Introducing the Bann Marketing Resource Center

Over the last few years Bann Business Solutions has continued to aggressively change with the marketplace. One of the distinct advantages of doing business with a distributor like Bann Business Solutions is that we have no capital encumbrances obligating ourselves to only sell one service or product line. Thru our list of extensive trade partners we can offer business forms, commercial print, office supplies and promotional items. Technologies change and with it the business needs of our clients.

In case you did not know we recently started a new division called Bann Banking Solutions. It was set up to meet the needs of our many new bank clients after our purchase of Gilbertson Advertising. On top of our standard lines of print, promo, and office supplies, we saw the need to offer more marketing services. We made the change along with many in our industry and see the same value for all our clients not just banks.

Today we want to touch on our Marketing Resource Center (MRC) capabilities. For years Marketing Departments relied either on Brand Marketing (Radio, TV, and direct mail) or direct Marketing generally thru a sales force. Today businesses must use a combination of marketing techniques that might include email, mobile marketing, social media, SEO, webinars, and teli-seminars to name a few. It has been demonstrated that a multi-channel marketing campaign will net almost a 30% higher response rate.

Bann Business Solution’s MRC can now offer the following products and services:

• Web site design
• Newsletter publication
• Turn key direct mail from design to mailing
• Email marketing meeting all can-spam regulations
• Mobile marketing, collecting cell #’s and start permission based communicating
• Social marketing that makes sense for you
• Customer intelligence and data mining

If your marketing team has not yet sent out a Transformailer, set up a PURL campaign, or investigated the possibilities of employing a QR code then we need to talk. There are a lot of cutting edge services and your sales representative has an expert team backing them up to discuss your individual needs. As a MRC we will not charge you the rates you would typically find from a direct provider or an ad agency. A direct provider is often more interested in selling their particular channel then they are in employing the correct one.

The bottom line is that we want to continue to bring the very best of products and services for your consideration. We want them to be at market price or lower. And we want to make the process of ordering them efficient saving you more time and money! Please make sure to ask your rep about these great services and look for an upcoming webinar coming soon to a computer near you!

The price of not changing is clear.  Products, services and companies fade into obscurity rapidly as obsolescence, global competitors, changing customer needs and advancing technology pass us by.  What we don’t talk about enough is the price of change…the price that individuals pay in the course of change.

Cost reduction and profit improvement require changes to the status quo – not just to businesses but also with the people within them.

Change, ultimately, is all about people.  As you change your business, your products, your strategies, your tactics, as your customers change; your resources change, your people are asked to do things differently.  Even if these are good changes, the reaction will eventually lead to stress for most of your people.  For the most part, we do not like to change.  We are more comfortable with the status quo.  Studies have shown that 2/3 of us do not like change and about 1/2 really do not like change.

Change is a personal experience.  Individual perceptions and reactions determine the depth of its meaning and the nature of its impact on each person.  What may be fun for one person may be very, very difficult for another.

We all have a “change bank account” and sooner or later a high rate of change will overwhelm even the minority of people who like change.  They will follow the other 2/3 that has already experienced stress.  When change becomes excessive it may show up individually and collectively in some of the following ways:

• Tension
• Anger
• Depression
• Disengagement from work or family
• Mistakes
• Less efficient communication
• Inefficiencies in work
• Increased turn-over
• Disruption of the social structure (work, home, community)
• Fear (job loss, inability to cope, the unknown)
• Decision paralysis

Any of these can carry a significant individual, social and corporate cost.  If you want to reduce the price of change, use a deliberate change process such as the Profit Improvement Process.  A change process will include the deliberate means of giving people options for participating in change, recognizing the nature of change, communicating and managing change.  People want options and they want to regain a sense of control.  A good change process will provide these.

You can make a difference by just recognizing that no one is experiencing the change that you are undergoing in exactly the same way that you are.  That information alone may allow you to manage change more effectively and thus reduce its price.

Change is inevitable.  Growth is optional.

Steven Martin

Business Solutions – The Positive Way

Mike’s Lone PEEK Summit!! 

As the first year of “my next 50 years” comes to a close I would like to note that the more things change the more they remain the same. As has been chronicled in our newsletter change is inevitable. It generally is a good thing and helps to keep us vibrant. Change is like the tide it just keeps coming and we must learn to ride the waves.

In the first year of “my first 50 years” I caught pneumonia and was told it was life threatening. A new drug called tetracycline helped save my life but also for ever more changed the color of my teeth. All in all it was a worthwhile change.

In this my first year of “my next 50 years” my business caught a bad economy that continues to impact many of us. In response we have and will continue to change. We purchased another distributorship this year. We opened a complete new division marketing to the needs of Community Banks on a national basis. We have added to our service mix and now are offering a line of marketing services to better help our clients in these difficult times. We hope these changes will make all of our businesses stronger.

