You are in the middle of working hard and accomplishing important work. You are in the groove and the juices are flowing, allowing you to operate at peak productivity with really impactful ideas. You are in the zone and you are unaware time is passing. You feel great. You are about to … You were…
Dale Denham
Upon release of a new feature or invention, I hear people say, “I wish I had thought of that.” Depending on the topic, I occasionally hear people say, “I thought of that, I could be a millionaire!” Just last week, I opened my Kindle reader on my iPad and tried the “continuous scroll” feature. I…
Last week, I attended the 5th annual PPAI Technology Summit with more than 100 industry colleagues to network and be inspired. The conference is geared toward technology leaders in the industry, but there were many topics covered useful to each of you. Security It's no surprise security was a big topic here, especially with all…
The #Online18 most influential people consists of industry influencers who use online tools and strategies to benefit their business and the overall promotional products industry. Each year gets tougher to identify the #Online18, as the online marketplace continues to evolve. One important note about the #Online18 is that this is primarily based on a personal…
Gmail launched in 2004, and was immediately a hit largely because they offered more free storage than anyone. It was more than storage that kept Gmail the leader in email, it was powerful features that were easy to use overall. Gmail was one of the first major applications to use AJAX (if you really want…
Politicians love promotional products when they are running for office, and mid-term elections are right around the corner. Yet the politicians don’t really understand the value of our industry (does anyone?), and that can be dangerous, as they pass laws that can negatively impact us. For example, language has been proposed in the past that…
"Irregardless" means regardless, so why do some say "irregardless?" In fact, most dictionaries state that "irregardless" is nonstardard or incorrect use, yet I hear so many colleagues use the phrase. So what, you say? Why does it matter? Perhaps it doesn’t matter to most people, but it always makes me pause to contemplate the speaker’s…
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It's getting ugly out there. In the last four weeks, I've seen more successful "hacking" attacks within the promotional products industry than ever before. I am confident the attacks are 3 to 4 times more prevalent than they were just several months ago. This is creating havoc for everyone from suppliers to our buyers. The…
My last blog, “5 Reasons to Stop Using Voicemail,” triggered several conversations with people who had different viewpoints. Some conversations, including one left as a post on the blog, asked for ways to increase responses. Today’s post gives you alternatives to increase responses that are much more worthwhile than leaving voicemails especially when prospecting. Do…
Voicemail is on a prolonged downward trend that is beginning to accelerate. Nearly all the messages I receive on voicemail are cold callers. Nearly all the messages on voicemail never make it past 5 seconds before I delete them. There was a time that I cared enough to listen to—and even to return—people’s calls and…
Only 9 percent of people achieve their new year resolutions, according to Statistic Brain. Resolutions and goals are very similar in many ways. Even their definitions are similar. Goals are “the object of a person's ambition or effort; an aim or desired result,” where a resolution is “a firm decision to do or not to…
It’s that time of year where people ask me what to get their friends who love gadgets. There is no shortage of ideas this year for you to consider. The hard part is finding the right gift for the right person. Let’s start with the obvious. Amazon Echo (Alexa): On the off chance you know someone…
Expo is around the corner, and your calendar is filling up with meetings. When you arrive at Expo, your phone will automatically update your time zone, and your calendar entries need to be scheduled properly to make your life easier. For example, I live in the Eastern Time Zone, and if I schedule a meeting…
People buy what they are comfortable with and from people they are comfortable with. Switching to a new vendor or a new product creates angst that they might make a bad decision. Therefore “top sellers” remain top sellers because of social validation. We can’t be wrong if everyone else is buying something. Despite buying what…
When I hear the word “actually” in a presentation, my "BS detector" goes on high alert. While true in all presentations, the alarm bells ring very high when the word is used in a software demonstration. “You can actually pay your bill with one button click.” “You can actually see your logo with no effort.”…
