page 1MAY 2010

MAiling & FulFillMent Service ASSociAtion poStScriptS no. 565

MAiling & FulFillMent Service ASSociAtion poStScriptS no. 623 MAY 2010

(Continued to page 12)

new Media: threat or a Friend?By Chuck BlakemanThe Crankset Group

Like it or not in a B-to-C world, the consumers that the clients of MFSA members are trying to reach with di-rect marketing are hooked on new me-dia. Over 75% of those consumers say traditional ads and direct marketing no longer have enough information for them. And there is a growing minor-ity of people in their twenties and thir-ties who throw the Yellow Pages in the dumpster on their way out the door in-stead of even bringing it inside. Many dont have a phone or internet line (they use wifi), and dont even own a TV, preferring to watch reruns on their computers via Hulu.com and other new media that is short on commercials and long on convenience.

People of all ages are becoming more and more inclined to go first to the In-ternet for information before buying anything and more than 90% say they believe online information more than any other media, even the very same

information showing up in their mail-box. Somehow when they are proac-tively looking for it on the Internet, its true, but when it is sent to them in the mail, its marketing.

There has been a sea of change in mar-keting and we have to decide whether we see it as a friend or a threat.

ostrich or owl Are you Hiding or learning?How many direct mail and fulfillment companies are aggressively and proac-tively working to learn how their cli-ents customers are using new media? Not many. How many are working purposefully to develop a clear and marketable connection between their traditional media expertise and where the new media world is going? Even fewer. But playing Ostrich wont make it go away. To the contrary, the best road to future direct marketing success is learning to make friends of those new media approaches we think are our worst enemies.

Scenes from MFSAs Booth at the national postal Forumnashville, tnMFSA members showed up in force at the MFSA booth at the National Post-al Forum. They learned about the upcoming An-nual Conference in Charle-ston, SC, and recent postal regulations.

(above) Former MFSA chairmen Don Harle, center, and Dan Goodkind, left, both of Diamond Marketing Solu-tions, met up with former board mem-ber Steve Colella of Calmark.

(right) David Francis of Mystic Logistics and Wanda Senne of World Marketing stopped at the booth during the open exhibition hours.

By Jerry Scher Our Green Value, a Division of Peak Focus LLC

Have you ever been frustrated because an employee didnt follow directions? Have you ever had to redo a job or an order, at your expense, because a cus-tomer service representative or sales person misinterpreted your customers requirements? Have you ever had to referee a conflict between competing departments? If youve ever encoun-tered these or similar situations, then you have dealt with the repercussions of ineffective communication. Have you ever stopped to calculate the pre-cious hours or dollars that are wasted when people fail to communicate prop-erly? The figures might overwhelm you!

The ability to communicate always

is Anybody listening?

(Continued to page 20)

Jim Nord, left, and Mike Colestock, both of Japs-Olson, stop at the booth to talk about the upcoming Annual Conference.

MAY 2010page 2

Why should you attend THE MFSA Annual Conference? Need to know what ways you will see an immediate return on investment? The MFSA Annual Conference, June 2-5, in Charleston, S.C. will allow you to learn about the following:

Seizing the opportunities in a converging marketplace The risks and rewards of the Intelligent Mail Barcode Setting up your company for a merger or acquisition Fully leveraging existing customer relationships to grow business Implementing and measuring the success of sustainability programs Pricing product fulfillment and managing product returns Transforming your business first by knowing business basics Closing deals with senior marketing executives Measuring and monitoring sales performance The correct approach in diversification Training operations personnel to do more with less Partnering with other companies to expand your offerings

And this is just in the first full day of the conference. Friday and Saturday provide additional knowledge in areas impor-tant to MFSA members.

Here is what some of the educators at the Annual Confer-ence are saying:

Participants who attend my session will be able to better quantify existing production demands, create break even points between buying and outsourcing, predict the pent up demand of existing customers, and understand the gaps in their workflow, skill levels and procedures which will have an immediate impact on their companys success. Howard Fenton, NAPL (speaking on Friday on purchasing digital presses)

Participants who attend my session will be able to leave with a specific plan of action for changing how net-new revenue is generated relative to the integrated cross-media world we live in today; despite a shrinking market spend. This is good news for the innovative MFSA member! Peter Winters, The Winters Group (speaking on Thursday on selling to chief marketing officers)

Participants who attend my sales performance session will be able to understand sales behaviors/activities most close-ly linked with sales success, spot warning signals that new hires will not make the grade, provide seasoned reps with a process for spotting productivity shortfalls and self correct-ing them before they show up in reduced sales and commis-sions. Kate Dunn, Digital Innovations Group (speaking on Thurs-day on sales performance)

