Sonia

In a recent episode of the Driven by DCKAP podcast, Jim Hansen, Chief Product Officer at Advantive, offered a key piece of advice: “Don’t fall in love with your product.” This isn’t just about how you build something; it’s also about how you communicate its value to your customers. As a consultant, I’ve seen both…

Eric Hoplin, CEO of the National Association of Wholesale Distributors (NAW), recently joined the DCKAP Driven podcast, a video show that explores leaders’ stories, digital journeys, and insights on trends in distribution. Hosted by Karthik Chidambaram, the discussion dove deep into the future of distribution, addressing the challenges and strategies essential for next-generation distributors. Building…

The NeuConcept team is honored to be selected to be a part of the Cloudways Experts program. Essentially, the experts program is designed to help companies looking for website help. NeuConcept as been handpicked by Cloudways for this program, which features: Designers, developers & marketers Business skills Knowledgeable experts on the Cloudways Platform What does…

We’ve all experienced a well-meaning advice that resulted in disaster… or was completely ignored. And nobody wants to be Debbie Downer (check out this classic and hilarious SNL video): The way you communicate advice determines whether others can and will listen to what you have to say. Then they might even act on your feedback.…

As Costco fans, we watched a documentary by CNBC called, The Costco Craze. It was interesting to see the reporter delve into all the reasons that Cosco is so successful with a loyal following. The show focused on a few major points: low prices fostering a sense of discovery with unexpected, frequently changing items limited…

Review by Sonia Coleman How to navigate eBusiness decisions is one of the top concerns of many wholesale leaders. There’s a lot to digest: what technologies to select, how much resources are needed, what are the costs and challenges and how to get it to work well with existing staff and systems? tED Magazine recently…

By Sonia Coleman This is a summary of an article that originally appeared in the Tech 360 Briefing published by IDEA entitled, “What’s Driving Purchasing Changes?” Disruption is occurring in many established industries…and the wholesale industry is feeling the heat from the Amazon effect. For IDEA’s Tech 360 Briefing, I spoke with people from all sides…

As pumpkin lovers, this time of year is amazing! Many pumpkin recipes, so little time We had gathered up a bunch of great sounding recipes from friends, blogs and social media… Now what to do? Make a bunch of pumpkin recipes on a cold Saturday, that’s what! The contenders Pumpkin Cream Cheese Bars Ultra-healthy vegan…

I’ve been interviewing folks for two decades. Print. Video. Web. Podcast. You name it. And one of the most tedious parts of writing and publishing is: transcription. The medical and legal world have conquered the transcription beast with special software and recorders. But for the rest of us, it’s been a pain. Why are transcripts…

I’ve trained many CEOs on how to improve their speaking abilities for their on-stage debut in front of hundreds of their peers. Here’s the best practices I’ve gleaned from many, many rehearsals and general sessions. Don’t skip these tips if you don’t give speeches in your job – you never know when you’ll need to…

Many years ago, I noticed that my bosses kept asking to me explain what I was doing. I felt like they didn’t trust that I could get the job done. Everything was under control, and I was frustrated that they didn’t trust in my proven track record. Then I came across an article about messy…

Bad reviews! Ugh. The Internet. That’s how most business owners respond when a bad review lights up their computer screen. I deal with bad reviews from both sides. As a business and marketing consultant, I help my clients build their reputation and grow their social proof online (and that usually includes reviews). One of the…

At the start of this new year, I started an experiment. I read neuroscience research said the simple daily ritual of writing a 2-minute thank you email had been been shown to make a person happier and improve their relationships. It’s now been three weeks that I’ve been writing thank you cards, emails and texts.…

As this first week of the new year progresses, I’ve launched a new experiment. Neuroscience research from one of my favorite writers, Eric Barker, that says that there’s a simple way to increase your happiness and productivity while also improving your relationships. And it only takes 2 minutes. Seriously? What is this simple happiness booster?…

Word Nerds across America are laughing and sharing Weird Al’s new video, “Word Crimes.” It’s a parody of “Blurred Lines” that cleverly covers grammar mistakes, plus throws in a healthy dose of insults to keep it interesting. My fellow English majors and writers are already sharing it and laughing out loud. Thanks to my buddies…

RSS Trauma When Google Reader shut down last July, millions of RSS feed reading folks were left in the lurch. My husband, Brett, the tech genius of our household and this company, meticulously researched solutions as spends much of his free time reading feeds. (Most evenings, I inquire if he has “finished the Internet yet” which…

It’s been great fun to participate in the 20th Anniversary celebration of Markarian Orthodontics. We’ve helped Dr. Randall Markarian and his team with marketing for over 15 years, so it’s been a blast to celebrate and reminisce how much things have changed. It’s also great to remember that the important things—excellence, customer service and trusted relationships—stay…

Scandals. Bad leadership. Poor communication. This trio of bad news might be great for must-see TV series, but it often poses a more serious threat to leaders than they expect. The CEO of Target Gregg Steinhafel just resigned amid the bad press over the retail store’s data breech, which negatively impacted thousands of consumers. Chicago-based Challenger’s…