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Tim Andrew- Tyre Trak Automotive Center

Who’s more valuable?

Who do the owner’s of major league baseball teams fawn over? Do you think it’s a mistake that a 350 pound young guy got a trillion bucks to play every five days for the Yankees? You have pitching, you win ball games. Period. Defense helps . . . so does hitting . . .  but if you don’t have pitching, you’ve lost.

There are a number of very good pitchers in our group. Some of them, like CC Sabathia, were no doubt born with it, and are just as adept at selling ice to our eskimos as their own. And boy are they necessary; while perhaps not all of us can be in that league, baseball is full of #4 and #5 journeyman pitchers that get paid pretty well too. Next down the line are a group of sore-armed former starters that fill an important role none-the-less . .  an inning or two is all they might be able to give you, but it get’s you to the star reliever. Do we have one of those?

Here’s the point: networking requires being on all the time. You pitch your customers . . . you pitch your friends . . . you pitch the guys ‘n gals on the golf course or at the bridge tournament.  Some members might be eligible for the Cy Young award, giving successful referral after referral after referral; some might only win one or two a year, but if that results in a new customer for me, that gets my vote for a member we should keep. And some might not be so good at it, and need help from the closer. A good way to move here is to bring that prospect to an EBBE after 5 event and let Jonathan ‘Gilligan’ Papplebon at him.  

But you know, when I was just a lad (yeah, I was . . . I was, really), my father used to constanlty try to convince me that I had a catcher’s body, and that was after all the quickest path to the majors. The catcher does, in fact, control the game. ALL of us are catchers. The pitchers send out all the customers, the catchers handle them. Occasionally Sabathia is going to throw one high and wide that no one can catch; all of us have to contend with unreasonable people, and once in a while,  they’ll come to us in the form of referrals for sure. . But that occasional forkball in the dirt a foot in front of the plate is our job to handle. Block it, take it off the chops, maybe break a finger, trust the equipment to protect us (usually) but doing whatever it takes to keep it in front of us . . . we have to go that extra mile.

When I make that perfect pitch and that triple crown guy (not on steroids) buys it and gives you a call, you’ve GOT to handle it. Now . . .with enthusiasm and dedication  to the concept of networking. This will impress the customer and make him glad he accepted advice from one of our members. Not with a “I’ll get to it” or ‘business as usual’ attitude . . .that’s a passed ball. Too many passed balls and the pitcher doesn’t want to throw to you anymore.

So . . who might be more valuable . . . seems there’s no reason for one without the other.

Tim Andrew, Tyre Trak Automotive

“Back in the day…”

the famous last words were …. location, location, location.

Today the famous words are blog, blog, blog.

So as I sit here typing away, my teenage son walks by and says “mom,  what are you doing?”  I go on the explain that at my EBBE networking group meeting this morning I was told that blogging is the latest approach for increasing business.   “It is a new way to gain exposure for your business — which will in turn provide the funds needed to feed you.”  He just shakes his head and walks away.

As the owner of a woman-owned business delivering printing services for a wide variety of businesses- both large and small,  there have been many occasions that I have had to deal with that “good ole boy” attitude.  However, I must say — things have come a long way.  My office is running smoothly with the help of my new highly efficient assistant and we are striving to bring in new business along with keeping our current customers happy.  

We have the resources to get the job done.   Our main goal is customer satisfaction.

My work is interesting. Just the other day I had a telephone call from a prospective customer who asked if the price would be cheaper if she brought in her own paper. I asked her if she usually brought her own food to a restaurant when dining out and asked the chef to prepare it for her. There was silence on the other end of the line.

So if you are starting your own business, my company can provide you with a start up package of letterhead, business cards, envelopes and ink for your printer. We offer all aspects of printing..we do however, like to purchase the paper from our own suppliers.

The next time you are looking for a fast capable printing service… give me a call at (413) 525-6686 and I will be happy to provide you a free quote.  

We specialize in the jobs you needed yesterday and we can do the impossible….  It just might take a little longer!

Laura Barbieri
Owner, Co-op Printing/ East Longmeadow, Massachusetts
cpprintshop@aol.com