Issue 24aspin.co.ukImproving sales performance

World’s largest watch distributor

rolls out PixSell iPad app

Time to give Citizen Watch the spotlight – page 3

“from strength to strength”

Aspin clients on their B2B eCommerce

on pages 9 & 10

Come and visit us at Spring Fair 2014We will be in hall 5, stand 5K66, for more details and how to find the show visit springfair.com

2-6 FEBRUARY 2014

01Issue 24

Dale Young Harvey DobsonWhat I did before Aspin:

Before I joined Aspin I was a student at Portsmouth University studying a BSc in Computing.

During the final eighteen months at university, I worked as a freelance web developer on a number of different projects, which included eCommerce websites and a social networking site.

What I do at Aspin:

I work in the Aspin Interactive eCommerce team and I fit into a variety of roles within the team. My responsibilities include making modifications to existing client sites and

handling Interactive support calls - assisting Aspin clients with any queries they may have, and providing general maintenance. Recently, I have been given the responsibility of creating the template for a new client and it is certainly a lot of fun, and an enjoyable challenge.

About me:

I’m a pretty social person, not one to be stuck inside the house. Obviously I’m a bit of a techie, however I do love the great outdoors – especially if that includes going to festivals!

Of a weekend, I’m generally watching Match of the Day and fulfilling my esteemed role as a Brighton fan.

What I did before Aspin:

I used to manage a small, fast-growth, start-up internet marketing company on the Isle of Wight that provided SEO, Google AdWords management and IT Consultancy, in addition to creating websites, design work and bespoke applications for a variety of different businesses.

What I do at Aspin:

I’m a Junior Web Developer and I work as part of the Interactive team. I work with Dave, Hanish and Adam on a day-to-day basis assisting with any support queries from our customers, ensuring they get resolved as quickly as possible.

In addition to this, I make the odd email marketing newsletter and work frequently with Julian in creating new technical specifications and website wireframes for clients.

About Me:

At 20 years old, I am the youngest employee here at Aspin, and a self-taught web designer & developer from the Isle of Wight. I have a keen interest in web technologies and in my spare time, enjoy photography.

02aspin.co.uk

Welcome to Issue 242013 still sounds so new, so fresh yet 2014 is here and wanting attention. Allow us to put 2013 to bed with a quick round up of our year at Aspin.

The InterSell team have seen some transformation with the arrival of a new project manager and two junior developers, along with many successful Go-Lives in 2013 including Citizen Watch UK, Amscan USA, Hill Agencies, Lesser & Pavey trade ordering and Thorite - existing InterSell clients are talking to us on page 10. Aspin’s iPad app PixSell has been subject to some fabulous

new developments and features such as activity reporting, data capture via forms and a brand spanking new iOS7 make over. As many of you may know, the PixSell development team release a new version every 4 weeks to keep the app running smoothly. See what our clients say about PixSell on page 5 and read about Citizen using PixSell on page 3.

The offices at Romsey have seen some substantial developments following the acquisition of the building next door in 2012. Our in-house designer has done a sterling job in creating a contemporary, comfortable

office space that best expresses our company image and ethos, which we look forward to showing to our clients and prospects as they visit Romsey.

Finally, it would not be right to finish without a quick word on Spring Fair 2014 as many of you will be exhibiting alongside us. Whether you are an existing client, a prospect or just intrigued to know more about what we do, please come and see us in hall 5, on stand 5K66. For more information, or to arrange an appointment with us, please email info@aspin.co.uk

‘Test Drive’ PixSell iPad app for FreeScan the QR code to download or call 01794 500 200 for more information

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03

with paper based processes. Citizen decided it was high time to move the team and their daily activities into the 21st century with an all encompassing tablet based system. “We were looking for an incorporated system, accommodating differing call objectives across the sales persons and merchandisers employed in the field”, Brian recalls, “with the ability to take photos and pass those back to head office being a strong requirement.” The area sales team take stock, orders, and obtain business intelligence, whilst the merchandisers are predominantly CRM driven and perform stock takes. Equally, the system would need to deploy all of these capabilities and directly import the data for order processing and interrogation back at head office. Aspin were able to meet these requirements with PixSell.

Now utilising 17 PixSell user licences for field order capture and stock count, and having recently gone live with InterSell B2B eCommerce, Aspin caught up with Citizen’s Finance and IT Director Brian Gillingham to see how Aspin’s products and services have benefitted their business processes in the last year.