In the early years of “my first 50 years” I was an active kid who rode his bike everywhere to do everything. I logged many miles but alas at that time there were no bike computers to count them. I rode my bike to my first job as a caddy where I fell in love with golf which left no time for biking. Caddying helped pay for my tuition, afforded me the opportunity to become a pretty good golfer, and eventually earned me a full scholarship to the University of MN. All in all a worthwhile change.

In this the first year of “my next 50 years” I played less golf then ever and started riding a bike again. My computer said I logged almost 2000 miles. I managed to change my weight distribution without changing my beer intake. Unlike past years I only played in one major state golf event but had my best finish ever. 2nd in state! All in all a worthwhile change.

Somewhere in the middle part of “my first 50 years” I took up skiing, became interested in girls, and was lucky enough to figure out a way to combine the two. Like most young men I eventually settled down, met the girl of my dreams, got married and had 3 incredible kids. How kids change never ceases to amaze me. By far it was the best change I had made to date.

In this the first year of “my next 50 years” My skiing style has changed from mere survival to adventurous big mountain skiing. The girl of my dreams wanted a change and moved out this year but thankfully all three kids remained with me at home. Change for yourself is one thing but watching how change can affect those you love can be the hardest. Happily all parties are getting along fine and I’m settling into being a single dad. Change that does not kill you will only make you stronger!

Anyone of us could tell endless stories of change in our businesses, in our careers, and surely in our personal lives. It is my humble opinion that since change is so inevitable it is not really the change itself that is so important. It is how we deal with that change that is vital. My father was a good role model. He just kept putting one foot in front of the other always focusing on the attempt to move forward!

Mike

The line it is drawn

The curse it is cast

The slow one now

Will later be fast

As the present now

Will later be past

The order is rapidly fadin’

And the first one now will later be last

For the times they are a-changin’

Bob Dylan, Copyright © 1963

A Hidden Threat to Mens Health

By Michael Masterson

Do you depend on the major media for your health information? If so, you may think osteoporosis affects only women.

In fact, it’s a health problem for men too. And because most men don’t know they’re at risk, they’re far less likely to take action to prevent it.

Men get one-third of all osteoporosis-related bone fractures. But their chances of complications are dramatically higher than they are for women. Men with prostate cancer are especially vulnerable. Both the disease and a common treatment — androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) — contribute to bone loss.

Here’s how to lower your risk:

• Maintain adequate levels of vitamin D. All it takes is two or three hours per week of exposure to sunlight, say the folks at Total Health Breakthroughs. If you can’t spend that much time in the sun, take a vitamin D supplement or cod liver oil.

• Get at least 1,000 mg of calcium per day, preferably from your diet. A high-protein diet makes more calcium available for building bone density. Just one more reason to make healthy protein part of every meal.

This article appears courtesy of Early To Rise, a free newsletter dedicated to making money, improving health and secrets to success. For a complimentary subscription, visit http://www.earlytorise.com.

Death and Taxes

Ben Franklin was correct in his statement that the only two things we can count on were death and taxes. Bann Business Solutions is dedicated to offering you the most complete line of tax forms available. You can call us or go online and receive our online discount of an extra 25%.
But only thru October 31st so Hurry!

Did you know that the IRS requires employers who file 250 or more information returns to file electronically? This has eliminated the need for some forms that normally would have been mailed to the IRS. However employers must still get the relevant copies to the employees as mandated by the IRS. This has led to a host of formats including regular IRS formats, condensed formats, blank formats with perforations and backers and pressure-seal formats.

Every so often the IRS changes some forms. This year the major change is the size of form 5498 used for reporting individual retirement arrangement and simplified employee pension. Two new forms have been introduced: Form 3921 (exercise  of an incentive stock option) and form 3922 (Transfer of a stock acquired through an employee stock purchase plan). The important thing for you to remember is that Bann Business Solutions will continue to help bridge the gap between 1099 and w-2 paper forms and technology.

There is now new software which a desktop application ideal for filing a large number of forms (25 or more). It includes data import from other software applications, all types of 1099 and w-2 forms, unlimited payers and payees and e-filing capabilities. It is bundled with forms that make printing and mailing more efficient, where all employee copies are printed on the same page to eliminate separating and collating forms before mailing.

We also offer a complete line of presentation folders and envelopes to compliment your tax forms. We believe small to mid-sized businesses will continue to demand electronic reporting solutions and move further away from paper reporting. Paper reporting will still be needed but electronic reporting is more efficient! The government continues to lower the threshold for requiring e-filing (250 employees) so more companies will need to report electronically every year.

Please remember we also offer a full line of health insurance forms, human resource products (tools for compliance and people management) tax presentation supplies and pressure seal products.

The Impossible Dream

By Robert Ringer

A reader recently sent me an e-mail in which he griped about his “impossible situation.” I guess it’s all in the eye of the beholder, because to me it appeared that his was an impossible situation with a lot of possibilities.

