The Phillip M. Perry Catalog

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Recent articles

April 29, 2013: DISASTER RECOVERY: When Bad Things Happen to a Good Business. Disasters have been much in the news in recent times, with an exploding plant in Texas, a bombing in Boston and hurricanes devastating much of the east coast. In addition to the human tragedies caused by such events, businesses can be seriously harmed or destroyed. Your readers can take steps to mitigate their losses when crises such as these strike. How to go about designing an effective recovery plan is covered in the attached article, “Disaster Recovery: When Bad Things Happen to a Good Business.” Three security consultants offer advice on what goes into a good plan and the importance of maintaining it.
Keywords: SECURITY

March 25, 2013: UPSELL! How to Fuel More Sales from Every Customer. Good sales people engage customers from the time they walk through the door to the time they pull out their wallets. The best of those sales people engage in “upselling”—encouraging customers to enjoy more benefits from higher quality, higher priced merchandise. Your readers can train their employees to serve more customer needs with the best merchandise.
Keywords: RETAIL SELLING

February 15, 2013. WORKERS COMPENSATION INSURANCE. Employers face higher costs as the insurance industry changes its calculation for the "x-mod," that critical element of the premium calculation formula. In response to higher medical costs and a diminishing number of carriers, business owners are instituting programs to control the impact of workplace accidents.
Keywords: INSURANCE

January 7, 2013: HEALTH INSURANCE REFORM: GOOD OR BAD FOR YOUR BOTTOM LINE? Business owners large and small must act now to comply with the federal Affordable Care Act (ACA). Also known as "Obamacare," the law offers some benefits that may help cap costs at a time when employers are experiencing rising premiums.Smaller employers can take advantage of specific features such as tax benefits, state insurance exchanges and premium reform. Insurance experts around the country weigh in on what employers need to do now.
Keywords: INSURANCE

November 26, 2012: GET MORE FROM YOUR NEXT TRADE SHOW. Every trade show presents attendees with a conundrum: On the one hand the presence of so many industry leaders and vendors provides opportunities for boosting business profits. But that same variety of opportunity can lead to costly confusion. Every attendee must solve the puzzle of how to work the show in a profitable way without getting bogged down by crowded booths, talkative vendors and ineffective concurrent sessions. Four trade show experts offer some assistance in the new article, “How to Get More from Your Next Trade Show.” A sidebar discusses how social media are making such shows more effective.
Keywords: TRADE SHOW

October 18, 2012. FORECAST 2013 A new year is around the corner. Small business owners everywhere will be wondering what the future holds in terms of the economic environment. Will the nation finally recover completely from the recession? Will consumers show signs of greater confidence? Will corporations start hiring and investing in new capital goods? What's it all mean for revenues and profit? See the answers from market watchers in this article.
Keywords: FINANCE MANAGEMENT

September 19, 2012. GET HAPPY: Positive Attitudes Boost Profits (1,000 words plus 700 words in two sidebars). Tough times take a big toll on workplace attitude as business owners and employees alike descend into a funk. That's bad for sales and profits. In this article management consultants describe the importance of a good attitude and offer advice on renewing the workplace spirit.
Keywords: EMPLOYEE MANAGEMENT MOTIVATION

August 4, 2012: HACK ATTACK: Protect Your Online Bank Account from Fraud. Business owners use online banking for everything from vendor payments to payroll. The convenience of the Internet, though, carries risk. Banks do not indemnify commercial bank account holders for theft. There's no recourse when cyber-thieves remove funds through fraudulent wire transfers. How can your readers protect themselves? The answers are in this article. The story includes a sidebar quiz so readers can test themselves on their current levels of cyber-safety.
Keywords: SECURITY INTERNET

July 6, 2012: GIFT CARDS: Plan Now for Christmas Profits. Retailers can increase their profits this Christmas season with carefully designed gift card programs. Success depends on imaginative promotional strategies, policies that reward employees for selling cards, and premiums for customers who reload. Retailers must also comply with relevant federal and state regulations.
Keywords: RETAIL MERCHANDISING

May 30, 2012: THE COST OF TALK: How to Cap the Monthly Phone Bill. Increasingly used as a power base for successful retailing, the smart phone comes with a cost: Surprise charges for voice and data overages. Retailers can take steps to limit the damage by monitoring their invoices, selecting their plans carefully, and having employees use their own phones for company business.
Keywords: FINANCE

April 29, 2012: CASHING OUT: How Much Can You Get for Your Business? Good news for anyone looking to sell a going enterprise: Thanks to changing economic conditions, buyers are paying the highest rates since the 2008 recession. How can your readers facilitate quicker sales at better prices? Several experts in commercial real estate offer advice.
Keywords: FINANCE

