Issue August 2003 - Cleveland              "Keeping Businesses Moving Towards Success"

Editor's Note

The summer season is winding down and many of you will be getting back into a more fixed routine.  During the summer it seems we all become a little less focused on our work hence the phrase "those lazy, hazy, crazy days of summer." Hopefully this issue of "Business In Motion" will get you motivated to have a successful autumn in 2003.

We've included some great articles this month to help you increase sales and some helpful ideas on effective marketing and promotion strategies.  Please check out our recommended companies for the Cleveland area for your business needs.

Be sure to watch for our next issue in which you will find marketing tips, sales strategies, and business services that will help you succeed in your business endeavors.  Good luck and enjoy!  Please feel free to forward this page to an associate.

Employer costs for health benefits now account for 8.8% of payroll expenses at U.S. employers with health coverage, up from 7.3% in 2000, according to the Hay Group Inc., Philadelphia. Hay surveyed 1,000 U.S. companies and found that their health insurance premiums rose an average 15% this year, even after adjusting for benefit reductions.

Hay is blaming the increase on the cost of new medical treatments, tougher provider contract negotiations, relaxation of care management at health maintenance organizations, and a shift toward preferred provider organization plans.

Fifty-seven percent of the employers surveyed now offer PPO plans as their primary plans, up from 40% four years ago, Hay says. Many of the employers surveyed have responded to the cost increases by asking employees to pay more for doctor visits and prescription drug purchases.

The percentage of plans with co-pays of $15 or more has increased to 57% this year, from 33% in 2001, Hay says. Typical co-payment levels for prescription drugs have doubled, with employees now paying $10 for generic drugs, $20 for brand-name drugs on a plan's preferred drugs list and $30 for other brand-name drugs. Eleven percent of employers have given up on fixed-dollar prescription co-payments and switched to percentage-based co-payments, Hay reports.

Hay researchers also asked employers about use of two common components of defined contribution health plans -- "health reimbursement accounts" and high-deductible health insurance.

Six percent of the companies surveyed are offering HRAs, high-deductible plans or both as health coverage options. But the typical employee participation rate is still less than 10%, Hay says

For the most comprehensive information on insurance benefits for your Cleveland area business contact Patricia Sheen at 440-235-8832.  Or you can click here for more info.

Sales and Marketing Strategies In This Issue:

Business Cards -  Don't take business cards for granted.  It is your chance to make a good first impression.  Learn how to use them effectively to promote your business.

Increase Sales Now - Helpful action steps you can take right now to help you increase your sales productivity.

Marketing Building Blocks - Build your sales and marketing campaigns with a strong foundation to insure a successful business.

Brainstorming Techniques - 10 strategies for inspiring yourself to be more creative for business success.  

"Successful people are always looking for opportunities to help others. Unsuccessful people are always asking, What's in it for me?"

By:  Brian Tracy 

directory of resources

Marketing Support -

 creativeBUSINESSworks

Number One Rated Web Sites - Save time searching through thousands of web sites.  Use this free web site to search the best of the web.

The Number One Web Site

Workplace Stress Reducer - Employees are so important to a company's success. Click here to learn how to improve the work place environment. 


Small Business Advice  -  How to promote your local business on the internet!

Make Contact. Build Relationships. Get Results. Check out ACT! 6.0 for 2004 today!

Business Travel -
Special Flight Deals on Orbitz!

Group Health  Insurance Services - For The Cleveland area: $heen & Assoc.

FUN FACTS & TRIVIA:

• The flounder swims sideways.

• A strand of spider web may be stronger than an equal diameter of steel.

• The honeybee kills more people world-wide than all the poisonous snakes combined.

• About one-tenth of the earth's surface is permanently covered with ice.

• A lump of pure gold the size of a matchbox can be flattened into a sheet the size of a tennis court.

• Each king in a deck of playing cards represents a great king from history: Spades - King David, Clubs - Alexander the Great, Hearts - Charlemagne, Diamonds - Julius Caesar.

Monthly Riddle:

Helpful Links:

if you would like to help just click on the link: 

24,000 die of hunger each day.  Help The Hunger Site -    

The Hunger Site

Help fund mammograms for underprivileged women -

  The Breast Cancer Site

Help neglected animals - 

 The Animal Rescue Site

E-mail Marketing

In today's competitive marketplace, it can be difficult and costly to win new customers. Then, once you acquire new customers, you are faced with the daunting challenge of how to keep them. 

How can you build a one-to-one relationship and establish long-term loyalty with each customer without depleting your profits? E-mail marketing is perfectly suited for your customer retention efforts.

Marketing Tip of The Month:  

Pre-Survey the Prospect
Got a hot prospect meeting in the near future? Send the prospect a "pre-meeting survey" by email the week before. Ask them to email you the answers to specific questions (i.e., customer's needs, concerns, budget, time constraints, etc.). Target your presentation to answer these questions and you stand a better chance of speeding up the sales process and landing a new client.