Participants who attend my general session on the oppor-tunities in a converging marketplace will be able to assess their current customer base and revenue stream for risks and opportunities. Identify the type of opportunities and com-mit the right level of resources to converting a high number of those opportunities. Think strategically about positioning their company for success in a world with less mail.Kate Dunn, Digital Innovations Group (general session speaker on Thursday)

Participants will come out of my session with simple, con-crete practical ideas on how to beat new media at their own game, and come out on top as the direct marketing expert. Chuck Blakeman, The Crankset Group (general session speaker on Friday)

This conference is for CEOs and owners (18.5 hours of education), sales and marketing executives (19.25 hours), and operations managers in mailing and fulfillment (16.25 hours). The Vendor Forum will be open 5.25 hours, plenty of opportunity to see the latest in technology and services. There are also hours and hours of networking with peers.

Companies invest in equipment, software, conveyors, racks, and people. They maintain equipment; secure software; im-prove the flow of direct mail, literature, products, and premi-ums with conveyors, and racks and yet, may do little beyond the most basic training for new hires. THE MFSA Annual Conference will provide the knowledge to enhance the hu-man potential in lettershops, fulfillment service providers and printers. MFSA members need to make that investment in their people today by registering for and attending the An-nual Conference.

Registration is available at www.mfsanet.org and includes information on corporate discounts and hotel information.

page 3MAY 2010

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MAY 2010page 4

Five Members nominated to MFSAs Board of DirectorsFive MFSA members have recently been nominated to the board of directors. Board members serve three-year terms. These members will be presented to the membership for elec-tion at the Annual Business Meeting at the Francis Marion Hotel, as part of MFSAs Annual Conference.

christopher lienChris Lien is an executive vice president for BCC Software, Rochester, NY, and has been active in the mailing industry for over 18 years. During that time, he authored several software solutions uti-lizing Mail.dat for electronic auditing, distribution and logistics planning, pal-letization, and electronic postage pay-ment. He has been heavily involved in industry associations such as the Asso-ciation for Postal Commerce, Mailing & Fulfillment Service Association, Alliance of Nonprofit Mailers, and the IDEAl-liance where he is currently serving as their representative to the Mailers Technical Advisory Committee (MTAC). Lien also serves as the elected industry focus group leader for ad-dress accuracy within MTAC. He has been on the Postal & Government Affairs Committee for MFSA since June of 2006 and currently serves on MFSAs Board of Directors.

Tammy Caserta is the Director of Mail-ing Services for Think Patented, Dayton, OH. She has been with the company since April 2003 and has assisted in the growth of their mailing services from a small start-up department with one additional employee to six additional employees and is now mailing nearly 2 million pieces per month. Caserta has been in the mailing in-dustry since 1994, starting out as a data processor before moving into management. She is the Industry Co-Chair for the Dayton Miami Valley Postal Customer Council and cur-rently serves on the Board of Directors of the Mailing & Ful-fillment Service Association. She is a member of MFSAs Chapters Committee and the current chairman of the Postal & Government Affairs Committee. Caserta is also the presi-dent of the Ohio Valley Chapter.

Mike Stewart is Vice President, Distribution & Fulfillment for Great Lakes Integrated, Avon Lake, OH. He supervises the fulfill-ment, receiving, shipping, and kit produc-tion departments at GLD, which has six supervisors, and 80 full and part-time em-ployees. He has also been responsible for

Anita pursley

tammy caserta

Anita Pursley is vice president postal affairs for Worldcolor Logistics, a di-vision of Worldcolor, Atlanta, GA. She is responsible for establishing cor-porate postal policy and is the primary liaison with the Postal Service on all matters affecting Worldcolor and its customers. Pursley is the industry co-chair of the Mailers Technical Advi-sory Committee (MTAC) and most recently served a two-year term as industry vice-chair. Pre-viously she served as the Standard mail leadership commit-tee chair for three consecutive two-year terms. She currently serves on MFSAs Board of Directors and on the Postal & Government Affairs Committee. She is a director on the board of the Association for Postal Commerce (Postcom) and served eight years on Postcoms executive commit-tee. She is a member of the Direct Marketing Association (DMA) and Magazine Publishers Association (MPA) postal and government affairs committees and is an active member of the American Catalog Mailers Association.