So what, exactly, is an “impossible situation”?
More specifically, what does “impossible” really mean?
Is it impossible to make a mountain move simply by having faith?
That’s quite a challenge. If anyone could do it, it would probably be that Star Wars guy, Yoda. But I don’t know of any real person who’s mastered such extraordinary mind power.

Is it impossible to get the man or woman of your dreams to love you if he/she is already in love with – and maybe married to – someone else?
(Shades of Dudley Moore in the classic 1979 movie 10.)

Not quite like moving a mountain, but perhaps a close second.
Terminal cancer?
The subject of miraculous healing is a surefire invitation to a heated debate. Many of us have known people who were told they had terminal cancer, yet survived and lived to enjoy many more healthy years. Have all of those cases been flukes?
All of which raises the question: When the seemingly impossible happens, is it God, luck, coincidence, or something else that is responsible?

God can presumably do anything, but God also helps those who “help themselves” – meaning those who take action.
As for luck – well, that’s pretty much random.
Sometimes we witness the impossible and refer to it as a coincidence.
But I’m not sure there is such a thing as coincidence. Most of the coincidences I’ve experienced have been a result of actions previously taken.
Which leads me to the “something else” – that great metaphysical abstraction we refer to as human will.

The will to accomplish something – be it winning a sporting event or moving a mountain – manifests itself in something we call attitude.

Viktor Frankl was perhaps the most famous of all Holocaust survivors.
He lost his mother, father, brother, and wife in Nazi concentration camps. Years later, he wrote: “Everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms – to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way.”

Okay, so Frankl had an amazing attitude under seemingly impossible circumstances. But wasn’t he lucky as well? Absolutely. I’m sure Frankl would have been the first to admit that he was a very lucky man, but he also was convinced that he could not have survived Auschwitz and Dachau had he not chosen to find positive meaning in his life.

Let’s consider the three possibilities you would have had if, like Viktor Frankl in the 1940s, you found yourself in a Nazi concentration camp.

Possibility No. 1: If you had a great attitude concerning the dire straits you were in, you still may not have survived without a good deal of luck.

Possibility No. 2: If you harbored an attitude of total despair, you surely would have been doomed, even if you had been fairly lucky.

Possibility No. 3: But if you had a positive attitude coupled with good luck, you would have had a shot at surviving.

This, I believe, is what Frankl was getting at when he said that choosing one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances is the last of the human freedoms.
In all likelihood, then, the impossible dream is not impossible at all, at least theoretically. In my lifetime, I have been in far too many impossible situations that mysteriously became possible.
Meeting my wife was impossible. (Too long of a story to go into here.)

My son coming into this world rather than dying at birth, as he almost certainly should have, was impossible.

For that matter, when I get up every morning and behold my little speck of the universe, it occurs to me that both the universe and my consciousness are complete impossibilities. Surely I am the most improbable collection of atoms in existence.
Whatever it is that arranged my atoms in such a way that I can reflect on my own existence, does it not seem reasonable that the same Whatever can make a brain tumor disappear?

Or bring the perfect spouse into the loneliest of lives?

Or cure a person with financial leprosy and guide him to great wealth?
I believe the answer is yes. And for me, that Whatever is the Eternal Energy of the universe.
Luck and coincidence are interesting abstractions, but a more meaningful abstraction is human will – the will to have power, the will to have money, the will to live. When you exercise your freedom to tap into the Eternal Energy of the universe, your life is not at the mercy of luck or coincidences. And though we may not understand it, it is that connection that allows us to go beyond dreaming the impossible dream – and actually live it.

[Ed. Note: To learn how to survive and prosper during the turbulent years ahead, check out Robert Ringer's powerful audio series Succeeding in a World of Chaos. And be sure to sign up for a FREE subscription to his one-of-a-kind e-letter A Voice of Sanity in an Insane World.]

This article appears courtesy of Early To Rise, a free newsletter dedicated to making money, improving health and secrets to success. For a complimentary subscription, visit http://www.earlytorise.com.

A New Cure for a Hangover?

Better than the Dog That Bit You.
Next time you wake up with a crushing hangover, don’t reach for aspirin.
Eat asparagus instead!

That comes from a study in the Journal of Food Science. The researchers showed that extracts from asparagus alleviated hangover. They also protected liver cells from the toxic assault of alcohol.

In fact, the asparagus reduced damage to cells by a whopping 70 percent.
It also helped two key enzymes metabolize alcohol twice as fast.
“To get the best from asparagus,” Total Health Breakthroughs Editor Melanie Segala tells me, “you should eat the stalks and leaves.”

I’ve got asparagus in my refrigerator right now.
And a friend’s birthday party coming up this weekend. Hmmm …

This article appears courtesy of Early To Rise, a free newsletter dedicated to making money, improving health and secrets to success. For a complimentary subscription, visit http://www.earlytorise.com.

Mike’s Lone PEEK Summit!!

Perseverance: steady persistence in a course of action, a purpose, a state, etc., esp. in spite of difficulties, obstacles, or discouragement.

