October 2003, Volume: 6, Issue: e/10, ISBN 1527-5175

~~~Technology is never a solution. Unless you have control of the underlying systems, technology only layers on more complexity.

~~~A recent inquiry... came from Judy Krantz with the State of MO. She asked for a top ten list of Fatal Errors killing a deal. We offered these responses in random order: over reliance on incentives, discounting capabilities of competition, over promising, slow to respond with information, sending too much information, selling and not listening, not asking strategic questions to understand the company's future plans, breach of confidentiality, failure to control price or property, waiting to prepare until you have a prospect. Send those you also consider "fatal flaws" to: ecanada@blanecanada.com

~~~Why... should you know about suppliers to your area's companies? Wal-Mart is the biggest seller of toys, diamond jewelry, underwear and DVDs. Companies deriving more than 20% of their sales from Wal-Mart include: Hershey Foods, Clorox, Revlon and Rayovac, the battery maker. Last year's sales to the company by Dial topped 28%. Because of this tight relationship, over 500 large manufacturers such as P&G, Kraft and Sara Lee have set up offices near Wal-Mart's headquarters. Do you have this type of information on local companies? Source: Daily Herald, Oct. 5, 2003 & Bloomberg News

~~~"Critical Mass"... is Indiana's new electronic newsletter distributed monthly to keep in the public's mind the numerous past, current and pending achievements within Indiana's Health Care Industry. It provides a calendar of events, symposiums, and corporate involvement. Great. Brief. Timely.

~~~The Greensboro, NC Economic Development Partnership... has positioned business retention as the center of its strategic plan. The focus will require 45% of the annual budget, or $500,000, on existing business and have backed this up by hiring people to work with local firms. Source: http://triad.bizjournals.com/triad/stories/2003/09/01/story2.html?t+printable

~~~"Advanced Business Retention"... "Just wanted to let you know how much I enjoyed the (Blane, Canada Ltd.) seminar and how beneficial this will be for the organization." "The information and experience you shared was awesome and I look forward to working and learning again with you. Source: Participant from FL   NOTE: The next seminar will be in April 2004 in Chicago. Info will be in future ED Marketing e-mails.

~~~Gestures... can connect you to your audience. They can also make your audience not want to look at you if gestures distract from your message. Source: Claudyne Wilder's Presentation Points

~~~Read Jeff Thull's new book... "Mastering the Complex Sale - How to Compete and Win When the Stakes are High!" Published by John Wilely & Sons, May 2003

~~~Yahoo Finance... is a great place to obtain more detailed information on companies. Financial information, SEC filings and insider trades are sources for more market intelligence on prospective and local companies. Source: http://finance.yahoo.com

~~~Hoover's "Build Company List" or "Build Executive List"...  generate and download targeted lists of prospects culled from the Hoover's Company Database. You can target using up to 29 different parameters such as location, industry, financial and performance elements, company rank and, for executive lists, salary, position, etc. Subscription to Hoover's Pro Plus is required for complete access, and subscription information is not available online. Source: Larry Chase's Web Digest for Marketers, 9/18/03

~~~"I need it... (Synchronist). I can't function without it. [At my prior job] it become a staple for me. Now I need it here." Source: Synchronist Business Information software user

~~~Rural advantage... Advances in telecommunications and networked computing make sites in rural U.S. and Canada just as tuned into the world as offices in downtown Chicago. Advantages of rural locations: lower operating costs, lower costs of living, affordable land costs, reduced crime, variety of tax incentives, and more room for expansion. Source: National Rural Economic Development Assoc.  http://www.nreda.org

~~~Thomas Regional Industrial Market Trends... regularly publishes on different industries. For instance, a recent issue addressed plastics, from plastics processing and injection molding to nanomaterials. (Volume 4, Issue 2, September 16, 2003) Keep up on industries key to your area. Are changes solely in new R&D developments, national legislation, overseas competition, or increasing US production overseas?

~~~Mobile, AL... The Chamber uses e-mail space cleverly. For existing businesses as well as prospects, solid data is provided at the end of the e-mail communication: "Aggressive economic development marketing programs by the Mobile Chamber have helped bring 225 new businesses and led to 782 expansions of existing industries since 1985, representing a capital investment of $7.88 billion and 26,901 direct new jobs." Bill Sisson tells us this information is included at the end of press releases and other materials in order to generate more knowledge about the area. Well done!

~~~Never... let the client look bad. Source: John Ramer speaking at a Blane, Canada Ltd. seminar

~~~"Sales Manager's Magic Three"... pipeline multiple, sales cycle length, and lead conversion ratio.  So you're all set to sell... or are you? Check out the "Sales Effectiveness Newsletter", 3/7/03 and Stu Schmidt, Market-Partners, Inc.   http://www.market-partners.com

~~~If we didn't have airplanes... would anyone have time for quality thinking?

~~~CEO of Caterpillar, Inc... "You've got to be sure you're producing product in a low-cost country so that you can compete." Glen Barton, CEO, as reported to Bloomberg News

~~~Maytag... "dishwashers have Chinese motors, Mexican wiring, and are put together in a sprawling American factory (in Jackson, TN). Some refer to this three-tiered approach to manufacturing as a triad strategy. Maytag calls it trying to keep ahead of imports...Maytag wants to avoid a wholesale shift of production out of the U.S....Maytag's new approach to production began three years ago. Still, Maytag says it wouldn't build certain items in China because of fears the technology would be stolen." The Daily Herald, Sect. 3, 10/12/03

~~~Economic impact analysis... is often associated with growth. However, in the environment of supporting existing businesses, it's equally important to understand the economic impact of a company closing.  Financially, the impact goes beyond the loss of jobs. An inverse analysis was conducted to determine the negative impact. Although the area studied is a California county, the lesson is appropriate. For each job lost, it was determined that $189,000 was the multiplier of lost supplier and service jobs. This further supports the need to monitor local business health. Source: California Association for Local Economic Development's "Bulletin" and the Nevada County Union paper

~~~"Emerging as a viable approach... community development based on the arts is increasingly being recognized as a catalyzing force." Rhonda Phillips, PhD, rhondap@ufl.edu

~~~ Logistics friendly... "Expansion Management" and "Logistics Today" magazines teamed up to study "logistics friendly" metro areas in the US. In 2003, the Toledo area ranked 5th out of 300. Several other metro areas in Ohio ranked in the top 25 (Cleveland 4th, Columbus 16th, & Dayton 25th). Source: Hans Rosebrock, OH   For the article and complete list of rankings, click on: http://www.expansionmanagement.com/smo/articleviewer/default.asp?cmd=articledetail%articleid=15904

~~~"Learning... is a treasure that will follow its owner everywhere." Source: Chinese proverb

~~~Six degrees of Kevin Bacon... In this trivia game, every actor/actress can be connected to actor Kevin Bacon through a chain of six or fewer people. (Why Kevin Bacon? He has acted with many stars, many of whom receive awards in the productions they shared with Kevin Bacon. Bacon, on the other hand, is over looked.) In economic development, every ED professional is within four degrees of Blane, Canada Ltd. Nearly 9,000 have attended our courses and workshops, hundreds use our Synchronist software, still more use our consulting services, and the rest read ED Marketing Letter. So, maybe every ED pro is really only two degrees from Blane, Canada Ltd. Every day, the economic development world grows a little smaller.

Blane, Canada Ltd.
1506 Cadet, Suite 100
Wheaton, IL 60187-7380
ph 630.462.9222
fax 630.462.9210

info@blanecanada.com