Counselor® PromoGram®
Volume 738 / August 12, 2010
Click here to read this and past issues online.

Small Biz Employees Unsatisfied With Benefits
Small business employees are much less satisfied with their benefits than those at larger companies, according to a new report from MetLife. "Building A Better Benefits Program Without Breaking The Budget" points out that while 50% of workers at companies hiring 500 or more say they are very satisfied with their benefits, only 27% of those at companies with 50 to 99 employees said the same, and at organizations with 2 to 49 employees, this was the case just 23% of the time. The report finds that for businesses of all sizes, the top two objectives in offering benefits are controlling health and welfare costs (53%), closely followed by retaining employees (47%).

Jeffrey Tulloch, national sales director of employee benefit sales for MetLife, believes that the study presents a workplace opportunity for small businesses to better appeal to the needs of their workers. "There's great opportunity for the real small employer to do some things that are pretty easy to implement,," Tulloch says, "and they should see some satisfaction with their benefits, which leads to increased satisfaction of their employees."

The report makes five recommendations to employers, the first of which is to offer non-medical benefits like dental, disability and life insurance – 59% of small business employees say these contribute to their employer loyalty – but reduce the cost by covering what employees value (such as preventative services for dental), rather than underutilized procedures that can significantly raise employer premiums. Second, the report recommends starting a wellness program. Currently, only 22% of small companies offer wellness programs (as opposed to 61% of larger employers), even though 67% of small business employers agree that wellness programs are effective at reducing medical costs.

With individual workers more responsible for their own financial well-being than in previous generations, MetLife also recommends employers help their workers get a better handle on their expenses, perhaps by bringing in a financial professional. The final recommendations are simplifying benefits communication by removing jargon, and helping advance employee work/life balance.
ASI NEWS

ASI Show Announces Star-Studded Line-Up
Michael J. Fox and Laura Bush among those scheduled to appear in 2011.

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The Gift Book Now Available
Act by August 31, and receive a free personalized digital version of the 2010-2011 Gift Book catalog along with free shipping.

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Industry Update Video: Top 40 Sales Increase In Q2
Every week, Counselor PromoGram offers a video news report that highlights the industry's top stories. Called Industry Update, each episode details the most important trends and news items impacting the ad specialty market.

In this episode, we reveal the second-quarter financial results for three Counselor Top 40 companies and discuss a large distributor's new executive appointment. Plus, will new proposals in the U.S. Senate help limit the impact of burdensome 1099 reporting rules? Check out the video to find out.

Click here to see the trends and to watch Counselor PromoGram's Industry Update.

If you have any news you'd like to see covered on Industry Update or in Counselor PromoGram, please send it to newsdesk@asicentral.com.


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Congress Proposes Limits To New 1099 Reporting Rules
In a nod to small businesses, the U.S. Senate proposed an amendment last week that would repeal entirely or at least scale back new Internal Revenue Service (IRS) reporting rules. The new rules, which were created as part of the new health-care bill, would take effect in 2012 and would force all businesses to file 1099 forms with the IRS for payment to any vendor or service provider in excess of $600.

Senator Mike Johanns (R-NE) introduced a proposal that would completely repeal the new provisions, and a separate plan introduced by Senator Bill Nelson (D-FL) would move to scale back the reporting rules. The Nelson proposal would exempt all firms with fewer than 25 employees from the reporting rules entirely, and for larger businesses it would require 1099 forms only in cases where payments to a single vendor exceeded $5,000 in a given year. Also in the Nelson proposal, the Treasury department would have the ability to exempt from reporting rules certain types of payments where non-compliance risk is minimal, such as airline tickets and office supplies.

The Senate is slated to vote on the measures on September 14. The House of Representatives has also stated its intent to find ways to scale back the new 1099 IRS reporting rules, but has so far been unable to pass legislation to do so. It plans to reintroduce the issue when Representatives come back from summer break in September.

 


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Podcast: Overcome The Loss Of A Client Contact
On Tuesday's ASI Internet Radio Show, the hosts took questions from callers looking for advice on how they can keep a client after their main contact at the company has moved onto another job. Looking for ways to navigate new contacts at current clients? Listen to this clip from the show. 

Click here to listen to the lost-contact segment from Tuesday's show.

If you'd like to check out a recording of the whole online radio show, go to www.asicentral.com/radio. And, don't forget to join us on Tuesday, August 17, for our next broadcast. Log on to www.asicentral.com/radio at 10:30 am ET and give us a call at 215-953-4979 or e-mail us at radio@asicentral.com to participate on the show. We want to hear from you.

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Join The Best Places To Work Community
Want to create a fun, energetic and motivated workplace? Join the Counselor Best Places to Work Facebook community. Counselor is currently putting the finishing touches on the September Best Places to Work issue, and in conjunction with the issue, we're launching a new Facebook page to give industry companies ideas on ways to improve their work environments and increase business as a result.

