The story resumes in the same office. Another eager and motivated expo salesperson named Toni has witnessed Michelle’s success. As this person was prospecting for Mid-America Remodeling & Design Expo (www.101expos.com/marde), she came across a retail store whose website  stated, “New Web Store Coming Soon.”

Curious, this salesperson called the store and asked, “How long has your Web store been under construction?” She learned that no one had actually worked on it for quite a while. She filed that information in the back of her mind, and ultimately began talking with the store’s owner about the expo. She sent him follow-up information. But each time she called, he’d tell her he had been too busy to look at it.

When, during her 4^th follow-up call, the owner again tried to tell her that he was too busy, she stopped him in his tracks. “Look,” she said. “Let’s put the expo aside. Given today’s business environment, I think your Website is where you need the most help. I suggest you stop in and spend some time with us to get a better feel for what we do, and how we can help you.”

The man grew silent, then conceded that he would be nearby in the next week making deliveries. Toni set up a meeting with her co-workers at Checkerboard Strategic Web Development (www.checkerboard.com) for the following Tuesday.

There once was an expo salesperson named Michelle, who refused to let a little word like “no” stop her from making her goals. Recently while talking with a prospect about the Mid-America Remodeling & Design Expo (www.101expos.com/marde), she heard every objection imaginable including “We don’t have a booth and we don’t have any ideas for a booth.”  So the industrious salesperson convinced the prospect to come into the office by stating, “We can help you come up with ideas for your booth. Oh, and did I mention we can also do booth graphics?” And so, the meeting was set.

On the day of the meeting, Michelle cordially introduced the prospect to people representing Kocina Marketing Company’s (KMC) various services (www.publicity.com). He was so impressed that he paid in full for exhibit space at Mid-America Remodeling & Design Expo and the company’s Seniors Expo. He is even talking with one of KMC’s other companies, Checkerboard (www.checkerboard.com), about enlarging some photos for use in his booth display.

But wait. There’s more! He also spoke with Checkerboard developing his Web site. The conversation then turned to the value of blogs, which led a further discussion about KMC’s newest service: Internet Advocacy.

Remarkably, there’s still more! This prospect is developing a new beverage and could possibly become one of KMC’s Media Relations clients as well.

“It really helps to get people here and in front of our people,” Michelle commented. 

Two years ago I sat down with my freshman college advisor and listed off my plethora of interests. From education to business, journalism and everything in between, I wanted to do it all!

Now, two years later, I am heading into my Junior year of college at Indiana University with a clear sense of what I want to do thanks to my internship at Kocina Marketing Companies.

Wait a minute, maybe I jumped ahead a little too fast. I did make a few important decisions during my first two years of college.

After taking a few courses in each of my many interests, I made the decision to double major in journalism (with a focus in PR) and communications.

With hard work and motivation, I absorbed as much information as possible about these exciting fields, but found myself wanting to learn even more.

I wanted first hand experience.

Luckily, that is exactly what I’ve recieved during my summer-long internship at Kocina Marketing Companies (KMC).

From day one at KMC, it was apparent that I would not be the typical coffee-running, copy-making, often-ignored intern. To my delight, I was assigned to help a specific team, and better yet, an important long-term project.

Although office life was a little overwhelming at first, KMC made me feel comfortable to ask questions, and take on more responsibilities once I was ready.

Because KMC is made up of three companies: Media Relations, Checkerboard Strategic Web Development and Mid-America Events & Expos, I have been fortunate to get a well-rounded experience, something that our clients are able to recieve as well.

KMC’s three unique companies work together to ensure that our clients’ needs are met at all levels by interacting and utilizing the many skill sets throughout the three companies. Because of this, KMC provides a full promotional experience.

Between researching useful information that could be included on a client’s website, organizing clients’ travel schedules and helping with project overviews, KMC has given me the opportunity to understand many facets of marketing. More importantly for me, KMC has shown me that my plethora of interests can all be utilized through the magic of marketing.

Working at Media Relations for the last two years has given me great wisdom and has been character building.  We are working daily to strive for the  greater good of our company and for our team.  The communication between our team is vital in assuring our company wide success.  We are in constant communication with each other on what contacts (for print, television, & radio) to look out for in certain markets and where we are at in our dialogue in relation to tours for our spokespeople and our clients. 

Media Relations is all about setting us up to succeed.  We take great pride in seeing new publicists get great placements and even our more seasoned publicists getting placements they never thought possible.  The power of positivity reigns through each one of us as we deal with rejection daily, but see the best in situations and how to position are clients successfully.   Mike Danielson and Heather Champine work very hard for us and we in turn are tireless workers and leave no stone unturned because we value their leadership.  They are excellent communicators and great people to work for and with.  Seeing Mike scurry around is a constant reminder of hard work paying off.  He is a big role model in my continued advancement with my career and a big reason for our success at Media Relations.  Heather is always willing to share her expertise and she is valiantly working with the publicists to ensure we have successful months with our placements and adding her unique clarity on the media we work with.

