Thursday, May 31, 2012

Celebrate Vacaville Event Downtown Plus Music Today 4-8pm

Celebrate Vacaville!
Thursday, May 31st, 4:00pm - 8:00pm
Creekwalk at Andrew's Park, Vacaville
Come out for an afternoon of fun. More than 50 businesses and non-profit organizations will have booths where you can learn about what they have to offer. What about music you ask? Celebrate Vacaville has two bands performing: The Charlie Wad Blues Band and Rust Bucket. Enjoy music, beverages, business information booths, food and more. This is a community celebration of what makes Vacaville a great place to live.
The Charlie Wade Blues Band
The Charilie Wade Blues Band will be playing at the Celebrate Vacaville event in Andrews Park from
6pm to 8pm

7 Reasons Networking Can Be a Professional Development Boot Camp

Check out this interesting article on Forbes Magazine

Wednesday, May 30, 2012

DEADLINE FOR STUDENT APPLICATIONS FOR YIPPIE FOUNDATION JOB TRAINING THIS FRIDAY, JUNE 1

FAIRFIELD—The deadline for student applications for the next Yippie Foundation Job Training Academy is Friday, June 1 at 5:00 PM. The next Yippie Academy begins on July 10, 2012. The five-month program will provide job readiness training, vocational mentoring, financial education and career development classes to qualified applicants, ages 16-24 who live in Fairfield or Suisun City.
Chosen participants attend weekly classes and will be paired with a mentor from the business community who will meet with them weekly, provide job shadowing opportunities, and assist them in reaching their program goals. A variety of educational workshops and business tours are provided.
Yippie students are eligible to receive up to a $75 per month stipend and a weekly Fairfield bus roundtrip pass. Applicants must be low-income to participate in the Yippie program. Interested youth can download an application at www.YippieFoundation.net under “Forms” or pick one up at the Fairfield or Suisun public libraries.
Completed applications must be returned to the Yippie Foundation office at 1652 West Texas Street, #248, Fairfield. The deadline for applying is before 5 PM on Friday, June 1, 2012. No emailed or late applications will be considered. “When you graduate from the Yippie Job Training and Mentoring Program, you will have new job readiness and life skills, a Travis
Credit Union savings account, a strong resume, a network of supportive adults, and the confidence to apply for any entry level job,” explains Yippie President Sherilyn Henry.
Along with the Job Training and Mentoring Program, a Yippie Yogurt™ work experience store is slated to open in Fairfield this year. Only Yippie graduates will be able to work in the Yippie Yogurt™ shop which will be self-sustaining, help hundreds of area youth, and give financial support to other community non-profits that serve at-risk youth.

For more information, please contact Sherilyn Henry at 707-208-0853 or Sherilyn.Henry@YippieYogurt.org

Huge Craft Show At Woodcreek Plaza On Saturday June 2nd


So far there are 63 crafters and vendors that will be sharing at the Woodcreek Plaza Craft Show on Saturday, June 2nd from 10am to 5pm. Plus there will be wine tasting inside NY Pizza Kitchen, Food and live entertainment, along with music and all in a wonderful setting inside the alcove at the Woodcreek Plaza shopping center in Fairfield. Come and have some fun and check out all the unique offerings.

Tuesday, May 29, 2012

What's Wrong With This Picture?

We found this sign on the front door of a Chamber of Commerce organization! Yes, you heard right: An organization who's call is to expand business and to encourage participation in an organization who's call is to expand business. Oh sure, they also have some political meanderings, but supposedly that is all on behalf of the call to expand business. It was even brought to their attention how ridiculous this sign is to be on the front door of such an organization and we got an argument about its validity.

Makes us wonder. . . how many opportunities are lost to get new members, to talk about member services and benefits of membership. It has been our experience that the Chamber is always on the hunt for new and renewing members.

We had such a great laugh about this ridiculous sign and even more on their justification for installing and maintaining it. What's wrong with this picture?