Keen to know what attracts our clients to Aspin, we asked Brian why Citizen proceeded with Aspin as their provider. “Having seen three suppliers, we felt that PixSell best met our specific requirements, rather than on a vast global scale – PixSell fitted our key business objectives, we didn’t have to fit the software.” Prior to the reps using PixSell, Citizen were far more paper driven in the field, with the sales team using aged hardware combined

Client Focus:Citizen Watch UKBack in the summer of 2012, Citizen invited Aspin to their Wokingham offices to demonstrate PixSell in response to their requirement for a tablet based field sales solution. The rest is history.

aspin.co.uk

Scan the QR code on this page or visit

aspin.co.uk/pixsell for more information.

04

Furthermore, Citizen felt Aspin gave the best presentation and in January 2013, the Citizen reps went live with the application.

Post implementation, Brian has some very complimentary words for PixSell. Aspin asks, “what value has PixSell brought to your field sales team and their retail visits?”

“PixSell has not only given Citizen Watch the confidence that their reps are capturing accurate data in the field but also provided a system that incorporates all key objectives into one device.” Indeed, the reps’ ability to perform all required activities using this one application, Brian tells us, is truly brilliant, putting us at the fore of technology with our customers, and enabling the Citizen reps to perform as professionally as possible.

November 2013 saw the Citizen B2B eCommerce platform go live which has received some great feedback both internally and externally. Whilst Citizen are delighted with the look and feel of the site corresponding with their global brand and image, customers are impressed with the ability to review order histories that predate the platform and describe the new website to be fresh and contemporary.

Looking at Citizen’s branded editions of PixSell and InterSell, with their references to Watch Brand of the year and it’s not difficult to see why the Citizen reps, their PixSell app and the InterSell site are such a hit with jewellery and watch retailers.

A big thank you to Brian Gillingham for talking to Aspin.

Aspin’s Doug Mendes and Brian Gillingham

App Store Snippets

05Issue 24

A great app that has hit the ground running. Fantastic for business, we have noticed an increase in our average order and our clients are very impressed. – Half Moon Bay

Of all the benefits of PixSell, we feel the main one to be stock efficiency, allowing agents to avoid selling out of stock items, and therefore maximising sales. The app has proved invaluable, and we would highly recommend PixSell. – Caroline Gardner

We have now been using PixSell for nearly twelve months and it is putting us at the top when it comes to technology with our customers, and enabling our representatives to perform their roles as professionally as possible. Overall, an excellent choice! – Citizen Watch

Our sales team have been using PixSell for about 5 months now and it has had a positive impact on our entire business. Both the customers and sales reps love it and our Sales Director is able to keep a better track of each reps performance. – Louella Belle

The real time information available to the sales team is proving invaluable. All reps have found the system easy to use, making them more prepared for day to day contact with customers. Information at their finger tips saves phone calls to the office for sales information, and this is a real asset. – Dartington Crystal

Aspin are always available to help no matter the time of day. They are a provider we can trust and have faith in to resolve any issue - in the rare case there might be one. Any business wishing to have the competitive edge over their competition really should invest in PixSell now, as it just gets better with every update. – Rochford

Scan the QR code on this page or visit aspin.co.uk/pixsell for more information.

Q&A06aspin.co.uk

Aspin have answered some of the frequently asked questions that come through via PixSell support to help you get the best out of your application:

How can I make my customer searches more precise?Tapping on “Options” in the search customer box enables you to select which fields on the customer record you want to base your search on.

How do I review order history for a customer?Select “Customers” from the main menu, choose your customer and tap on the arrow to the right of “Order History”

in the “Details” column on the right of the screen. This will display information about past orders. If the arrow to the right of “Order History” is not highlighted, then that account has no history to display.

Why aren’t our users downloading the new images we’ve added?The iPads will only download new images when they pick up an update package so remember to send these out after adding any new images.

Why doesn’t the Hold order option appear in the PixSell Out Tray?To hold orders on an iPad between syncs you need to have user-managed sending enabled in your parameters.

Is there a way of adding an entire collection to an order in one go?Yes, select the collection in the catalogue (from the collections drop-down), then tap the action button at the top and select ‘add current view’ - this should add the whole collection to the order. Any issues encountered during the add (e.g. Out of stock / unable to order/ product discontinued) will be summarised in an error pop-up after the collection has been added.