As the youngest of 4 boys in my family I may not have known what perseverance meant but I was bound and determined to be on equal footing with my big brothers. I took my fair share of bumps and bruises but I made it. I was never a big kid, even my twin sister at one time was a full foot taller then me. Let’s just say I was used to being on the bottom of the pile. As a 3 year old I got pretty sick and had to take some special medicine it cured me but for whatever reasons left me with terrible dreams. My older siblings both took care of me and ribbed me for my silly dreams. I was told (I really don’t remember I think they made this all up) that I had an unusual fear of ladders and stairs. This most likely is why, for along time, I suffered from a severe fear of heights (bridges, amusement rides, cliffs, forget it!!)

Like most kids with good parents I became accustomed to the word “NO” at a very young age. In reality, I never wanted for anything but as kid you always want whatever you don’t have. Certainly I was never bashful about asking; Bikes, guns, sports equipment you name it. I know that I must have asked for a dog at least 1 million times without ever once hearing the word yes. Even Santa said no!

Luckily, I got to witness my mother and fathers hard work which taught me all I ever needed to know about perseverance. Like all of us they made plenty of mistakes but they always bounced back and took on life’s next challenge. In my senior year of high school after being accepted to the University of St Johns I saw my Dad lose his business forcing me to change my plans and attend the University of MN. The U turned out great. I made life long friends and even earned a full scholarship for my final 2 years. Meanwhile my Dad took the remnants of his company and started another successful business. The year after College I saw my mom lose her battle to liver disease and again watched my dad pick up the pieces and build a new life with a wonderful woman until his passing a few years ago at the age of 79. My parents were living proof that with faith, family and friends anything was possible regardless of how many no’s were put in front of you.

After College I was bound and determined to find the right career. Unfortunately for me I was not sure what, if anything, I was good at. But after another night out at the bar with buddies it dawned on me how often and well I dealt with the word no. It was almost like I was already a pro! But how do you turn the word no into a career I wondered. I thought of the priesthood but in the end I realized I’d rather receive then give the no’s! Finally, I had my epiphany and realized sales are where I needed to be. Heck, you get a hundred no’s for every yes in sales. I liked my chances! Luckily it was a match made in heaven (forgive the pun) and I have been fortunate enough to have had some success.

All kidding aside the reality is that we all have our own issues to deal with and mountains we want to climb. We are all going to be told you can’t or you should not. Luckily we live in America where with a little perseverance anything is possible. I have my very own dog and a little place high atop a very tall mountain to prove it!

“Thankfully, perseverance is a good substitute for talent” – Steve Martin

How to Make Your Business Cards UNFORGETTABLE

By Scott Ginsberg author of The Power of Approachability

Every time you hear someone say “May I have one of your business cards?” you should get excited. I know I do. That’s because I LOVE my cards. I spent thousands of dollars on printing, several hours on designing and went through 10 different layouts until I got them right. And it was all worth it.

A business card is an entrepreneur’s best friend, his most valuable marketing tool and an essential element to becoming UNFORGETTABLE. Unfortunately, too many people have business cards that simply blend into the multitude of cookie cutter crap. And that’s a shame, because a business card is more powerful than you think.

Of course, it’s impossible to know this unless you actually have a card that’s really, really good. Therefore, this article will examine The Four Corners of Unforgettable Business Cards™:

1. Stacking Up

2. Standing Out

3. Creative Enhancement

4. Implementation

CORNER #1: How Does Your Card Stack Up?

Think back to the last trade show, networking event, seminar, convention, social hour or association meeting you attended. How did people react to your business card? Did they compliment its design? Quickly shove it into their pocket? Show it to someone else? Rip it up?

Whatever the response was, your card made some type of impression. But only the most creative, unique and memorable business cards make UNFORGETTABLE impressions. And those types of cards elicit reactions like…

• “I showed your card to everybody in my office!” says a hot prospect.
• “Can I have another one? A friend of mine will LOVE this!” exclaims your tablemate.
• “Oooh! I want one too!” begs the person in looking over your shoulder.
• “Hey…can you show my friend Paul your business card!” asks a colleague of yours.
• “You know, I’ve never thrown your card away!” says one of your customers.

If you’ve ever heard a compliment along those lines before, congrats! You’re on the right track.

That reminds me of Gus, who works for a company called The Rocket Group. He and I sat next to each other at a sales seminar a few years ago. During the program, the facilitator asked the audience members to exchange cards and get to know each other. Gus’s card was amazing: thick, colorful, double sided, bold, shiny and best of all, simple. (That was no surprise – he was in advertising!) But it was one of the best I’d ever seen. So we introduced ourselves, exchanged cards and talked for a few minutes. And that was about it. Nice guy, I thought.

Now, here’s the cool part: although Gus and I didn’t really keep in touch, I’ve never thrown his card away. I show it to everyone! In fact, I even use it as a prop in some of my networking workshops! His card was just that good.