Click here to join the community. On August 26, we'll use the Facebook page to exclusively announce the 75 companies that are on the 2010 Best Places to Work list. And from then on, we'll run contests and present educational articles and profiles of top industry workplaces.

And, we want to hear from you. Have a great workplace story of your own? Join the community and share your ideas with the group.

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ASICentral: Counselor State Of The Industry 2010 & Exclusive Webinar
Yes, it's that time of year again. Time for a boatload of industry facts, stats, Top 40s and how-to manuals. Want to know how to prepare your business for growth today, throughout 2011 and even beyond 2012? Then you don't want to miss this special ASICentral.com feature! Click here to check it out.

Plus, to go along with the State of the Industry issue, Counselor created an educational webinar to give distributors ideas on ways they can plan their businesses over the next few years. Packed with statistics, trends and tips, this webinar is sure to provide inspiration for business growth. Click here to view the educational session.

Got questions, comments or any type of feedback regarding anything ASICentral, don't hesitate to contact us at feedback@asicentral.com. Also, follow ASICentral at: Twitter Facebook YouTube.


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ASI Radio Contest
If you like cool, high-tech gadgets and enjoy the weekly ASI Radio Show, then we have some news for you.

Starting on August 17 and culminating in a prize giveaway show on September 14, ASI is running a contest that requires only that you pay attention to each of four shows for a special "Word of the Week." For four consecutive weeks we will give a new "Word of the Week," and on the fifth week we will solicit calls from listeners to identify which word went with which week.

For more information, including the prizes you could win, click here.


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In The News
Fusion Creative (asi/199878) announced that it has a new address: 467 31st Avenue North, St. Petersburg, FL 33704. The phone number is (727) 571-1225 and fax is (727) 550-0456.

Natural Trends (asi/73497) has announced that The Identity Group Inc. will represent the supplier in Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Missouri, Arkansas and Louisiana.

Premium Promo USA (asi/79372) announced that it has added the E-Book reader by Augen to its product line.

PSL Canada has announced its new instructional website for distributors and their clients: www.innovationisourdrive.com.

Stitch Designers (asi/741145) announced that it has become a preferred embroidery vendor for Franchise Services Inc (asi/398000), parent company of Sir Speedy, PIP Printing, and Signal Graphics.


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People On The Move
iPROMOTEu (asi/232119) has announced that 18 distributors affiliated with the company in July. The new affiliates, which together have an estimated annual sales volume of approximately $5,800,000, include Ron Augelli of Augelli Printing in Archbald, PA; Monica Chavers of Primary Accents, LLC in Detroit, MI; Amber Christel of Dynamic Marketing Solutions LLC in Port Washington, WI;  Larry Davis of Contemporary Business Forms, Inc. in Bloomington, IL; Art Goldman of MarketingVUE in Dublin, CA;  Connie Krebs of Print In A Click in Williamsburg, OH;  Pam Leso of Teamwork Promotional in Escondido, CA;  Thomas Lott of TLC Promotions in Santa Fe Springs, CA;  Paula Maita of Paula Maita & Co. in Elk Grove, CA;  Mag Mikesell of Mikesell Monograms in Greenville, OH; Shelly and Hal Narotzky of Aberson Narotzky & White Inc. in Westfield, NJ;  Joanna Scarborough of Barnyard Designs in Clovis, CA; Peggy Schumann of SignUP, Inc. in Escanaba, MI; Marcy Slachman of Invitation & Promotion Hotline, LLC in Manalapan, NJ;  Aloma Stewart of ASJ Enterprises in Montgomery, AL; Jeffrey Tredennick of Ascent Promotional Marketing in Bridgewater, CT;  and Sherry Treesh of TLC Promotions, LLC in Indianapolis, IN.

Liqui-Mark Corporation (asi/67675) has hired the following multi-line representatives to cover the Midwest region: Bill Wade's territory includes IL, MN, WI and ND; Lewie Hunt and Joan Hunt's territory includes MO, IA, KS, NE and SD; and Dan Alspaugh and Adam Alspaugh's territory includes OH, MI, IN, KY and WV. 



ASI SHOW

The following are the dates and locations for The ASI Show in 2010 and 2011:
ASI Holiday Preview in Las Vegas, September 13-14, 2010
Orlando, January 23-25, 2011
Dallas, February 16-18, 2011
New York, March 22-24, 2011
San Diego, May 18-20, 2011
Chicago, July 19-21, 2011

Plus, don't miss the ASI Advantages Roadshow, the industry's #1 traveling show. Visit www.advantagesroadshow.com for the complete schedule and go to www.asishow.com for information on all ASI Shows.


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