Visit aspinblog.co.uk for regular specialist advice and industry relevant articles

07Issue 24

For companies that depend on sales people to drive business forward, there are likely times you could hug them and times when they drive you to despair! Undoubtedly, many businesses have employed sales people who appear busy, talk the talk and have all the toys a professional could need such as an iPad and iPhone, yet they don’t deliver as much as we think they should.

ReMap use a very robust and accurate profiling tool (the Sales Preference Questionnaire, or SPQ Gold®), to find out how sales people really feel about prospecting and selling. With over 30 years of meticulous research behind the diagnostic tool, there is now unequivocal proof that a sales person’s level of comfort or indeed discomfort, directly impacts how they choose to use their skills and knowledge in sales situations. Performance is affected in two distinct ways:

1. Avoidance: Some sales people avoid closing deals, asking certain questions, making telephone calls

or challenging customers’ views, because of a lack of willingness to place themselves in a position of personal discomfort. Often, they do indeed have the skill, and the knowledge and will capably demonstrate this in role play, however, it just becomes uncomfortable for them when it is real, and is therefore something they prefer to avoid.

2. Sell badly: Sales people who experience discomfort when selling live manage to ‘stumble’ through their calls but their performance is often seen as rushed, mechanical, scripted or lacking authenticity. This is because they are putting most of their focus and energy into ‘coping’ rather than into their sales craft.

For sales management, it is vital to understand exactly what each member of the sales team really think, feel and prefer to do, when working in the field and being paid to move business forward and close deals.

The SPQGold® recognises the 12 different behavioural ‘traits’ which affect a sales person’s performance and identifies that many sales people can be negatively affected by a combination of these issues at various times during their working day. The report produced for each individual measures all 12 traits, but does not attempt to categorise the person. In essence, ReMap provides a full MOT on a person’s emotional resilience for sales and self promotion.

The official collective description for these 12 behavioural traits is Sales Call Reluctance (SCR) which includes some interesting terms such as Yielder, Role Rejection, Social Self Conscious and Over Preparer. However, as we tend to remind our clients, most sales managers can recognise a selection of these potential ‘traits’ in various team members. Why don’t you try it on your own team - here are four for you to consider:

Your sales team may have the ‘App’, but what about the application?

By Ian Saunders, Sales Director, ReMap

08aspin.co.uk

Yielder - A fear of ‘spoiling relationships or upsetting good clients’ which often causes the sales person to back off rather than pursue a matter to achieve satisfactory results. Sales people often lose the ability to close against their own agenda and needs.

Social Self-Conscious - A self-imposed rule engine that prevents effective interaction with certain customer target groups. Triggers tend to be perceived status, wealth, education or reputation differences or inadequacies and in extreme cases it prevents meeting some clients at all.

Over Preparer - A tendency to be drawn into low priority / preferred tasks. Procrastination. Over amplified and unnecessary amounts of preparation analysis are conducted which allows more important but uncomfortable sales tasks to be sidelined or ignored completely.

Role Rejection- Unresolved feelings of dissatisfaction, discomfort or guilt about their career choice. These feelings are often fuelled by their concerns about what significant others think about the sales career they have chosen or a personal feeling of wasted potential.

(NB: Descriptions of all 12 traits can be found at www.ReMap.co.uk/12_types_sales_call_reluctance.aspx)

So if you can accept the premise that it is how comfortable sales people feel about parts of their role which affects the way they perform, the next point to explore is what it is that you can you do with this information to help your sales figures if you think your sales team should be bringing in more revenue.

Here at ReMap, we have been working with SCR for 14 years across a wide selection of industrial sectors and sales channels and offer two levels of support for their clients:

1. Staff Development ReMap work to develop existing sales people by using the pragmatic and effective ‘ReMap Development Programme’. It starts with a two day event where the sales people get to understand the theory of SCR, and their own profile results. Their support then transfers to the workplace where ReMap work with the sales people daily for 4 weeks via email and phone in order to change behaviour.

2. Recruitment Support ReMap can profile candidates that clients are seriously considering employing and provide a comprehensive bespoke report describing the 12 traits, the sales person’s likely potential for selling for the business, the speed at which this potential could be realised, and the cost to the business to get them to that level.

ReMap offers evaluation case studies to show long term sustainability for what they do for every client. Understandably, many of these reports contain sensitive data but there are some examples of sales increases delivered for clients on the ReMap website (ReMap.co.uk/case_studies.aspx) – typical uplifts in sales range from 25% to 43% within 12 months, post programme.