Is yours that good? Keep that question in the back of your mind as you read on. Now let’s move into the next section and find out why certain cards stand out more than others.

CORNER # 2: Standing Out

Recently I took 66 business cards I’ve collected over the years and spread them out on a table. I closed my eyes for 30 seconds, opened them and took note of which cards stood out the most. And here’s what I noticed:

• Red: every card that had red on it stood out.
• Picture: only a few cards had pictures of the cardholder. This not only made them stand out, but helped me connect faces with names and companies.
• Vertical: several cards were formatted vertically, which caught my eye.
• Black Background: most cards have a white background, so the black ones REALLY stood out.
• Image: cards with some sort of colorful image that took up at least one fourth of the total surface area captured my interest.

(To view a high quality image of this game of 66 Card Pick Up, go here.)

This was a valuable exercise in understanding UNFORGETTABLE business cards, and I recommend it to everyone. Try it out! Gather dozens of accumulated cards from your desk and discover which ones stand out. Oh, and don’t forget to put your OWN card in the pile. You’ll be amazed at what you see.

Or don’t see.

CORNER #3: Creative and Unique Ways to Enhance Your Card

Now that you’ve analyzed your own card and have been exposed to a large quantity of other people cards, your mind should be swimming with new, creative ideas. This is the perfect time to brainstorm ways to enhance your card. So, grab a blank sheet of paper. Come up with as many ideas as possible. Let your creativity run wild! And to help you get started, here’s a list of 16 creative ideas to make your business card UNFORGETTABLE:

1. Size or Shape – Rectangle, schmectangle. I’ve seen squares, circles, ovals and triangles. Each shape made a connection to the brand, and each shape stood out amidst the endless regression of the same old rectangles.

2. Chocolate Business Cards (yes, these DO exist) – Several companies have online catalogues for personalized chocolate cards. Expensive? Yes. Delicious? Probably. Memorable? You better believe it.

3. Trading Cards – If your company is team oriented, get trading cards with your “players” pictures and stats. Then encourage your customers and prospects to “collect all 12!”

4. Cartoons – Get a custom cartoon commissioned for the back of your card. It’s cheap, royalty free and absolutely unique to your business.

5. Table/Chart – Include a mortgage loan interest table or some staggering statistics on the back. These are helpful reminders for the mathematically challenged and effective methods to position yourself as a resource.

6. Pop-Ups – Just like kid’s books, some business cards can be printed as folded, pop-up cards. Talk about thinking three-dimensionally!

7. Credibility – The smartest thing I ever did to my business card was add color images of my two books. Instant credibility. And, I noticed an immediate change in the reactions from the people to whom I gave cards. One lady even said, “Scott, this is the coolest business card I’ve ever seen!” Money well spent.

8. Rubber Stamps – Buy 10 different customized rubber stamps for the backs of your cards. When someone asks for one just say “Pick a card, any card!”

9. Die Cutting – My friend Lisa works for the Rock Island Fire Dept. Her business card has a charred hole burnt right through the middle of every card! It looks incredibly real. And most printers offer this feature for a nominal feel. You can also specify various shapes, bite marks or hole sizes.

10. Recipe – If you work in an industry connected to food, kitchens or homes; include one of your favorite recipes on the back!

11. Material – Use leather, blinking or brail business cards (yes, these actually exist too!)

12. Language – If your business requires international travel, consider offering multiple languages, or print the phonetic spelling of a difficult to pronounce name.

13. Motivation – If you’re the motivational type, include a famous quotation, bible verse or movie line that connects to your brand. And be sure to read it aloud when you give someone your card, it might just make their day!

14. Stickers – Print one side of your cards on adhesive label paper. This gives the recipient a peel off sticker for reminders, appointments or phone numbers.

15. Non-Cards – Who says a card has to be a card? After all, the first rule of creativity is “break all the rules!” I’ve seen million dollar bill cards, coin cards, even a banker in Boston who uses business cards that are actually miniature checks he tears off of a pad each time he gives one out! The possibilities are endless.

16. Double Up – Make your card “double” as something other than a card. For example, mine doubles as a business card AND a nametag. As a result, people stick it on their shirts all the time. Thanks for the free promotion!

CORNER #4: Implementation

Once you’ve come up with the layout for your new, creative, UNFORGETTABLE business card, there are only two things left to do: print ‘em up and hand ‘em out!

First, as you approach you printer, remember a few rules:

It’s OK to Spend Money – when I did my taxes this year I calculated that I reprinted my business cards 11 times and spent over $1,400 on printing costs. I also doubled my income from the previous year. Once again, money well spent.

Local is Better – by choosing a local printer you can work closely with the designers; touch, feel and smell your paper and even do a few test runs until you get the card perfect. Some businesspeople choose to use online sources, which is fine. The only problem with that approach is that most cards designed, created and ordered over the Internet look like they were designed, created and ordered over the Internet.