Charles Buchanan is an experienced business professional skilled in man-agement, production operations, or-ganizational and staff development. He is focused on business operations with significant influence in the information services, printing, and mailing indus-tries. Buchanan joined the World Mar-keting team in August 2004, as COO of the Dallas operation. He previously owned and operated a consulting company, A.P.M. Consult-ing Group, LLC, servicing the printing and mailing indus-try. He also held the position of Chief Operating Officer for the Mailbox Capital Corporation and Sr. Vice President with Alliance Data Systems managing The Mail Box and Metro Webb company operation divisions. Buchanan currently serves on MFSAs Board of Directors. He has served on MFSAs Technology Committee, and presently serves on MFSAs Education Committee and the Legislative Steering Committee.

charles Buchanan

Mike Stewart

database administration for internal and external custom-ers as well as facilities planning and maintenance for the divisions two buildings which approximate 200,000 sq. ft. Stewart currently sits on the Member Services Committee of MFSA, and has been a member of the Education Committee and the Fulfillment Committee. Stewart is also leading the Continuous Improvement initiatives for Great Lakes Inte-grated, which includes Lean and 5S training and develop-ment, as well as process review and improvement.

page 5MAY 2010

June 2-5, 2010 The Francis Marion Hotel

Charleston, SC

THE event that brings

it all together

MAY 2010page 6

employment points--implications of an nlrB Filled With pro-union recess AppointeesReprinted with permission from Jackson Lewis

President Barack Obama has an-nounced the re-cess appointments of Craig Becker

and Mark Pearce to the National Labor Relations Board. The March 27 announcement came one day after Congress adjourned for the Easter recess. While the appointments ef-fectively preclude Becker and Pearce from serving normal five-year terms on the NLRB, they would serve for about a year-and-a-half, enough time to have a profound impact on labor relations in this country.

Becker and pearceCraig Becker is currently Associate General Counsel of the SEIU, as well as Associate General Counsel to the AFL-CIO. He also was the putative architect of Illinois state law changes that resulted in the mass unionization of home care workers in that state. Becker has argued the right of the NLRB to implement Employee Free Choice Act-like chang-es without an act of Congress.Mark Pearce represented unions in private practice after serving as an attorney for the NLRB. He is one of the found-ing partners of the Buffalo, New York, law firm of Creighton, Pearce, Johnsen & Giroux, where he practices union-side la-bor and employment law before state and federal courts and agencies.

nlrB rulemaking AuthorityFilling the Boards vacancies with recess appointments now would give the Board time to achieve significant labor law reform through rulemaking without the Employee Free Choice Act, which is unlikely to pass any time soon. Under current law, the NLRB, without Congress, may implement significant changes in the application of the law through ad-ministrative rulemaking. It did so when it issued rules on the appropriate bargaining unit for acute care hospitals, which significantly accelerated scheduling of union elections with-in that industry.

Rulemaking could be used to streamline election proce-dures, expand voting access through electronic or absen-tee balloting and enhance special remedies and penalties for employer unfair labor practices in initial organizing and first contract situations. Along with traditional case-by-case de-cision-making and the development of internal agency poli-cies, the Board could use rulemaking to realize some of the advantages unions sought, but have yet to achieve, through EFCA.

new process Steel v. nlrB pending in u.S. Su-preme courtThe U.S. Supreme Court heard argument in New Process Steel v. NLRB, a case from the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals on whether the two-member Board had a quorum when it issued hundreds of decisions over the past year-and-a-half. The District of Columbia Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled that the Board did not, though the majority of the other circuits have said otherwise.

If the Supreme Court rules against the Board because it lacked at least three members, it will nullify all of those de-cisions. With the two recess appointments, bringing agency membership to four, a labor-oriented Board would have the chance to reconsider and rewrite those decisions, as well as pass upon cases that the two members have not yet ad-dressed.

The Administration had promised EFCA would be consid-ered right after health care reform. With the appointments of Becker and Pearce, the President was true to his word. EFCA-lite has just been enacted, Michael Lotito, a Jack-son Lewis partner, observed.

To fully understand the significance to these appointments, you have to fully understand the way the Board operates, explained Martin Payson, a Jackson Lewis partner. The term of office of the only Republican appointee on the Board, Peter Schaumber, will expire in August. This will result in a three-member Board, all of whom will be pro-labor Obama selections. There will be no imperative for the President to fill the other two vacancies, which will mean there will be no institutional balance in the Boards decisions. Consequently, labor law reform will be accomplished through the reversal of numerous decisions, changes in election procedures, as well as aggressive rulemaking to enhance union chances for election success, and punitive new remedies for unfair labor practices designed to diminish managements lawful exer-cise of its statutory rights. Practicing union avoidance and prevention has now taken on a new urgency.