Besides, any sales person worth her salt laughs at those signs too. . .

Sunday, May 27, 2012

A.R.E. CX Series Camper Shell or Truck Cap Mounted on 2012 Toyota Tundra...


Kevin is showing a recent job installing an A.R.E. CX Series Camper Shell or Truck Cap on this 2012 White Toyota Tundra Access Cab. The fit and finish on this high quality A.R.E. Shell is second to none and is at least one reason Kevin sells a lot of them. This one also has a drop down picture window access to the back of the cab.

Call Kevin of Vaca Valley Truck & SUV at 707-447-9905, or visit their website at http://www.VacaValleyTruck.com.

Friday, May 25, 2012

Mercedes-Benz to Host Fundraiser for Yippie Foundation



FAIRFIELD ----Mercedes-Benz of Fairfield will host a benefit cocktail party on Friday, June 15, 2012 from 5 – 7:30 p.m. for Yippie Foundation.  The event, entitled “Building Community Together” will celebrate the construction of the new Yippie Yogurt™ youth job training shop soon to be located in the Winery Square center in Fairfield.  Guests will hear about the new building plans and enjoy an evening meeting Yippie Youth, and sampling fine wines and heavy hors d’oeuvres prepared by Chef Daniel Bell.  Activities also include a wine and dessert auction, and guests may also have multiple chances to win a 4-day use of a new Mercedes – just in time for Father’s Day! 

David Long, general manager of Mercedes-Benz of Fairfield, recently joined Yippie Foundation’s board of directors.  Long was drawn to Yippie Foundation because it matches his passion to help young people in our area achieve their dreams. “My vision for the Yippie Foundation is that we will become a national model for inspiring, mentoring and guiding low-income at-risk youth.”

Yippie President Sherilyn Henry is thrilled to welcome David aboard.  "David is a wonderful addition to the Yippie Foundation board of directors.  He brings his experience of running a major Fairfield business along with a dedicated enthusiasm for Yippie’s mission to "teach kids to fish" through its job readiness, life skills, mentoring and work experience programs. David is a caring man who has already made a difference in our community!”

Tickets are $20 if purchased in advance or $25 at the door.  Tickets can be purchased at Mercedes-Benz of Fairfield, at http://buildingcommunitytogether.eventbrite.com or contact Sherilyn Henry at Sherilyn.Henry@YippieYogurt.org or 707-208-0853.  Each ticket includes entry, food and one beverage. 

Can’t attend the cocktail party?  You can still help!  Your donation will help provide students with needed class supplies; bus passes; equipment; or weekly meals and snacks.



The Yippie Foundations mission is to help homeless, foster care and low-income youth, ages 16-24, reach their potential as caring, contributing and family-sustaining citizens through job training, work experience, mentoring and career development.  For more information, visit www.YippieFoundation.net

Tuesday, May 22, 2012

Youth and Mentors Needed For the Next Yippie Job Training Program!

Our next Yippie Youth Academy will start on July 10th, 2012. Fifteen low-income youth will be chosen to participate in the next Yippie Academy. Students will attend weekly job readiness classes and weekly mentoring meetings for five month. Students are eligible to receive up to a $75 monthly stipend and weekly bus passes. Students will also earn their Food Handler’s License, CPR and First Aid Certificates. Classes will be held in Fairfield, CA and are open to Fairfield and Suisun City residents.

Be a Yippie Youth! Student applications may be downloaded and must be sent to 1652 West Texas Street, #248, Fairfield, CA 94533 by Friday, June 1 by 5:00 PM. No late or incomplete applications will be considered. Get your application at the bottom of this page. Visit our Youth page for more information.

Be a Yippie Volunteer! It really does take “the Village”. Please consider being a volunteer if you live in the Solano County area. We’d love to hear from you. Volunteer application.

