SBANC Newsletter
October 4, 2005
Issue 392-2005
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QUOTE
"I think it's very important that whatever you're trying to make or sell,
or teach has to be basically good. A bad product and you know what? You won't
be here in ten years."
--
Martha Stewart
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FEATURE PAPER
Determinants of Success:
Small and Medium Sized Enterprises
Selling
Goods and Services to the Federal Government
This paper was presented by Aleta Wilson of National-Louis University at the
2005 International Council for Small Business World Conference.
Abstract
The purpose of
the study is to discover the characteristics of successful small
and medium sized enterprises (SME’s) that sell goods and services
to the federal government in order to develop a list of determinants
of success (DoS). These factors
can be used for a variety of purposes including as a self-check for aspiring
business owners, a checklist for government or private sector purchasers,
a way for determining assistance needs, and even for financiers.
This, the first of a 4-part study, covers the rationale, prior research,
and survey methodology. Parts two through four cover survey results
of
three populations—small and disadvantaged business utilization
specialists, large government contractors, and successful small government
contractors. This is the
first study to solicit input from customers of small businesses to obtain
their view of success to overlay what researchers view as significant
success factors.
Introduction
Small
businesses are one of the major engines that fuel the United States
economy, and the government encourages small business ventures by maintaining
low barriers to entry. According to the U.S. Small Business Administration,
Office of Advocacy, there were 22.9M businesses in the United States
in 2002. Because of the importance of small business to the U.S. economy,
numerous scholars have parsed the entrepreneur in various ways in hopes
of determining the theoretical entrepreneurial success formula. The
underlying question is whether entrepreneurs have a common set of characteristics
that can be used to determine who has the highest probability of success.
This study tackles that question, but approaches it from a different
direction. In addition to examining successful entrepreneurs to expose
possible similarities that can be projected onto nascent entrepreneurs,
this study starts from the customer perspective.
Read the Entire Paper...
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CONFERENCES
Allied Academies
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Who: |
Allied Academies |
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What:
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2005 Fall International Conference
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Where: |
Riviera Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada |
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When:
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October 12-15, 2005 |
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Institute for Sustainable Management
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Who:
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Institute
for Sustainable Management |
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What:
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International Sustainability Conference 2005
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Where:
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University of Basel in Switzerland |
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When:
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October 13-15, 2005 |
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Direct
Marketing Educational Foundation
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Who:
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Direct
Marketing Educational Foundation (DMEF) |
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What:
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17th Annual DMEF Educator's Conference
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Where:
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Atlanta, Georgia |
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When:
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October 16-19, 2005 |
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International Academy of Business and Economics
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Who:
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International Academy of Business and Economics (IABE) |
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What:
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IABE-2005 Annual Conference
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Where: |
Boardwalk Hotel & Casino, Las
Vegas, Nevada |
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When:
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October 16-19, 2005 |
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Business for Social
Responsibility
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Who:
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Business
for Social Responsibility |
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What:
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BSR 2005 Annual Conference
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Where: |
Omni Shoreham Hotel in Washington, DC |
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When:
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November 1-4, 2005 |
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CALLS FOR PAPERS
IPSI 2006 - MARBELLA
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Who:
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Internet, Processing, Systems, and
Interdisciplinary (Research) |
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What:
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IPSI 2006 - MARBELLA
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Where: |
Hotel Puente Romano in Marbella, Spain |
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When:
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February 10-13, 2006 |
Submission Deadline:
October 30, 2005 (abstract)
December
15, 2005 (full paper)
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European
Institute of Retailing and Services Studies
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Who:
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European Institute of Retailing and
Services Studies |
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What:
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13th International Conference |
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Where: |
Corinthia Grand Hotel Royal in Budapest, Hungary |
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When:
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July 9-12, 2006 |
Submission Deadline:
November 1, 2005
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American
Society of Business and Behavioral Sciences
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Who:
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American Society of Business and Behavioral
Sciences |
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What:
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13th Annual Meeting
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Where: |
Imperial Palace Hotel and Casino, Las Vegas, Nevada |
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When:
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February 23-26, 2006 |
Submission Deadline:
November 1, 2005
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Small Business Research Forum on Small Business & Entrepreneurial
Marketing
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Who:
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Journal of Small Business Management |
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What:
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2nd Annual Office Depot Small Business Research Forum on Small Business & Entrepreneurial
Marketing
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Where: |
Ft. Lauderdale, Florida |
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When:
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March 18, 2006 |
Submission Deadline:
November 15, 2005
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The
CIBER Research Institute
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| Who: |
The
CIBER Research Institute |
| What: |
ABR
Conference (business & economics) and TLC Conference (teaching
methods, styles, and administration
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| Where: |
Disney
Boardwalk Hotel in Disney World, Florida |
| When: |
January
2-6, 2006 |
Submission
Deadline:
December 1, 2005
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TIP OF THE WEEK
How to Lose a Sale
| 1. |
Speak
more than your potential client. If you do all the talking, you won't be able to ascertain
the needs of the buyer. The most successful sales reps spend
70 to 80 percent of the time listening. |
| 2. |
Wing
it. Don't call without first
finding out as much as you can about your potential customer.
