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Associate Editor

Mike's Blog

By Michael Cornnell

About Michael

Michael Cornnell is Associate Editor for Promo Marketing Magazine.

 

Promotional Fashionista

Colleen McKenna
3 Summer Accessories from Expo East
May 22, 2013

The beach tote, sunglasses and nail polish fit for warm weather promotions.
...



Be Bold, Be Different, Be Memorable

Rick Greene, MAS
Listening 101
May 22, 2013

A good listener is a valuable friend, and a valuable friend is a trusted business partner....



Be Dazzled

Elise Hacking Carr
The Baby Boom: 3 Must-have Maternity Pieces
May 21, 2013

The rumors about Beyoncé’s second pregnancy may be false, but that shouldn’t stop you from outfitting other moms-to-be in promotional...



Not So Technically Speaking

Dale Denham
The High Cost of a Low Training Budget
May 16, 2013

If you train your staff, there's a risk they'll leave; if you don't, there's a risk they'll stay.
...



Jeff's Rant

Jeff Solomon, MAS
Why...?
May 16, 2013

Why... be connected? I've often talked about my love of trade shows and the value of business relationships, which are...



Selling Smarter

Rosalie Marcus
Help! My Customers Know the Codes
May 14, 2013

A promotional products distributor recently wrote me and asked how to handle clients that have figured out the industry's pricing...



Beyond Words

Rebecca Kollmann, MAS+
A Blog of a Different Color
May 13, 2013

When we communicate with others—through a presentation, through graphics or through text in an article—the use of color can truly...



Embellished

Kyle Richardson
Call For Sources: Michigan Suppliers and Distributors
May 10, 2013

Do you work in Michigan, or do you sell into the restaurant industry? I want to hear from you....



Kiwi's Coaching Corner

Paul  Kiewiet
Think Like Your Client
May 9, 2013

Getting out of the commodity game requires hard work, thoughtful work and requires learning new skills and work habits. You...



The Hot Button

Mary Ellen Nichols, MAS
Have You Cleaned Out Your Teenager's Gym Bag Lately?
May 1, 2013

Performance clothing has changed over the past 10 years: silkier, stretchier, more mesh, even less stinky in some cases. So...



Big Picture Promo

Matt Kaspari, CAS
The Shift to Empowerment Marketing
Apr 25, 2013

Empowering is the act of giving away your power to those around you so you can elevate the group as...



Friday Sales-thought of the Week!

Dale Limes, MAS
Reverse Engineer Your Sales Success
Mar 18, 2013

Steven Covey reminds us that when setting goals ... "Start with the end in mind." That is to visualize the...



Editor's Notes

Nichole Stella
The Perfect Match
Mar 5, 2013

The Super Bowl has also become the Ad Bowl, where brands duke it out to see who has the funniest,...



Compliance Chat

D E Fenton
When a Picture Says a Thousand Words: Bangladesh
Nov 30, 2012

It takes a single negative image to undo even the most successful campaigns in the eyes of your customers—and many...



My Two Cents

Rick Brenner
CPSC General Counsel Clarifies Distributor Responsibilities for Children's Apparel
Oct 8, 2012

There aren't many distributors who would describe themselves as manufacturers. But under CPSIA, the majority of promotional products distributors—at least...



The Sales Challenge

Bill Farquharson
Think and Succeed
May 29, 2012

What would happen if you woke up in the morning and your first thought was, "I am never going to...



Creating More Purposeful Sales Conversations

Lisa Leitch, CSP, MAS
Under 100 Days to Achieve 2011 Goals
Oct 20, 2011

It's hard to believe, but there are fewer than 100 days left to achieve 2011 goals! Are you on track...



Industry Voices

Guest Contributor
In a Recession, Dress Up To Cheer Up
Jan 20, 2010

A few weeks ago, I had dinner with Executive Apparel's president and its director of product development in Orlando, Florida....



What To Do When There's No Internet At Your Office

 
As I write this, there is no Internet in our office. I don't know why, just one of those cruel quirks of modern life I guess: Whenever you have a literally measureless volume of work to do, the silly-yet-hopelessly vital technology that you've based your entire career on will absolutely die and be unresponsive to your prayers/pleading strings of curse-words for at least two hours.  

This is not a good situation to be in.

There is as an upside to the Internet's gut-wrenching connection fickleness though: like a bad girlfriend or debilitating back pain, your Internet connection will always come back. Comcast sends a truck, your I.T. guy does his thing, the stars realign. Whatever needs to happen, eventually it does and the Internet is back and providing you with cat gifs, email access and all the other things you need to get your job done. Until that happens though, there are a couple things you can do to pass the time:

  1. Drink Coffee
    This is always the first thing you should do when you need to stall for time. Caffeine is a scientifically proven mood-elevator, as is drinking hot things that you can put sugar in. If you've made some poor life choices, you can substitute in tea, though I wouldn't personally recommend it.
  2. Check In With Your Coworkers
    When's the last time you talked to your coworkers? What about your family? Take a few minutes to see how your coworkers' weekends went or why your daughter keeps getting suspended for "stealing cars and generally inciting anarchism." (There's a small chance the latter might be your fault, so it's probably worth at least checking on. You know, to protect yourself legally.)
  3. Try And Fix Your Internet Problem
    Is fixing the Internet your responsibility? If so, that sucks, but now's definitely the time to get on the phone/into the guts of your computer and start fixing things. If the Internet isn't your prob, hooray! Pass that bad boy straight to the correct person like it's a promotion wrapped in hundred-dollar bills and move on to step four.
  4. Is There Any Work You Can Do Offline?
    Even though the answer is probably "No, you idiot, that's the whole problem here" really make an effort to find something you can work on. Were you farsighted enough to keep anything offline? Some accounts books? A catalog? A business plan? Whatever you can find, be it a neglected side project or just a silly blog post, enjoy your "gift" of free time to get a little work done on it. Also, now would be a good time to make a list of things that should have an offline backup, if and when your internet goes down in the future.
  5. Wait
    Repeat steps one through four until your Internet is back. If you get bored, consider adding secret step 4a: Driving to Starbucks and buying like 16 cake pops/starting a fun and self-destructive habit, like chain-smoking or reading the newspaper.

That's it for this week guys. Our Internet is back, so time to get back to the grind. As always, thanks for reading and see you all next week!

Like my blog? Why not follow PM on Twitter or Facebook (or just me on RSS or LinkedIn) so you never miss a post? Thanks!

MONDAY MIKE FACT: My girlfriend somehow knows everything about coffee, and is really good at ordering crazy fun drinks at Starbucks.

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