Skip the last-minute rush to meetingsiStockPhoto/Getty Images/iStockphoto
Skip last-minute rush and get to the meeting table
Edmonton blogger Ian McKenzie urges you not to try to squeeze in one more thing – returning a phone call, or replying to an e-mail – before going to a meeting. Instead, be on time for the meeting and take something you can work on while waiting for others to arrive. Ian's Messy Desk
Fancy touches are nice, great basics are better
Marketing consultant Drew McLellan admires the fancy touches of the company that cleans his house, such as facial tissues emerging from their boxes in neat origami folds. But he says he would admire it even more if every waste basket were placed in the right spot, the back door locked and the lights turned off.
The lesson from this Iowa-based author is that while it's nice to offer added value with your service or product, it will only be effective if you're already handling the basics superbly. Drew's Marketing Minute
Make client goals your top priority
New York-based marketing consultant Andrew Sobel once asked a highly successful rainmaker what his secret was for bringing in so much business.
The answer was in the man's shirt pocket, where he kept a sheet of paper with the names of each client. Next to each name was that executive's most important goals. "My job in life is to help them accomplish those goals," the rainmaker said. RainToday.com
Gather meeting details in one Web tool
MeetingKing is a new Web-based work flow and documentation tool that lets you keep all the details for a meeting in one place, from agenda items to tasks assigned and e-mail reminders about them. It's free for some situations and has a fee for larger organizations. MeetingKing.com
Harvey Schachter