located in Plano, Texas. Rick offers business owners the opportunity to meet confidentially to discuss any business issue they may be experiencing. His initial meeting is always free and without obligation. Call him at 972-578-7895.

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Writing articles is a powerful, free way to promote your business. Because articles are a news source they are much more credible than a paid advertisement. This is a fantastic way to get your message in front of thousands of eyes. It can establish your credibility in your Industry; it can promote name recognition, and help you to introduce a new product to the world! Once you write an article don’t just let it sit! Put it to work!

Here are 20 ways to RAISE the use of your articles!

1. Offer article as a FREE REPORT to customers.
2. Place articles on autoresponders
3. Offer article as a free gift when people refer others to you
4. Offer article as a free gift for subscribing to your opt in list
5. Use articles as weekly tips for newspaper columns, magazines, or ezines
6. Ask colleges, seminar or workshop presenters, and other training organizations if your article would make a nice addition to their training resources packet
7. Submit your article wide-ranging awareness directories such as ehow. com
8. Submit your site to specialized vertical portals specifically on your subject. Ex: marketing or business linked resource sites like makingprofit. com
9. Submit your site to webmasters with sites where your article would complement their content
10. Use copies of your articles in your media kit or new client introduction pieces
11. Post articles in frames around the office. Visitors will see them when they come in.
12. Send out copies of articles with sales letters, reunion follow up letters, product release letters, It shows prospects that you are an industry leader by being “in the news”.
13. Archive articles on your web site
14. Have piles of articles on display in your office for visitors to grab
15. Present consent on your web site for others to republish your articles if they include full bio.
16. Contact editors of ezines to see if they would be willing to advertise your article in their ezine
17. Post your article to “content providing” directories
18. Swap articles with other ezine publishers
19. Group related articles together and publish as an ebook
20. Make use of articles as an add on bonus when people pay for your product

Tips that will definitely show you how to use articles to market your business.

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Tags: tips, pr, public relations, article, marketing

Creating an effective press release represents one of the most fundamental elements of any public relations program, and there are several basic rules to help you write one.

1) Choose a newsworthy topic.

The emphasis for newsworthy is on the word “new.” The release must discuss a recent development or frame the topic as a new one.

2) Use the local angle as a news hook.

You can increase the coverage of your release by focusing, in the headline and the body of the release, on your organization’s physical location. For example, “Church Sends Group to Rebuild House in New Orleans” may not garner as much regional publicity as “Greenwich Church Sends Group to Rebuild House in New Orleans.”

3) Keep the writing factual and concise.

A press release should state the facts in a direct, succinct manner.

4) Use the inverted pyramid style.

The most important, newsworthy facts belong at the beginning of the release with supporting information below. The “inverted pyramid” also refers to the decreasing newsworthy value in each subsequent paragraph.

5) Re-state the headline in the first paragraph.

The first paragraph of the press release should re-state the headline almost word for word. It should only be two-to-three sentences long.

6) Describe and quantify the newsworthy element in the second paragraph.

The second paragraph should describe why the first paragraph is newsworthy and provide any supporting numerical data.

7) Provide a quotation with a favorable opinion in the third paragraph.

The third paragraph should contain a quote from your CEO, and this is the only place in the entire release to include an opinion about the topic. Also, you should not introduce new facts in the quotation. These facts belong in the body of the release.

8) At the end of the release include a “boilerplate” describing your company.

The boilerplate should be the same in every release you distribute and should be given a subhead, “About [My Company].” It should be about two paragraphs long and include your company’s main activities and prominent clients as well as its qualifications. For smaller companies, the boilerplate should also provide a short bio of the CEO.

9) Keep the length short.

No press release should EVER be more than two pages.

10) Check carefully for spelling, grammatical or punctuation errors.

Editors may receive up to 300 press releases per day. Errors in spelling, grammar or punctuation make your release look unprofessional and may result in its immediate rejection.