If you would like to increase your sales, find out more about the ReMap Programme, or would like to explore the potential of being involved in a subsidised case study which ReMap could then use for promotional purposes, then please call Ian Saunders on

01476 870459 or email him at Ian@ReMap.co.uk

Application

Skills Knowle

dge

Sales Call Reluctance

Your sales team may have the ‘App’, but what about the application?

09Issue 24

10aspin.co.uk

Amscan USA – Having launched a site for the UK branch of Amscan in 2011, the USA had a requirement for a B2B eCommerce site.

This was a two phase project, firstly delivering a trade site for Grasslands Road (homeware and decor), and then rolling out a secondary phase as Amscan launched their partyware range in the USA. The strong relationship Aspin have built with Amscan here in the UK, and the success of the Grasslands Road website were the basis of a successful InterSell implementation for Amscan USA. The American product offering however was somewhat larger than that of the UK, consisting of a wonderful array of decorations for Halloween, Valentines, baby showers and many more - due to their love of each holiday season! This was a great challenge for the Interactive team as they had to create a product management tool for over 35,000 products that enabled the staff at Amscan to add and remove SKUs, update product images and manage

the product categories. The site went live in Spring 2013 and as Susan Beer, Marketing director suggests, the site has gone from strength to strength! “Our customers are very pleased with the easy navigation and check out process, as well as the added features and benefits such as checking order history, retrieving Barcodes and UPCs, and using Fast Track for easy ordering. We appreciate the support and dedication from the Aspin team who have helped contribute to the success of our online trade ordering sites.”

Distributors of horticulture products to over 60 garden centres and nurseries, William Sinclair’s InterSell site originally went live in June of 2010. In 2013 however, the Interactive team were instructed to create an enhanced product list as part of improving the customer experience. The product list needed to be tailored to the bespoke ordering needs of William Sinclair trade customers, which included the following additions; thumbnails which can be clicked to reveal high resolution images,

customer specific pricing, product despatch site, the shopping basket with a running total and all products displayed on one page. Users needed to be able to categorise and filter the full product list which InterSell would update and display in one list, thus never displaying any number of products across more than one page. Simon Heyward, head of IT at William Sinclair says, “the solution also had to be optimised for the iPad to accommodate all customers and has so far had very positive feedback.” William Sinclair will facilitate an extra push to the site in the new year to kick-start the 2014 spring sales.

Aspin have deployed three InterSell sites for Carl Kammerling International (CKI) and have played a significant role in their online marketing schemes. The Interactive team have sent around 4-5 e-marketing campaigns on behalf of Carl Kammerling in order to drive traffic to both their website and their trade show stands. “We had no facility to do this inhouse”, Brand Manager Vanessa Molloy tells us, “having

only employed a graphic designer in the second half of 2013”. Known as e-flyers at Carl Kammerling, Aspin receive the copy and design and place them into an HTML template. Once arranged and tweaked to perfection, Aspin then load the email into CKI’s e-marketing platform, and CKI schedule the send time and date. “Aspin were very helpful with the design and coding, which really was out of our remit. Our most memorable campaign has been the ‘Online Reward Scheme’ which increased registration of online accounts by 385.7%, encouraged 15% more of our online accounts to start ordering and increased online orders placed by 5%”, says Vanessa. “Aspin’s Graphic Designer Al designed the direct mail and an e-flyer, and the process was very productive and rewarding. Carl Kammerling were particularly pleased with Aspin, which meant the small but busy marketing department at Carl Kammerling were able to continue working to their tight deadlines, whilst Aspin took care of the marketing schemes.”

The latest in eCommerce excellence with Aspin’s InterSell team

How might a website improve its search engine ranking?

Trust. You need to convince a search engine like Google to trust your website; it needs to know that your content is genuine and that you aren’t just looking to rip people off. There are a few ways in which you can do this; the first is good quality content.

Imagine you’re walking down the high street and you’re looking for a shop that sells “Login Magazine”. You see a shop with a massive sign above the door that says “The Book Store!” and in the window you can see a poster that says “We sell Login!” As you get closer you can actually see the magazine on display, you walk in. The staff are really helpful, offer you coffee, hand you the

magazine and thank you for your custom – a great customer experience.