Christopher C. Antone is the managing partner of the Dal-las office of Jackson Lewis LLP, our Associations Labor Counsel. Celebrating 28 years with Jackson Lewis, for the past four years Chris was named one of the top 100 labor lawyers in the country by the Labor Relations Institute. If you have any questions regarding this article, or for more information or assistance, please contact Chris Antone at (214) 647-2095 or antonec@jacksonlewis.com. For a de-scription of Jackson Lewis services and more information on workplace law issues, please visit their web site at www.jacksonlewis.com.

page 7MAY 2010

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Ben Cooper

gAo releases report But the Window is closing on congressional ActionBy Ben CooperWilliams & Jensen, PLLC

The GAO released its report on the problems being faced by the USPS as well as their recommendations for fixing the system. Unfortunately, the recommendations are significant and Congress does not have much time to act.

Basically, the GAO report followed the program outlined by the Postmaster General on March 2nd. Specifically, GAO recommended:

Approval from Congress for eliminating Saturday delivery

A military base closing commission style postal facility closing process A change in the payment schedule for the employees retiree medical payments Allowing the USPS to increase rates beyond inflation More aggressive programs to encourage early retirements, and Deeper cuts in employments and salaries supplemented by more contracting out.

The March 2nd announcement by PMG Potter did not in-clude the last two items. Facing collective bargaining with two unions this year, the PMG evidently elected to save those discussions for the bargaining table.

The GAO report also called for more study, an option the Postal Service did not embrace enthusiastically according to news reports.

The problem for the USPS is that time is running out for legislative action.

Accepting that in the world of Congress, they can do any-thing they want to do in whatever time they want or need to, there are some real world political challenges ahead for legislative change. As of this writing (mid April), the Senate has only about 45 working days left in this session. In that time, they have to confirm a Supreme Court nominee, pass financial services reform, approve unemployment compen-sation extensions, do something about a host of tax extend-ers such as the estate tax among other business.

On top of these calendar challenges, no member of Congress has introduced legislation on any of these critical postal mat-ters. Opposition from all of the postal employee and man-agement organizations to the elimination of Saturday deliv-ery has lessened the chances of action on that subject and there is not a lot of incentive for Congress to set up a base closing commission operation for closing postal facilities.

The more likely scenario for a Congress eager to get home to campaign is to do what Congress often does best seek the path of least resistance. That path is to find just enough money to get the USPS past this immediate crisis.

Both the House and Senate com-mittees with jurisdiction over the Postal Service had scheduled hearings in April. They heard the usual suspects including the USPS, GAO, unions and industry representatives. The House is also supposed to fo-cus more on the question of the possible over payment of retirement funds by the Postal Service into the Civil Service Retirement System.

The Postal Service is expected to step up the pressure on Congress, unions and the mailing industry to support his plan as announced on March 2nd. There is a general view that the USPS will go to the Postal Regulatory Commission in the middle of the year for a rate increase above the rate of inflation. This is consistent with the PMG announcement in March. It is also expected that the USPS will seek to have rates for certain under payers increased additionally. There is speculation that the rate for periodicals could be increased by around eight percent. These rates would be expected to go into effect around the first of 2011.

The fundamental problem with the GAO recommendation on rates and the plan to seek an exigency rate increase by the Postal Service is that it ignores one fact of life about mail. People and businesses are not forced to mail. There are cost competitive alternatives for almost all mail and in some cases, the competition is significantly cheaper.

Given the realities of the marketplace, Congress, the USPS and the PRC will be faced with a serious challenge. Increas-ing rates is the historical route to generating additional rev-enue; however, in the very competitive world of advertising and communication, customers who leave the postal system rarely come back. Postage rates are not the only reason peo-ple seek alternative forms of communication but it is a sig-nificant reason. Higher rates may only serve to let more air out of the tires.

Cooper has been actively involved in major postal issues for more than ten years. He founded and chaired the Coalition for a 21st Century Postal Service, which helped organize the mailing indus-try to pass Postal Reform in 2006. He also serves as Executive Director of Mail Moves America, the organization formed by DMA to fight Do Not Mail legislation in the states. He is currently a partner at Williams and Jensen. Prior to coming to Williams and Jensen, he was with the Printing Industries of America.

page 9MAY 2010

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By Kate DunnPresident, Digital Innovations Group

Dunn will be presenting at MFSAs Annual Conference in Charleston, SC.

