'We were all raised by mothers who told us we had one chance to make a first impression,' Sen. Christopher Dodd of Connecticut once said. He added, 'And a first impression can last you awhile.' It’s all about first impressions making them and responding to them.

Paying attention to business is one of the major benefits of a recession. Ford figured it out. So did Starbucks by bringing back the founding CEO, closing nearly 1,000 marginal stores and most significantly introducing their own instant coffee. This could be a brilliant move. While proudly passing up their $4 cup of coffee, we take the instant stuff home and keep a little Starbucks in our lives.

FIVE KEYS TO ACHIEVING YOUR GOALS by Pamela Millard Plenty of things can distract you from your goals. Its all about making sure your goals meet a few critical criteria: Engagement...

FIVE KEYS TO DYNAMIC SALES MEETINGS by Randy Schwantz It's Thursday afternoon and you're already thinking about Monday morning's sales meeting. You say to yourself, 'What a drain! Thi...

FIVE STEPS TO HIRING SUCCESS by Don Phin Many business owners struggle with the problem of hiring employees who care about the company. You can achieve this goal by following five ...

FIVE STEPS TO MARKET RESEARCH by Patricia Berry Patricia Berry offers five market research tactics that can help ...

Are you using video to connect with prospects, clients, referrals, and potential alliances? Did you know that a website...

FORMING RICHER CLIENT RELATIONSHIPS: THE CRM SOLUTION by Patricia Czech In the shallow end of the pool, the little tykes are splashing around with their water wings. You wade in waist h...

FOUR QUICK HIT REFERRAL IDEAS by Bill Cates Every time I host a Referral Champions Boot Camp, I walk away with great ideas from the attendees - and the latest camp was no excep...

FRANKLIN, TENNESSEE, FLOODING & THE SOCIAL WEB Steve Anderson You might have heard on the news that a massive storm system parked over middle Tennessee in mid-May. This storm dropped 10'...