Imagine that bookshop is actually a website, and Google is the high street. You’re trying to find somewhere trustworthy that sells ‘Login’. Google takes a look at ‘The Book Store’ and thinks: It looks respectable and I can see it sells Login. It takes a look inside, it notices the clean coding of the website, sees that the content that relates to Login and navigates its way round to the dedicated area for Login where there is information for each issue of Login. It notices that the content is updated regularly - they’ve got the latest books. Google deems this website to be genuine and trustworthy.

Alternatively, envisage walking down the high street and seeing

a different shop covered in dust, cobwebs with no sign and flickering lights, however, you can see Login in the window. It may sell the desired item, but would you trust the shop? In terms of the website analogy, we’re talking about the extreme opposite - the website that has no definitive name, untidy code and not very detailed content. Google will look at this website and decide it is probably not what the user is looking for, so although it will still display it in search engine results, it will not make the first page.

The first thing Google looks for is high quality content; if you are a business talk about what it is you do, where you are located, how your company was started, information about the products and services you offer, the industries you supply, up to date news and

blog posts and contact details. All of this information forms a bigger picture about what your website is really about, keywords related to it, and encourages Google to have confidence in your business and place you at the top of the results for searched keywords.

The benefits of SEO are massive. Not only do you attract the attention of the 75% of potential customers who missed your site before, optimised keywords on your site mean that people who visit your website are actually looking for the product you offer. Google has recommended your company to their customer (the searcher) because it trusts that you are the right business to go to.

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SEO BasicsHigh search engine rankings are the perfect way to get more visitors, more customers and more sales. Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) is the name given to the process of optimising your web pages for search engines. It may shock you to think that only 75% of searchers don’t even look further than page 1 of Google - therefore if your website is on page 2+, you could be missing out considerably on sales.

Field and exhibition ordering software for Windows 6.5 For more information, call 01794 500 200 or visit aspin.co.uk/minisell

aspin.co.uk

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At Aspin we take the utmost care to ensure we deliver a professional service that can keep you safe in the knowledge that your business and confidential data are secure.

Aspin, leading by example.

How secure is your website?A website for your customers and prospects is vital to your online success. Would you risk your reputation and the trust

you’ve worked so hard to earn, by neglecting website security issues and protocols?

Keeping your website safe and secure doesn’t always need to involve a lot of effort or time, there are some simple things you can do to ensure your website and online business runs smoothly.

Securing your website

Keep software versions up-to-date

Whilst updates can sometimes cause bugs and render technologies deprecated, it is important to bear the benefits of regularly updated software

in mind, such as security fixes and performance improvements.

Consider a private server

Many website owners employ a virtual private server (VPS)

for increased security. A VPS is far more secure than a shared host, due to being separated

from other sites and the ability to use custom firewalls and

install other security measures as you see fit. Know that cross

site scripting is inherently dangerous

If you are unaware of the source of your code, how do you know it to be secure? By using third party scripts

you expose yourself to a whole range of vulnerabilities. Third party scripts can often change with little or no notification. Consequently, malicious code can be sent back

to your website, encouraging customers to click on malicious links

that they believe were created by your company.

Use strong passwords

There are services online that can offer free creation of strong passwords and can be particularly effective as they do not have any personal or professional association. Try

https://lastpass.com/ and http://keepass.info/ - both of which

can keep encrypted databases of all your passwords.

Automation for your warehouse For more information, call 01794 500 200 or visit aspin.co.uk/minipick

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Nine months have passed since Aspin held the first social event, exposing some rather sociable and competitive employees! The tried and tested barbecue has been repeated with great enthusiasm and confirms only what we had previously suspected; food brings staff together!

British weather constraints have urged the social club to try

varying foods, with Adam and Hanish successfully organising curry and pizza lunches, respectively. Subsequently, with food a firm favourite at the Aspin Social Club, it was time to bring out the inner Nigel Mansell in us all, some of which needed little coaxing!

Organised by Doug, our local karting track hosted an intense race between 11 drivers with its fair share of competitive bumps, spin outs, speed and collision as racers battled

to improve their lap times and move up the results list! Thirty minutes driving was split into two sessions, one for practising and then a final race. Richard T took the lead for the majority of the race, and consequently became a hunted man, identifiable only by his white crash helmet. The results show a tight finish and are a great precursor to round II in January 2014.

AspinSocial Club

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What are your areas of responsibility?