OK. Once you have your new cards in hand, keep a few final rules in mind:

Reminders – be sure to tell people you’ve got a new card. They’ll be happy to accept it, even if they already have your old one. Highlight some of its newest, most unique attributes. Also, if you printed on both sides of your new card, remember to either tell people about the back of your card; or hand them the card back side up, so they know there’s more to it.

Etiquette – don’t “Deal the Deck” by inconsiderately throwing thousands of your cards to everyone in sight. If so, you will not only become a practitioner of Highly Horrible Networking™, but you will waste your money. Remember: people throw away business cards from those who failed to establish rapport or make a connection.

The Card Creedo: finally, when you’re ready, reach into your pocket and grab one of your business cards. Look at it closely. Then say this affirmation out loud:

“This is my business card. There are many others out there, but none of them are like mine – because there’s nobody else like me. My business card is not a formality. It’s not a piece of paper containing my name and contact information. And it’s not another annoying thing to keep in my pocket. My business card is the most important networking tool that I own. It’s a reflection of my personal brand and a bite-sized morsel of the mission of my business. I LOVE my business card. And I can’t wait until somebody asks me for one. Because when they do, I will find a way to give that person value.”

After you’ve face lifted your business card from unacceptable to unforgettable, I promise you will feel great. Your confidence will skyrocket. And from that moment on, every time someone asks, “May I have one of your business cards?” it will be like music to your ears.

Scott Ginsberg, aka “The Nametag Guy,” is the author of eight books, an award-winning blogger and the creator of NametagTV.com. He’s the only person in the world who wears a nametag 24-7 and teaches businesspeople worldwide about approachability. For more info about books, speaking engagements, customized online training programs or to rent Scott’s brain for a one-on-one coaching session, call 314-256-1800 or e-mail scott@hellomynameisscott.com .

© 2004 All Rights Reserved.

2 Ways to Slash Your Risk of Breast Cancer

By Kelley Herring

Breast cancer is a frightening specter for any woman, but you can take steps to prevent it by making simple lifestyle modifications. Getting enough sun and enough sleep helps. So does limiting the toxins you take in and increasing the antioxidants in your diet.

Another way to keep breast cancer at bay is to kick two bad habits: eating too much and drinking too much alcohol.

• Slim Down

Fat cells don’t just sit there. They release inflammatory compounds called cytokines that can boost cancer risk. Get your weight under control by doing regular, vigorous exercise and eating portion-controlled, nutrient-rich meals.

• Beware of Booze

Excessive alcohol consumption significantly raises your risk of breast cancer, though research indicates that taking 800 mcg of folate daily negates this increased risk factor. If you choose to drink, drink only in moderation. (That means one drink/day for women.) Plus, make sure you’re getting enough folate through a high-quality whole foods vitamin supplement and folate-rich foods like lentils, asparagus, and chickpeas.

[Ed. Note: Kelley Herring - founder of Healing Gourmet - has created a revolutionary 7-part health transformation program called Your Plate, Your Fate that reveals how you can protect your health and optimize your weight by maximizing the nutrients in your food. Order today and you'll get 3 bonus books to help you clear your kitchen of harmful ingredients, spot the nutritional deficiencies that could be setting you up for disease, and find out about the 20 tests your doctor should perform (but probably hasn't) to guard your health. Learn more here.

For more advice about which foods you should - and shouldn't - be eating to stay in top health, sign up for ETR's free natural health newsletter.]

This article appears courtesy of Early To Rise, a free newsletter dedicated to making money, improving health and secrets to success. For a complimentary subscription, visit http://www.earlytorise.com.

Welcome to the “LESS is MORE” issue

Less Is More

Thank you to everyone for staying with our newsletter. As was discussed in our first newsletter our focus is to help clients save both time and money plus reach higher efficiencies for their organization and themselves.

Management is asking us to do more with less:

• Spend less money
• Spend less time on any one function
• Get more done
• Provide more value

We have invested in state of the art technology and e-commerce tools that allow you to get more done with less. Please ask us how we can help you reduce the time and dollars spent on printing, office supplies, and ad specialties. Believe it or not you will save time and money by working with a professional sales organization like Bann Business Solutions.

• Work with one provider whose focus is not on any one solution but the one best fit for your needs
• Reduce your number of vender meetings
• Reduce your administrative and operational time
• Gain more control with less effort extended
• Reduce your overall spend

Our other articles…

In this same theme and tied in with last months discussion on transactional documents, we are going to introduce you to an exciting new product from ecoEnvelopes. Learn how high volume mailers can use this new solution to use less paper and save more money.

Our “Early to Rise” section will cover how you can get more out of your workouts with less time.

Finally in Mikes Lone Peak Summit we will review some options on how he intends to spend less money while doing more of one of his favorite summer hobbies Golf!

