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Remembering names...
A famous philosopher of the 1800's, Ralph Waldo Emerson, once said "a persons name is unto that person the sweetest words in any language". With this in mind, take the time to remember not only people's names, but the pronunciation and spelling of their name. While it may not seem that important to you, it is afterall, their name. Think about how you feel when you get an email or letter and your name is mis-spelled. No, you probably aren't hurt or upset - but it immediately becomes impersonal, doesn't it? People may care more than you realize, when you make an exerted effort to know their name. |
| The Oldest Profession
A surgeon, an architect, and a politician were considering the question of whose profession was the oldest.
"I think my line of work would win this one hands down," the surgeon said. "After all, Eve was created from Adam's rib, and that sounds like surgery to me."
"Maybe," the architect said, "but before Adam, order was created out of chaos. That was architectural accomplishment."
"Sure," the politician said. "But before that, someone had to create the chaos." | |
Greetings!
 I hope you had a wonderful Easter, whether you celebrate it as a religious holiday or simply as the the rebirth of life in the Spring. The other weekend, it was a beautiful sunny day in Atlanta, in the high 70's, and I was in the Spring mood. So I took my girls to the local garden shop and bought a bunch of tulips and daffodils, and we went home and planted them as a family. They looked gorgeous! ....then it snowed! And THEN tornados literally came ripping through town (missed our neighborhood luckily)! I had forgotten about the flowers until the other morning, and was afraid to look out my window to see how they were doing... but to my surprise, they looked just perfect! I hope you will make a point to enjoy the beautiful flowers blossoming around us. Yep - gas prices are up, the weather is going crazy, our country's economic situation isn't at it's best, the list can go on and on if you desire. So focus that energy elsewhere - because LIFE is springing up all around us. Beautiful life. Spring showers, spotted fawn, baby birds & chicks, vibrant flowers, blossoming trees... Please take the time to enjoy this wonderful gift that Mother Nature gives us each year. |
What we've been up to...
 Big news! Not only has BP awarded us as their Master architect on all upcoming am/pm stores, but they have also made us their dedicated preferred architect on all site-specific locations throughout Pittsburg, PA & Atlanta, GA!
MRP is currently working on site  specific drawings for Aaron Rents in Minden, LA, West Helena, AR, Livingston, AR, and Hiram, GA.
 The famous baseball legend, Hank Aaron, owns 755 Restaurant Corporation. Their Camp Creek Parkway Popeyes location, designed by MRP, is now open and ready for business! | |
 SEEING IS BELIEVING YOU CAN! 3D imaging is a great way to show your idea the way you actually envisioned it, and the flexibility of utilizing this technology makes it very cost effective. From your flat CAD drawings a virtually real image can be created. After the first model is developed then multiple views are as simple as pointing to the spot you would like to view from. In many instances the cost of 3D can be less than conventional drawings, especially if there are multiple views required. The flexibility to see various realistic environments of lighting and decorative treatments gives you a chance to make decisions up front that could prove costly later. For many, it is a real problem in understanding 2 dimensional elevations and views. Now you can eliminate the confusion while making your ideas come to life. For more information e-mail Sam Barnett at samb@essyx.com or visit www.essyx.com and find out seeing is believing for your clients. |
Top Ten Frozen Novelties:
Top ten brands by dollar sales:
Sales % change
(in millions) from last year
Nestle Drumstick $55.8 19.4%
Snickers $53.4 13.9
Good Humor $49.4 14.5
Blue Bell $41.7 14.3
Klondike $38.9 -1.0
Haagen Daz $33.7 7.4
Nestle Toll House $30.4 10.6
Wells' Blue Bunny $24.1 -2.9
F'Real Milkshake $15.9 485.8
Dreyers/Edy's Dibs $15.0 57.6
TOTAL: $580.0 9.8 |
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HEALTH INSURANCE 101
There are 3 basic types of networks: HMO, POS, and PPO.
HMOs usually require you to select a primary care physician (PCP) who refers you to see a specialist. Note: Open Access plans do not require referrals. HMO's typically do not include out-of-network benefits meaning you pay the bill if you use services of a doctor or hospital not in your network.
POS plans combine attributes of the HMO and traditional plans. Some POS plans have out-of-network benefits, some do not. Some are open access, others require referrals, some may be local or national-ask before purchasing.
PPOs give you more choice of providers because more doctors enroll in this network. PPOs are generally portable and are open access plans with in-network and out-of-network benefits.
In general, HMO's cost the least and PPO's cost the most, so when shopping different companies, be sure to compare apples to apples, and brochures often list exclusions last-check them out!
Written by Janet Salyer, Insurance Planning Solutions, 770-345-5450 ext 3# jsalyer@insuranceplanningsolutions.com
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FIVE MARKETING KEYS TO GROW YOUR BUSINESS
Put very simply, marketing is the art and science of getting and keeping profitable customers. There are five keys to achieving sustainable growth for your business:
1. Attract more qualified prospects
2. Convert more of those prospects into customers
3. Retain more of your existing customers
4. Sell your existing customers more services.
5. Increase your margin by getting paid more for your service offerings.
Most businesses today are not fully maximizing any of these five, and improving even one of them can grow your business. Today, I will briefly discuss the first - attracting more qualified prospects.
The first mistake most businesses make when they think about attracting more qualified prospects is casting a larger net. With lead generation, quantity doesn't necessarily mean quality. A narrower focus can often lead to a larger return on identifying qualified prospects. Make the effort to identify the most qualified, available and profitable segment of the market, target their pain, present a solution to ease that pain, and you will yield more qualified leads. This may give you enough prospects that you can pick and choose the ones that will yield the best profit for the company. And by narrowing your focus and targeting a specific segment of the market, you will appear to be an expert in solving that segment's problem, yielding further results.
Todd Schnick is the president of the Intrepid Group LLC (www.intrepid-llc.com), a small business marketing firm, and is also a member of GrowthANSWERS (www.GrowthAnswers.com), a consortium of marketing subject matter experts. | |
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Till next time!
Sincerely,
Jennifer Fowler
Director of Business Development MRP Design Group, Inc.
770-514-8803 x115
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