When I joined Aspin three years ago, I was primarily a MiniPick (warehouse management software) developer and implementation consultant, with responsibility for several of our large MiniPick clients. Whilst I still oversee this, I have recently become more involved with PixSell and have taken on the role of post implementation consultant to ensure that existing PixSell clients continue to get the best out of our iPad App.

What do you enjoy about working at Aspin?I enjoy the ‘everyone contributes’ culture, emblematic of family run businesses, which is no doubt accountable for a good portion of the success Aspin has seen.

What are your interests outside of work?I have many varied interests. I enjoy exercise classes at my local leisure centre, spending time with friends and photography. I have an

unhealthy love of flying, and enjoy visiting other countries and immersing myself in other languages and cultures. I am interested in politics both here and in America too (being a citizen of the United States). I attend monthly ‘Sceptics in the Pub’ meetings which cover a wide variety of topics and are always very interesting.

Introducing...Mike Tendler

“I enjoy the ‘everyone

contributes’ culture,

emblematic of family run

businesses”

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The ‘digital age’ means something different to all of us. For some, it is a liberating time - enabling us to carry documents with us wherever we go without the need to pick up heavy and cumbersome hard copies. Everything is on your laptop, tablet, or phone; and it is easily accessible and up to date.

Traditional print industries such as newspapers, magazines, books, and greetings card manufacturers however, are all feeling the pinch.1 The ability to carry an entire bookshelf in your pocket, or to send someone best wishes over the Internet in mere seconds means that increasingly, businesses that produce paper based products are struggling to make previously profitable businesses work.

What are the problems faced by print media companies in the modern on-line world?

Magazines have tried to bridge the digital gap by making versions of their print publications available on a subscription basis online. This provides a good source of recurring revenue, though Apple at least, do not provide any subscriber demographic

information to the publisher. This is great for consumer privacy, but publishers are less able to assess their target market so accurately. Other publishers may provide cards and gifts on-line via their own websites. For some, this has worked, however for others, it is sadly failing to gain traction.

Newspapers have also adopted similar models of accessing content online. Most news sites provide access to their material for free, usually funded by advertising - whilst others such as The Times Online and even The Sun offer access to content behind a paywall. Sometimes this works well - with consumers willing to pay a reasonable fee for access to quality content, but as in the case of The Sun, traffic plunged over 60% when they implemented this feature.2

1multimedia.journalism.berkeley.edu/tutorials/digital-transform/print-editions-decline/ theverge com/2013/9/4/4579832/ sorry-for-your-loss-hallmark -struggles-to-update-its-card-empire

2theguardian.com/media/greenslade/2013/sep/16/sun-paywalls

3en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_rights_management#DRM_and_e-books

Print media in the digital age

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Books are another commodity that have witnessed the impact of digitalisation. Books can be bulky, particularly when newly released and only available in hardback - commuters for example may be put off taking a book with them to read on the train on the way to work. Electronic readers and tablets however are very thin and light; and capable of holding hundreds of books at once. For the busy professional who has to steal a few minutes here and there to read - this may be the preferred method of accessing the desired read. Digital books also take up no space on bookshelves so storage is not a problem. However, many readers love the feel and smell of a book and the experience of turning pages one at a time as they are carried along in their journey. This is something digital e-Readers will never be

able to compete with. Clearly, there are pros and cons to digital books, depending on one’s preferences.

Another effect of the move to electronic format is the proliferation of piracy. Whilst DRM (Digital Rights Management) is present in some forms of eBook3, there are always those who are determined to break it and make people’s hard work available for free. You need only scan through some torrent sites out there to see the latest book publications freely available. So although protection of copyright has always been a source of headache for the industry, it has really taken off since things moved to digital.

The general public is also savvier in today’s world when it comes to considering ecological

issues, and they may not wish to contribute to any more trees being cut down than is necessary. By not using paper, digital media does not have the same environmental impact as printing.

Printed media has also taken a battering from social media sites - most prolifically Facebook. Its ubiquity and sheer number of users mean that people in all corners of the world are able to connect with each other instantaneously. Facebook even reminds your contacts when it’s your birthday so it suddenly becomes much easier for a distant cousin in Australia to wish you ‘many happy returns’ on your Facebook wall. It obviates the need to buy a card, look up the address, and take it to the post office only to then pay postage – taking the time and cost

element higher, considerably so if posting internationally.

