BRIGHT SPOTS - Did you know that many area employers are hiring right now? Check out the online listings from Ohio Means Jobs-Muskingum County. Learn about this and other bright spots in our community by visiting our This is Zanesville & Muskingum County, Ohio webpage, and check back frequently to see new content.

SALES PIPELINE - Would you sign up for a live webinar called "How to Fill the Sales Pipeline" presented by the American Management Association (AMA)? If so, let us know. The AMA will discount the webinar price from $249 to $166 per person if we get at least 12 Chamber members to sign up. The 2.5 hour webinar is offered several times throughout the fall. Read on for more details and hit "reply" and send a quick email if you would attend. Here's more information from AMA about the program:

Prospecting is often considered the most dreaded chore in sales. Yet these activities provide the only way to get in the door and close more business. You too can master the art of prospecting - and the results will show up in your profits. This program hands you proven time-tested sales prospecting tactics that work! These are not "theories" or simply ideas, but rather time-tested techniques you can start using that will help you overcome your excuses and succeed in your prospecting efforts.

What You Will Learn:

• Ways to quickly identify the "gatekeeper" who can get you through to a "decision maker"
• How to use easy-to-follow scripts to increase your success when making cold calls
• Tips for sweet-talking gatekeepers to set appointments for you
• Advice for getting gatekeepers to help you build your list of leads
• Tactics to properly qualify sales leads early in the process
• How to overcome a variety of common objections as you navigate to the decision maker

BUYER'S GUIDE - We are now offering a brand new flipbook version of

BUSINESS OPPORTUNITY - On October 8, 2014, you will have the opportunity to showcase your business, products, services and more in front of Fortune 500 corporations. Representatives will be available to meet in 15-minute sessions and you will be assigned pre-selected matches based on what your company does. The matchmaker event is part of the Great Lakes Business Connection conference in Toledo. For more information visit www.greatlakesbusinessconnection.com.  

CONSISTENCY COUNTS - "Maximizing satisfaction with customer journeys has the potential not only to increase customer satisfaction by 20 percent but also to lift revenue by up to 15 percent while lowering the cost of serving customers by as much as 20 percent. Our research identified three keys to consistency....."read more at www.mckinsey.com.

ATTENTION SPARTANS - On October 4 the Wilds is hosting the first Reebok Spartan Race in Ohio. Competitors can test their strength against dozens of obstacles in the Sprint (3+ miles), Super (8+ miles), or Beast (12+ miles) distance events. Each course is filled with mud, water, and signature obstacles designed to help you discover your inner Spartan. The Spartan Race series has a real following, and this event is expected to bring thousands of visitors to our area. If you would like to compete or volunteer visit the Spartan Race website.

GOLF OUTING - The annual Chamber-Jaycees Golf Outing will be held on August 22 starting at 11:30 am at Jaycees Golf Club. Lunch will be served before the event. The cost per team is $220. Major sponsors are Century National Bank, The Forker Company/Northwestern Mutual, WHIZ Media Group, and Emeritus at North Hills. For more information or to register a team contact Dana Matz at dmatz@zmchamber.com.

CUSTOMER SERVICE - A seminar titled "How You Can Create A Customer-Focused Culture In Your Organization" will be held on Friday, September 12 at the John McIntire Library in Zanesville from 9 am to 12 noon. The presenter will be Dave Hamilton, Senior Vice President of Signature Worldwide in Dublin, Ohio. Signature Worldwide delivers sales and customer service training, marketing, and mystery shopping services to both front line personnel and managers in service-based industries. For more information or to make a reservation visit the Chamber website.    

BUSINESS GROWTH - An independent, high quality assessment of your business might be just what you need right now to both save your sanity and get to the next level. The Chamber and MCBI have teamed up to bring that service to you. As this article says, "A business assessment helps identify the business growth and development opportunities in your business." Contact Wendy Edgar at MCBI today to talk about getting your business assessment. And read on for more about the value of business assessments. "If you're like most entrepreneurs, you're moving at a mile a minute. With so much to do to run a successful business, and even more to learn, it can be challenging to find time to develop the key strategies to move your business forward. Even if you did have the time, would you know what projects would move your business forward?" Continue Reading

SUBMIT YOUR EVENTS - If you have an event coming up you should enter it in our online events and meetings calendar at zmchamber.com as a way to promote it. It's free to members and it's simple to use. There is a "submit new event" link on the right side of the calendar page. Click it and fill in your details. You can also find the calendar link at any time on the homepage of zmchamber.com. Events entered in our online calendar also automatically posted to the Chamber's Facebook page.

 THANKS TO OUR SPONSORS