Be a Yippie Mentor! Fifteen adult mentors (25 years of age or older) are needed to share their friendship and business expertise weekly for five months with a Yippie Youth starting on July 10, 2012. Mentors receive training and on-going support. Mentor information and applications may be downloaded. For more information visit our Mentorship page.

Be a Yippie Youth Sponsor! Please consider supporting one of these students. Your gift of cash, goods or services enable more youth to participate. You can also Sponsor a Youth.

Be a Yippie Business Sponsor! We are currently fund-raising for program expenses and to get the first Yippie Yogurt training store open in Fairfield, CA. You can make a donation to help.

Saturday, May 19, 2012

28th Annual Biggest Little Car Show In Downtown Suisun Today


We love this show! Check out hot rods galore and all kinds of Ford Custom Creations with lots of vendors and other things going on now at the Waterfront Plaza in Downtown Suisun City. This event goes from 10am to 3pm today! Check it out!

Friday, May 18, 2012

Fire & Rain Plays At Winterhawk Winery On Sunday, May 20th, Plus Benefit Solano Soccer Club







If you haven't spent a Saturday or Sunday afternoon at Winterhawk Winery in Suisun Valley yet, you don't know what you're missing! Live music every weekend along with great wine and great people! We'll be there from 2-5 on Sunday May 20th. Come party with us!

This Sunday Winterhawk invites the public to support local nonprofits, and this Sunday Winterhawk Winery is donating 20% of sales to the Solano Soccer Club. Event time is 1:30pm to 5:30pm and the music from Fire and Rain will be from 2:00pm to 5:00pm.

There will be food provided by Vinnie's Smokin' BBQ ($2 - $5), wine tasting and by the glass from 1:30pm to 5:30pm ($7)

Winterhawk Winery is located at 4537 Abernathy Road, Fairfield, across from Gomer School. 707-428-6977.

Wednesday, May 16, 2012

The Top 7 Sales Blunders by Kelley Roberston

We got this great piece from www.SalesDog.com:

We all make mistakes when selling our product or service. Here are the most common sales mistakes people make. I have to admit I have made many of these mistakes, even though I have been teaching this stuff for almost a decade.

Sales Mistake # 1: Allowing a prospect to lead the sales process. The best way to control the sales interaction is to ask questions. This is also the best way to learn whether or not your product or service meets the needs of your prospect. Quality questions that uncover specific issues, problems, or corporate objectives are essential in helping you establish yourself as an expert.

Sales Mistake # 2: Not completing pre-meeting research. After several weeks of voice mail I finally connected with my prospect and scheduled a meeting. Unfortunately, I entered the meeting without first researching the company. Instead of presenting a solution to an existing problem, I spent the entire meeting learning fundamental information, which to senior executives, is a complete waste of their time. This approach is one of most common sales mistakes. Invest the time learning about your prospect before you call them and before you try to schedule a meeting.

See the other 5 Mistakes

Monday, May 14, 2012

Taking Time To Work On Your Business vs. In Your Business



We help a large number of businesses with their Internet marketing, and we ask them to spend a small amount of time each month to work with us to help them grow their businesses. So many don't find the time. They're so busy working in their business that there is no time left to work on their business.

We get it. Frankly, we are in a similar situation. We focus on our clients and doing so many things for them, and at the end of the day, there wasn't any time left for us to work on our business.

But we have to. It's not an option. We must find the time. We must take care of growing, improving, even reinventing our businesses and that requires at least a regular commitment of time and energy to give some focus on our business.

This happens in people's personal lives as well. Mothers may be juggling a career, raising children, caring for a home, and so busy giving all the time that she forgets that she needs to give herself some love and reload. Stephen Covey in The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People calls this sharpening the saw. We all need time to sharpen the saw and renew our spirit and drive.

Our businesses need this even more.

What we've learned is that it doesn't take a lot of time and energy, but a small amount on a regular basis is extremely beneficial. You would be amazed how much can get accomplished with as little as one or two hours a week.