So how can incumbent print organisations maintain their position in an increasingly competitive, content rich Internet? There is, it seems, no real answer. Companies may wish to assess how they deliver digital content, and rather than simply replicating a soft copy of what is available in print; produce a dynamic and interactive product. Embed video, personalise the experience, allow readers to scale the text to their needs, and above all keep the quality high and the price reasonable. For newspapers and magazines, this means informed, educated analysis of the subject matter, presented at a price that doesn’t immediately deter the consumer.

Print media in the digital age

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sales-i, the leading sales and business intelligence provider is pleased to announce that we have recently become partners with Aspin, an international company offering a range of powerful software solutions for distributors.

This partnership will deliver an unsurpassed solution for distributors to simplify their business processes and enhance their sales operations. sales-i and Aspin will work together to drive new growth opportunities, facilitating the role of mobile sales workers.

sales-i’s technological innovation for fast, visual and easy to use business analytics that can empower any sales team coupled with Aspin’s functional and intelligent

software offering will allow businesses from every industry to change the way they sell, and ultimately, improve their bottom line.

Aspin’s suite of software includes a host of solutions, from warehouse management applications, through to e-commerce systems and mobile catalogue ordering. PixSell is just one of the offerings from Aspin, allowing sales reps to present a catalogue of products using lifestyle images, videos and presentations from an iPad, whilst creating orders and quotes while in situ.

This alliance affords every sales operation the opportunity to better service their territory accounts, gain new business and professionally outsell the competitor. With product

catalogues and order taking from Aspin, combined with direct insight into each account’s performance, purchasing trends and additional selling opportunities from sales-i, salespeople from every walk of life will be optimised and more profitable.

Paul Black, CEO at sales-i adds, “We are incredibly pleased to have forged this partnership with Aspin, a well established, and successful software provider in the UK and Australia. Together we will be able to provide our customers and prospects with a complete business and sales software solution. We are already working closely with the team at Aspin to build the foundations of a productive working relationship with a forward thinking business.”

sales-i & Aspin join forces to provide a ‘best of ’ software solution

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t: 0845 508 7355w: www.sales-i.com

More business. More sales. More profit.That is why we are here. At sales-i, we make your selling life as easy as possible.

As one of Aspin’s newest partners, sales-i is the leading business and sales intelligence provider, allowing your sales team to sell more intelligently and ultimately, improve their bottom line.

With intuitive bespoke reports, a CRM system to track every contact with a customer or prospect, alerting you to every sales opportunity and flagging any competitor threats, sales-i is changing the way today’s sales world operates.

sales-i will simplify your selling day, removing the need for endless reports, mounds of paper and time spent trying to analyse, track and monitor your customer’s buying behaviour. Wouldn’t it be great if you had a list of every one of your customers in the Manchester area that had

purchased bacon from you, but not eggs (on which you make a much better margin)? sales-i will have this for you in a few easy clicks, both on your computer or mobile. Join thousands of sales teams and get in touch with sales-i today.

Kenneth Henderson President, COPCO

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With the twinkly lights packed away and New Year resolutions in full swing (or discarded already!) here are a few things you will want to consider as you get ready to embark upon your annual adventure into the year end procedures:

Please locate and read through your year end checklist / notes before you start! Pay special attention to how period 13 works or you run the risk of data going to the wrong year! If you are unsure of anything, or you can’t locate your checklist, then get in touch and we’ll see how we can help you.

If you have the Purchase Ledger Daybook module, remember to run the Year End for that in order to clear your previous year’s data.

Before you run your Nominal Ledger Year Update, make sure you’ve run off all the financial reports you (and your auditors!) might require. This is especially important if you’re not having an old year company generated. (More on old year companies, below!) And don’t forget, have your first and last profit and loss account numbers and retained earnings account number to hand before

you start your Nominal Ledger Year Update!

One of the last things you should remember to do once you’ve run your Nominal Ledger Year Update is to set the current year in Maintain VAT Periods on the Nominal Ledger Maintenance menu, if you have it. If you don’t do that, you’ll get stuck when you try and use Nominal Ledger Entry / Nominal Ledger Postings because your dates will be outside the VAT Period Table.

Also, please give us plenty of warning if you want a job

raised to create an “old year” company. Old year companies allow you to continue posting to your previous year’s nominal ledger even after you have run the Nominal Ledger Year Update. Having an old year company means you are not restricted to one period’s grace at the end of the year before you have to close period 13 and the Nominal Ledger for good and move into the new financial year!

Aspin Support 01794 500 205

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