March 27, 2012: MERCHANT ACCOUNTS: How to Negotiate a Better Deal. Retailers can reduce the costs of their credit card merchant accounts by shopping for quality providers and vetting their contracts. Thanks to a more competitive marketplace merchant account providers are more willing than ever to deal.
Keywords: RETAIL FINANCE

January 17, 2012: MANAGE YOUR ONLINE REPUTATION. Abstract: Business owners must protect their reputation and their profits by monitoring customer reviews on social media sites. Effective steps include responding in a productive way to negative and positive reviews, and arranging to receive an alert each time a business is mentioned in an Internet post.
Keywords: INTERNET
 

Articles from 2011

December 21, 2011: FAMILY MATTERS: How to Solve the Toughest Family Business Problems. Sibling rivalries, parent-child conflicts and charges of nepotism by a non-family staff can interfere with the smooth running of any family enterprise. Here are the solutions.
Keywords: MANAGEMENT EMPLOYEE

November 17, 2011: MAKE YOUR BANK A PARTNER IN PROFITS: Negotiating the New Lending Maze. Business owners are struggling with a more conservative financial environment in which bankers demand greater certainty in cash flow projections before lending money.
Keywords: FINANCE

August 15, 2011: WEB ANALYTICS: Boost Your Sales with Smart Data. Retailers can increase their profits by redesigning their web sites in response to customer feedback. Web analytics programs identify the design elements that lead to “buy” decisions as customers move through a site.
Keywords: INTERNET

July 8, 2011: EQUIPMENT LEASING: Credit Crunch Sparks New Look at Alternative Financing. In a tight money market business owners view equipment leasing as an attractive way to help fund their operations. Striking a favorable deal, though, means assessing the quality of a leasing company and carefully studying its terms.
Keywords: FINANCE

June 10, 2011: WEB SITE MAKEOVER: How Video Turns Browsers Into Buyers. Web sites connect with customers and stimulate sales. Left unattended, though, sites can become stale. Business owners need to continually update their online presentations to reflect changes in how the buying public prefers to receive its information. Today, customers are becoming more visually oriented. In  response, your readers need to include video to maintain a marketing edge. Here's how.
Keywords: INTERNET WEB

May 2, 2011: AVOID COSTLY LAWSUITS FOR SEX DISCRIMINATION. Employers can take steps to reduce the risk of costly lawsuits for sex harassment and discrimination. With the largest gender bias lawsuit in history now before the Supreme Court, your readers must renew their effort toward maintaining policies and procedures that assure bias-free workplaces. Three attorneys tell how in this timely article.
Keywords: LEGAL

March 25, 2011: EMPLOYEE BENEFITS: Balancing Cost and Employee Satisfaction. Business owners can attract and retain the best employees by offering good benefits. The most coveted programs, though, can be costly. Human resources experts offer advice on how to cap expenses while keeping employees motivated.
Keywords: EMPLOYEE

February 20, 2011: PLASTIC PROFITS: New Regulations Promise Lower Retail Costs. Valuable as they are for stimulating sales, credit and debit cards carry onerous transaction fees that can trim a good portion of any merchant’s bottom line. New regulations, though, promise to ease the burden on what has become an essential payment method. Payment system consultants tell how retailers benefit in this article.
Keywords: FINANCE RETAIL

February 10, 2011: MAKING E-COMMERCE WORK: How POS Systems Integrate Diverse Sales Channels. Retailers need to consolidate sales channels into unified inventory and reporting systems to assure accurate sales and profit analyses. Resources are available to help merchants integrate eBay, Yahoo stores, and other revenue sources with traditional brick and mortar sales. Experts tell how to get the job done in "Making E-Commerce Work." A sidebar provides leads to additional information.
Keywords: RETAIL FINANCE INTERNET

January 31, 2011: LEASING MATTERS. Business owners can often negotiate better terms for their property leases, thanks to the high vacancy rates that are legacies from the recent recession. But the time to act is now, since the economic rebound in many markets has made landlords less anxious to strike deals. In "Leasing Matters" experts on real estate tell how to take a stronger seat at the negotiating table.
Keywords: FINANCE

December 20, 2010: WORKPLACE DRUG POLICIES. Workplace drug abuse can spark costly lawsuits when impaired workers injure coworkers or customers. While such litigation has long been a risk for employers, the problem is much greater today with the advent of high potency prescription drugs. Employers must be careful not to commit illegal discrimination, willfully or otherwise, against workers who are impaired by legitimate medication.
Keywords: EMPLOYEE LEGAL

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