What needs to happen is that this time must rise to the level of importance that we will make sure that it gets done, and then schedule the time, just as if we were scheduling an appointment with a client. If you run a retail business or service shop, this schedule will be more effective at a time not during your normal business hours. Perhaps come in early or stay late one day a week.

The benefits of applying a small amount of focus to working on your business will be far reaching, and you may find your business growing faster and better as well.

Friday, May 11, 2012

Upward Trend Welcomes Mercedes-Benz of Fairfield As Our Latest Trend Setter Package Client

David Long, General Manager of the new Mercedes-Benz of Fairfield in Fairfield CA has a passion for giving back to the community that he works in, and has become a moving force in and around Fairfield, CA in a very short time by his giving attitude. To help Mercedes-Benz of Fairfield coordinate and execute their giving, Upward Trend has been asked to create a method to help them achieve their objectives of sharing their passion and helping those organizations that are dear to their heart, such as the Salvation Army, The Leaven, the Yippie Foundation, and others.

This philanthropic organization is called, Help Along the Way, because it is designed to help these organizations by bringing more focus and attention, along with a community of support including volunteer time, fundraising and financial contribution.

Upward Trend is building a brand new website which when published in the next couple of weeks will be at www.helpalongtheway.net. In addition, as part of the package, there is a blog which already has been started at http://helpalongtheway10.blogspot.com. Along with this, we have built social media including a facebook page, twitter account, and linked-in. Upward Trend will also be doing a monthly email newsletter, and video with a YouTube channel, and finally SEO optimization and consulting to complete the Trend Setter Package.

Look for much more very soon from Help Along the Way and Mercedes-Benz of Fairfield.

Sunday, May 6, 2012

Simple Inbound Marketing Tip


Most professionals view marketing as a standalone activity that they explicitly go out and "do." This short video explains how you can instead use everyday emails and casual interactions to market your business.

Saturday, May 5, 2012

The Secret of Getting All the Referrals You Could Ever Hope For | Jeffrey Gitomer | Sales Tools


Everyone in management will tell every salesperson to "ask for referrals" or "don't forget to ask for referrals" or "as soon as you make the sale, ask for a referral."

These strategies are not only wrong, they also jeopardize the future of the relationship.

First of all, why are you "asking" (begging) for a referral?
Second of all, why are you asking when you haven't earned anything?

REALITY: Asking for referrals makes EVERYONE feel awkward. And usually results in a turndown, or a delay. A delay that goes on for months.

A referral is the second strongest lead in sales. The first is an unsolicited one.

MAJOR CLUE: Referrals are not asked for - referrals are EARNED.

SCENARIO: You get a referral from a customer without asking for it. You make a sale. Your boss asks you, "How'd you get that referral?" And you respond, "I earned it." Your boss will NOT know what to say next.

Give to get.

There are all kinds of names applied to the process of "giving" a referral to a customer. Pay it forward. Netweaving. BUT the salesperson will forever live in darkness if he or she expects something in return.

Which brings me to this PRIME example of what not to do. I got this email "request for an answer" today:

Hey Jeff, I can't seem to ever get any referrals! I go back to the customer after the sale, I give them an appreciation gift and ask them for some people and they say they don't know anybody or don't think anybody else can afford it?! What to do?

The guy didn't even sign the email. That's a good start to not getting referrals.

This guy thinks by bringing candy that he deserves a referral. And his email proves my point. He will NEVER get referrals this way - AND NEITHER WILL YOU.

What is this guy's business logic behind his actions? And what's yours? Asking for referrals is not only a poor practice, it's also rude and embarrassing.

NOTE WELL: There are those who claim expertise in the referral process that will differ in opinion. Take their advice and end up like the anonymous emailer above - empty.

I will admit my strategy is harder to perform. GOOD. That way the lazy salespeople will not be in competition. And you may actually get some referrals this way. Five referrals out of a hundred tries. BUT the other 95 people will avoid you forever. Not good.