In 2003, Willy Gissen founded Cut-It-Out Communications, a full-service Westchester public relations firm. With over 10 years of related experience, he trained with a former SVP of a top New York City PR firm, Hill & Knowlton, and served on the communications staff of the McCall/Mehiel gubernatorial campaign. He holds a BA in Government from Harvard College.

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It’s the thought that counts. At least that’s what many people say when they’re given the wrong gift. It’s the polite retort when you open a beautifully wrapped package sweating from excitement and you get – a garish six-inch tall eggplant figurine. Some people like eggplant but I think it’s meant to be eaten, not placed in you mantelpiece.

Companies are one of the most generous gift-givers, next to Santa, of course. They do this not only because of the goodness of their hearts but also to get something in return. Call it psych war, call it creating brand awareness, call it marketing, whatever you want to call it. It’s an important tool in the business world.

But a company doesn’t automatically reap in the fruits of their marketing labor by throwing a mug here and a pen there. It requires great planning to create the right promotional effect. Some companies go to great lengths to produce the most highly innovative and unique business gifts to be given to the most important people in their business – their customers.

Choosing the right item could be a hit and miss opportunity. The trick is to find a logical marketable connection between your company’s products and services to the item. It is just rational for a company specializing in office supplies to give out free pens and papers or for a clothing company to give out free t-shirts. But how about companies that has no products to speak of, like a real estate company or a plumbing service? They would need certain items that will reflect the kind of service they offer and give out information necessary for patronage. A great suggestion would be a spill-proof mug that has been the ‘it’ item in business gifts. It’s a necessity for today’s fast-paced lifestyle. Dads can make their homemade coffee to go and since its spill-proof, it can be placed in cup holder in the car without him being late for work. Moms would appreciate the fact that this is a flexible item that can hold little Tommy’s orange juice or her favorite cocoa when she goes to the park.

But let’s be conventional and think of something that will be in the hands of the customer for years to come. Key chain anyone? A key chain is the perfect business gifts because your company logo can easily be engraved in any material of your choice. It becomes an important part of their lives and it can serve as a daily reminder to your valued clients that you are there when they need you. It’s all about finding ordinary items and making them advertising space. Also consider the functionality of the object. Companies should aim to make the customers, upon receiving their business gift, say, wow, I could use one of these! In the cutthroat world of advertising, it’s not always the thought that counts.

Lottie Carrot is an expert in the field of business gifts. Working at Argon Promotions, she specialises in helping companies create brand recognition and value through promotional marketing tools.

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Tags: marketing, strategies, strategic, company, article

Have you come to experience a press release advertisement on the net where it seemingly has a forceful magnet that it pulls you towards reading and checking the entire press release material and eventually goaded to purchase or buy a product from them? Well, if you have not had a similar experience, then you may have not come across such a powerful press release material. But for majority of people who have had similar experience, what could have led them to believe the press release material? Below are some of the elements of a forceful press release material.

a. Write a compacted but meaningful press release material. Press releases should by nature be very short and compacted. This avoids the potential of being just trashed away should it becomes boring due to the lengthy material that you have produced. As a cardinal rule, you need to make sure that you develop a short press release because you want to capture the attention of your potential clients to forego on reading it and not b lured by boredom and disinterest.

b. Begin your press release with a bang. The opening statement of your press release material usually on a single liner statement must be able to discuss the product information or the potential benefits that the product is promising. This is usually proven effective in capturing and catching the attention of the readers to forego with reading the rest of the material.

c. Make a clear statement of your promises and be sure to have this realized. Do not make any false statements on your press release. Do not tend to be overly exaggerating with your promised features as your potential readers may see them differently. Stick with what is factual and valid, lay aside all possible doubts and have these realizable.

Do you want to learn more about how I do it? I have just completed my brand new guide to article writing success, ‘Your Article Writing and Promotion Guide’

Sean Mize is a full time internet marketer who has written over 9034 articles in print and 14 published ebooks.

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Tags: pr, media, write, press release, article