Mike Bann

Welcome to our very first issue of “Solutions”

The goal of our monthly newsletter is to bring you timely information on solutions that will save your business time and money. Most of the articles will focus on the products and services that Bann Business Solutions has to offer. Every month we will highlight a particular product or service. Then along with one of our value added partners we will get into specific detail on its merits. We hope you agree that the free information we provide warrants your valuable time to read it every month. Please also remember to feel free to forward this to any and every one who may have interest.

In addition we will bring you some insightful information surrounding the general areas of Health, Wealth, and Wisdom. Much of that information will come from our affiliate partners over at www.earlytorise.com (ETR) a daily newsletter that we highly recommend. This month’s piece deals with the struggle most of us have to eat right! We will also make an attempt to offer a personal touch in “Mike’s Lone Peek Summit”. This is where Mike Bann will share some personal insight on business, life or a tip to save money. This months piece is on vacation travel make sure you check it out.

I’m sure our newsletter will morph as we move forward but for now we will keep it simple. In this month’s edition we will highlight our exciting Data Management Center. We will talk about how you should consider using your traditional documents, like statements and invoices, as what is called “TransPromo” documents. We will show how you can use color to not only improve the readability of the piece but document its positive impact on cash flow. Make sure you read this whole piece as there are 3 free incentives that could add up to over a $10,000 value for you!!!

We will continue our efforts to provide valuable free information that you can use regardless of your association with us at Bann. You will always have the opportunity to get more information regarding any covered topic via your sales person, our website or one of our upcoming webinars. We are excited at the opportunity to be of service and are appreciative of your continued consideration!

Thanks so much for participating in our first Newsletter.

We are very much interested in your feed back.

Please feel free to pass this on to a friend and or provide this URL where they can sign up for our future newsletters!

Mike Bann

Is your Transactional Document Flawed?

You’ve heard it before, and you’ll continue to hear it – the transactional document is your guaranteed monthly appointment with your customer. It’s an appointment that you can’t afford to miss, be late to, or present anything except your best work. In fact, you should be planning perfect execution of the appointment with “Best-In-Class” transactional document practices.

See our SPECIAL limited time offer at the bottom of this article!

Transactional documents are the ultimate expression of a valued customer relationship. From financial statements listing account balances, to explanation of benefits containing personal health history, to credit card statements listing detailed transactions – these documents feature highly sensitive, private customer information. To be considered “Best-In-Class” by your customers, you must ensure that your document preparation efforts include a focus on address hygiene, quality, integrity, security, and regulatory compliance to provide accurate, safe document delivery each and every time.

Transactional Documents – Here to Stay!

It’s a fact – consumers still like mail. Despite the various e-delivery methods available, consumers still want a paper copy of their documents. Think about when an email is received, the recipient will print the email to review it in closer detail, highlight important sections, or file it for future reference. Yes, consumers like mail and many prefer paper-based transactional communications over electronic distribution. The USPS delivers the mail, but it’s up to your company to ensure that every piece meets the highest standards. It’s also up to your company to ensure that your transactional documents include the right information, at the right time, and most importantly, are delivered to the right person. What are we really talking about? We’re talking about “Best-In-Class” transactional documents.

Address Hygiene

Can you imagine planning an important event, such as a graduation celebration or a wedding, but forgetting to send the invitations? “Unheard of” you exclaim! Indirectly, a multitude of companies forget to send out their “monthly appointments” by sending out mail that does not meet address hygiene standards and doesn’t get to their customer – or is caught up in address correction services that the USPS provides, for a fee, and delivery is dramatically delayed. The customer name and address are the most vital components of the transactional document. If either is inaccurate the document creation, production and delivery process yields little-to-no value. When was the last time you took a peek at the USPS website and read about the severe return mail problem? Millions of mail pieces are deemed undeliverable each year because the address block is in error. Therefore, it is imperative that every document that leaves your company incorporates a stringent address hygiene process to ensure on-time delivery.

Document Quality

Clear, precise print quality is critical when presenting transactional information for review and response. Transactional documents can include rows and rows of transactions and multiple columns of data and numbers. It is essential that your documents are prepared on printers that produce premier, error free printing in black, highlight or full color to produce the best documents on the market. While address hygiene is crucial to enable successful document delivery, equally important is the document presentation. Your corporate image is immediately expressed on the pages of the transactional document. Is the print quality pristine? Is the document clean and simple to understand with the call to action clearly recognizable? When was the last time you took a serious look at the documents leaving your data center? What are your transactional documents saying to your customers? Remember, if the transactional document is the ultimate expression of a valued customer relationship, then document quality should be of utmost importance.

Document Integrity

Frequently, a transactional document consists of more than a single page. Most customer’s transactional document mail pieces contain several document pages, a few inserts, and possibly more. Each and every document package was designed and selected with the customer in mind. At minimum, the transactional document portion should be whole. Specifically, if the complete transactional document consists of five pages, all five pages should be created, printed, and delivered to the recipient. Additionally, if marketing inserts were earmarked for the customer, or a special newsletter, or a regulatory document was required, then all components should be created, produced and delivered to the customer. Document integrity ensures that each and every piece of the document package makes it safely into the customer’s transactional document mail piece.