Media Relations is a joy to come and work for each day.  We never know what is going to happen.  Even with the best laid plans, your day is sure to throw you a few curveballs.  With the leadership we have, we have been prepared thoroughly to deal with these curveballs and use them and thrive on our failures, so we can learn from them and turn them into positives.  Media Relations has taught me a lot of things:  professionalism, work ethic, communication and resourcefulness.  Working with our team is the biggest benefit of joining such a rich and diversified company.  We pull for each other, cheer for each other, and work with each other so we can contribute to a greater good.  The continued growth of such a unique and fun company.

When I first began my career at Kocina Marketing Companies four years ago, I had the opportunity to participate in our company book club to discuss Now, Discover Your Strengths by Marcus Buckingham and Donald O. Clifton and take the on-line assessment.  My top five strengths are Focus, Achiever, Responsibility, Maximizer and Relator.  At the time, I was an Administrative Assistant for our company.  When I was offered a position in Human Resources, my first thought was “Will this opportunity be a match for my strengths?”  Well, it was and I absolutely LOVE what I do!  Just ask anyone that I work with or my family! 

In order to develop a career that really suits you, it’s important to have a basic knowledge of your key strengths.  Unlike skills or knowledge you can acquire through education, your strengths are more basic talents.  For the most part you were born with them.  You can certainly continue to develop new talents, but in the area of your strengths you have an almost unfair advantage. Your strengths are things that come naturally and easily to you.  Your brain is just wired to be good at them.  You’ll be happiest working in a career that allows you to take advantage of your strengths on a daily basis.  Working from your strengths will help you (1) be far more productive, (2) get better results, (3) contribute more value, (4) attract higher compensation, (5) enjoy your work, and (6) experience greater fulfillment. No matter where you are at in your career right now please, oh please figure out your strengths! Look for what you’re passionate about and DO THAT. Think about what excites you; why you’re on this earth; where you can achieve your greatest successes; what will make you grin when you think, “…and I get PAID for doing this?”

You may not realize it, but in today’s high-tech world, the strength of your Web site is vital to your company’s integrity. When someone decides they want to learn more about your company, one of the first places they will look is the Internet. If you have a Web site that is attractive, easy to use, easy to find and has a lot of pertinent information, you will impress potential customers and possibly even members of the media.

“Your home page design should feature the most requested information and serve as a top-level directory to access the primary sections of your Web site. This will be the only page visitors see unless they can easily find what they are looking for with little or no scrolling. Clear content organization will help make this process easier,” says Jason Kocina, President of Checkerboard Strategic Web Development (www.checkerboard.com), a firm that specializes in creating Web sites that play an active role in its clients’ business plans.

It’s only been 10 years since the Internet became part of our lives. At the time, no one knew what to expect from this new technology and at first it was a virtual free-for-all. Some business Web sites were as lifeless and unimaginative as business cards. Other sites were so far-fetched creatively that they simply confused their visitors. Thankfully, a few talented pioneers saw and seized the Internet’s potential.

Today, companies are now looking at their Web sites as extensions of their sales force and integral parts of their business plans. Because the public has grown so comfortable with shopping for information online, even small businesses understand that it is time to go back and build their sites the right way.

“If you want people to stay on your Web site longer and explore more than just their initial interest, it’s important that information is organized in a way that it makes sense to a user,” says Kocina.

According to Kocina, he said that the top five important qualities of a Web site are:

• Updated frequently.
• Ease of use.
• High-quality content.
• Respond to questions submitted within 24 hours.
• Quick to download.

How often do you want to update your Web site?

I tried to buy something the other day and was told it was no longer available and “should have been taken off months ago.” It’s important to keep your site current. For those areas of your site that change frequently, you may want the ability to input the updates yourself. With the right programming up front, this can be done with limited or no HTML experience. You almost have to think of your Web site as a living, breathing thing that needs constant attention.

Over the last 10 years the Web has changed dramatically. Have you changed with it? Look at your Web site and ask yourself if it is helping you generate business. If the answer is no, then you need to update it and make it an asset to your business rather than just a place for information.

To be effective, an online shopping Web site needs three elements working to your advantage:

• A reasonable conversion rate: Measured by the percentage of orders generated per visits to the site.
• Effective merchandising: Measured by your average sale amount.
• Traffic: Measured by the number of unique visits.

To improve the effectives of your site, look for ways to cross sell and up sell. Make purchase suggestions: Since you’re buying that, you might also want this. Try different pricing strategies such as grouping products together as a package deal. Use your advertising, collateral materials and publicity to drive more people to your Web site.