Research the company's
size, history, products, and challenges using Hoover's Handbook,
Dun & Bradstreet, Value Line, and other such resources, which
can be found at the library. |
| 3. |
Forget
to ask questions. Most people
drift off after five or six minutes of a presentation, so be
sure to interject
questions to keep clients alert and involved. Focus on your buyer's
criteria by asking, "What does the next vendor need to do to
earn your business?" "What is your business's biggest challenge?"
"What differentiates your company from your competition?" |
| 4. |
Rely
on your memory. You can't afford
to miss important points, and nobody's memory is perfect. Ask
the customer if it's
okay to take notes, and use key points the customer made in a
follow-up letter after the sales call. Start it with, "Just
to make sure we're on the right track, the following is a list
of
your key needs..." |
| 5. |
Go
off on tangents. Instead of expounding on every
passing thought, stay focused to make a strong case. Before you
start your presentation, give your customers an overview of what
you'll be telling them, and highlight key points at the end.
Don't forget to follow up. |
Megginson Emeritus, Leon C., Mary Jane Byrd, and William L. Megginson. Small
Business Management: An Entrepreneur's Guidebook. 5th ed. New York: McGraw-Hill/Irwin,
2006. 227.
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ANNOUNCEMENTS
AACSB Conferences
& Seminars
The Association
to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business has their 2005/2006
Conference & Seminar
Catalog available for download, or
you can check out conferences individually at
the AACSB website.
If you are interested
in upcoming AACSB Conferences & Seminars
but would prefer to have a copy of the catalog in print, send
an email with your full mailing address to maria@aacsb.edu.
The SBANC Newsletter
is provided as a service to the members of our affiliates:
Academy of Collegiate Marketing Educators (ACME), Association for
Small
Business& Entrepreneurship
(ASBE), Decision Sciences Institute (DSI), Federation of Business Disciplines
(FBD), International Council for Small Business Congress (ICSBC), Institute
for Supply Management, The International Small Business Congress (ISBC),
Marketing Management Association (MMA), Small Business Administration
(SBA), Service Corps of Retired Executives, Small Business Institute
(SBI), Society for Marketing Advances (SMA), United States Association
for Small Business & Entrepreneurship (USASBE), U.S.
Department of Veterans Affairs and Western Decision Sciences
Institute
(WDSI). If you are interested in membership or would like
further information
on one of our affiliates, please see our web site at http://www.sbaer.uca.edu
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SBANC STAFF
Main Office Phone: (501) 450-5300
Dr. Don B. Bradley III, Executive Director
of SBANC & Professor of Marketing
Direct Phone: (501) 450-5345, E-mail: donb@uca.edu
Esther Mead, Graduate Research, E-mail: esthermead@gmail.com
Ashley Ford, Development Intern, E-mail: ASHatsbanc@hotmail.com
Olivia Johnson, Development Intern, E-mail: reneeatuca_2003@hotmail.com
To subscribe or unsubscribe to the SBANC
Newsletter, please E-mail SBANC at sbanc@uca.edu |
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