Ask yourself:
* What have I earned so far?
* Have I done anything besides make a sale?
* On a scale of 1-10, how strong is this relationship?
* If I asked for a referral right now would it be or feel awkward?
* Why would this customer give me a referral?
NOTE: If you can't think of a reason, neither can your customer.

Then ask yourself:
* What can I do that will get me from where I am to where I want to be?
* Do I have a real referral game plan?
* What are the value actions I need to be (consistently) taking to begin earning referrals?

The questions above are the ones that need to be asked BEFORE YOU TAKE ANY REFERRAL ACTIONS.

Here are the TOP 6.5 referral EARNING strategies:
1. Deliver memorable service. It's simple. Be friendly and helpful, and give positive response.
2. Be available. Make it easy to do business with you and anyone else in your company 24/7/365.
3. Be a consistent value provider. Create an email magazine and blog with content that helps customers, and a business Facebook page where you post positive and helpful information and good news, and allow for customer interactions.
4. Give a referral to the customer. This requires work, but it's a great way to prove your worth.
5. Get them one LinkedIn contact they can benefit from. See if any of your connections could be of value to your customers, and make connections.
6. Develop the relationship slowly over time. Create your long-term value plan, and execute it consistently. Always post a "thank you" for referred business.
6.5 DON'T ASK FOR A REFERRAL IF YOU HAVEN'T EARNED ONE.

There's an underlying powerful message in what I'm saying here. It's about having a philosophy of giving, without the expectation of getting anything in return. This philosophy, if adopted, will give you a lifetime of fulfillment without an ounce of regret, remorse, or resentment.

Give to give. Don't give to get.

Friday, May 4, 2012

How To Lose A Customer In 2 Seconds Or Less by Carolyn Higgins

Here's a great article from Carolyn Higgins of Fortune Marketing Company. I've had this same thing come to me several times via email. What a joke.

http://fortunemarketingcompany.com/2012/05/4191/

Thanks, Carolyn.

Thursday, May 3, 2012

Nut Tree/Vacaville Book Give-a-Way Sat, May 5th 10am-2pm. Great Event.

 5-5-2012!

Solano County kicks off National Children's Book Week
on Saturday, May 5 from 10 am to 2 pm at the Nut Tree in Vacaville
 
Solano County Library Foundation will team with Martin Pearl Publishing and the Nut Tree to raise funds for reading programs and to support the Vacaville Police K-9 Program.

The event will include:




  • Local author and Fairfield-Suisun Unified School District teacher Corie Barloggi, who will sign copies of her children's books;
The first 500 copies of “In Jack’s Mind” by Corie Barloggi will be given away, thanks to a generous donation by Martin Pearl Publishing (donations to Solano County Library Foundation appreciated);
  • Library Foundation volunteers will present Story-Time on the lawn, reading to children;
  • All of Martin Pearl Publishing's titles will be available for purchase with 50% of proceeds donated to the Solano County Library Foundation;
  • Vacaville Police Department will offer free fingerprinting for children and K-9 demonstrations for all; and
  • Train and carousel rides, as well as food and fun, will be available between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m.
Meet authors Corie Barloggi and John A. McKinsey, and purchase books to support a great cause – Books in Children’s Hands.

Wednesday, May 2, 2012

Little Wings Connections Vacaville Monthly Networking Luncheon Is Tomorrow!

This group is growing and is free. Come join us at Stars in Vacaville at 12noon to 1:30pm, Thursday, May 3rd. Be there!

http://www.facebook.com/LWConnectionsluncheonvacaville?ref=ts

Seth Godin on Conquering Fear to Start Your Own Business


Marketing expert Seth Godin talks about breaking free of the status quo with Bryan Elliott for 'Behind the Brand.'

Watch more videos at: http://www.entrepreneur.com/video/

More Inspirational Seth Godin videos: http://entm.ag/sethgodinvideo