Document Security

How many times have you heard the story of a customer who opens up their transactional document to find that the back side of their document is actually the front side of another customer’s document? While the scenario seems far-fetched, the reality of its occurrence is more frequent than companies care to admit. Documents containing sensitive customer information bear a high degree of risk during the document creation, production, and delivery process. Imagine a bank statement or a health care document being opened by the wrong recipient. Customer privacy would be violated and that all-important customer relationship would be at risk. It is absolutely imperative that mission-critical transactional document processes include stringent document security checks and measures. The document security part of “Best-In-Class” transactional document practices could very well be the most difficult step to implement. However, without it, this may be the missing component that puts your company in the most difficult situation if in-secure processes fail.

Best-In-Class Transactional Documents

Transactional documents are a core output in most data centers. For businesses to succeed and stay competitive, “Best-In-Class” transactional document practices must be implemented. As the marketplace evolves and new trends and technological advancements are born, your data center must change to keep up. Change can be hard, or change can be easy. You decide.

Thinking About Highlight Color?

Imagine your customers opening up and reviewing their transactional documents – white paper, black ink – where each document looks like the other. Now imagine you’ve added just a touch of color – the documents are more engaging and your customers are responding the way you planned. Integrating highlight color within transactional documents can create substantial outcomes when designed correctly. Specifically, highlight color can improve cash flow, bolster customer response rates, reduce customer errors, and strengthen brand image.

Improved Cash Flow

Payment response rates can improve by up to 30% when highlight color is used to emphasize the date and amount due. By highlighting these key elements, a sense of urgency is established in the recipient’s mind and the typical response is to pay their bill faster. Additionally, customers are 2.5% more likely to pay the full amount due when it appears in highlight color. Bottom line, faster and full payments will be sure to improve your company’s cash flow.

Bolster Customer Response Rates

With just a dash of highlight color, response rates can skyrocket up to 80% higher than the black alternative. Highlight color can be used to frame a special promotion, or draw attention to a complementary cross-sell offer. The results will be beneficial for both you and your customer.

Reduce Customer Errors

Believe it or not, your company’s customer service representative can spend a fair amount of their day answering questions such as: “When is my payment considered late?” or “Where do I send my payment?” Emphasizing the amount and date due, special mailing instructions, and payment protocols can alleviate substantial costs in the customer service center and facilitate easier payment experiences for your customer. Frequently, late or lost payments are simply the result of unclear payment directions on the transactional document.

Strengthen Brand Image

Every communication that reaches your customer’s hands makes a clear statement about your company. Highlight color can be used to colorize your corporate logo, or set your transactional documents apart from the rest of the “black ink on white paper” documents. Take a look at your documents – what statement are you making to your customers?

Now which one of these do you think creates the best impression of your company?

When designed properly, highlight color can almost give the illusion of full color

Can 4 color work for your statements and invoices?

At first glance, it may seem crazy to think about printing your Statements or Invoices in full color; but, upon further review you may see things in a different light. Some of the most compelling reasons may not be the most obvious.

Studies have repeatedly shown that people are more apt to read communications that are printed in color. However, if the communication is a statement or invoice, then the document will most likely be read anyway. Yet color on mission-critical documents will enhance the reader’s experience. Color, when appropriately used, increases the understandability of the document. What do I mean by this? Which one of these is easier to figure out?

Comprehension is a benefit for many reasons. You are getting the intended message across to the customer, but a clearly communicated statement or invoice will also limit the number of calls coming into the call center or customer service department.

You know a lot of information about your customers based upon their buying history. What if you included a special offer or even just information about a related product or service printed right on the statement or invoice? This new trend is called TransPromo; adding a promotional message to a transactional document.

This concept can dramatically reduce, or even eliminate in some cases, the number of customer facing documents such as brochures, inserts, coupons, that you normally send out to have printed on offset press. Plus, you are putting the information in the hands of a captive audience – a current customer. Marketing departments often struggle with buying lists and how to get the company message to the right people… this is an answer. It doesn’t have to be limited to just promotional though… what if you sell plant seeds and you print the proper growing instructions. Tie into that the fact that Postal rates are sky rocketing, and the argument becomes even stronger. Turn your statements and invoices into advertising vehicles.

Click here for our coming webinar regarding our Data Management Center covering not only the above piece on transactional documents but how adding color to your statements and invoices can actually improve your cash flow.

Here’s our limited time offer: (Up to a $10,000 VALUE)  * Before you spend one dime with us we will prove your ROI guaranteed!! * We will waive the first $5000 of any and all of your set up fees (set up fee can range from $1500- $10,000 depending on data complexity). * Your first month service fee is on us! (excluding postage and any special add-on’s)

*Offer available until May 31, 2009 - please click here to contact us!