I talked to a business owner a few weeks ago who has de-cided to put all of his marketing budget into web advertising, search engine optimization, banner ads and the like. In order to sell to big companies, he believes that prospects will have to find him. He has lost faith in the ability of his sales force to find, cultivate and close new business. Lets take this apart. He is a digital printer who can produce individually relevant print communication and add person-alized landing pages to each piece. He is not a marketing strategist. His firm just executes what his clients bring to him and they sprinkle a little value on top based on what they learned over the years doing this for others. They are not selling ideas, they are selling the service of executing projects dreamed up by others. The hard part of figuring out who to target, what to say, what channels to use, and what the results tell you, is being done by the client. He cant figure out why his business is about 50% of what it was before. Umm So to fix his problem he is going to help prospects find him once they have figured out exactly what to do and are just looking for someone to output their project as economically as possible. Once they have noticed a prob-lem, pondered multiple ways to fix it, evaluated their options and decided on something, they will go looking around on the Internet to find the best offer to do what they want done. We didnt talk long, but I suspect his problem lies elsewhere. I suspect that his sales reps are calling on the people who buy print, rather than the people who develop solutions. I suspect that his sales reps cant build credibility with their customer base, and if they have fashioned themselves as trusted advisors, that advice is centered on how to execute a printed project rather than developing creative ways to solve their clients marketing challenges. I suspect that they dont have a lead generation program that uncovers businesses with problems who dont, as yet, know how to fix them. I suspect that their sales team doesnt know what to say to gain access to the decision makers within those companies who bear the pain of these marketing challenges. I suspect that those sales reps do a lot of pitching and not a lot of busi-ness case building. I suspect that they look like a printer, and print is a commodity, even if it does sometimes have some sprinkles on top.

This is just one example. I imagine the same could be said for many mailing and fulfillment service providers who are expecting marketing to do what sales is supposed to do and

vice versa. Moving from leads to appointments to sales calls to closed deals is difficult. Its more difficult if you do this on the fly with no systematic approach to selling and to salesperson accountability.

I will address sales performance measurement in Charleston, as well as opportunity assessment. The single biggest rea-son for the failure of a sales rep is spending too much time with prospects who cant or wont buy. The Sandler Institute quotes this percentage at 60%.

In Charleston, well focus on how to get as much of that time back for prospects that have a high likelihood of becom-ing customers. And I will address why in this converging marketplace it is critical for companies to define a thorough process for uncovering, qualifying and converting the right kinds of opportunities to sales. The same old approaches no longer work and this could put your company at risk of being just another lettershop, fulfillment house or printer.

The Digital Innovations Group exists to help businesses and non-profit organizations solve their marketing and sales challenges with innovative strategy, inspired execution and purposeful creativity.

page 11MAY 2010

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The railroads did not make trucking companies go away by ignoring them. Kodak did not make digital cameras disap-pear by working harder at making good 35mm film. Printers didnt stop the spread of copiers by getting better at flat-sheet printing. And we wont create success by continuing to try to create separation between traditional media and new media. The 900-pound gorilla is in the room to stay. Lets figure out how to get him on our side and help us grow our busi-nesses. Every day we are faced with opportunities cleverly disguised as obstacles. New media is one of those disguised opportunities.

In the 90s and 2000s the biggest threat to marketing sup-port services companies like mail marketers and fulfillment companies was the lack of integration of traditional media. Companies which embraced the integration of print, direct mail, fulfillment, call centers and other traditional marketing support services grew and became more successful. In the 2010s the new need for integration is between these estab-lished marketing mediums and the burgeoning new media sectors.

By the way, this isnt about advertising moving to the web, but about the recognition that the ultimate customers are changing the way they find information. We must now bal-ance traditional media, online media, expert bloggers, con-sumer forums, and 140 character messages on Twitter that can change the direction of a company. The real question is when are we going to catch up to the information gathering and buying habits of the customer.

the BoogeymanThe classic mistake is to see the new guy as a threat instead of figuring out how we can build a relationship with him that will make us both stronger. The savvy marketing support services company is aggressively exploring how to integrate traditional media with new media, and the most successful will even be bringing new media services inhouse and thor-oughly blurring the lines between traditional and new media.

Our clients are no longer looking for one or the other, any more than manufacturers are married to railroading or truck-ing. They dont care how we get the job done; they just want us to be effective. If we demonize new media or separate ourselves from it and treat it like a four-letter word, our cli-ents are going to find someone else who will help them. If we embrace it and present a both/and solution, our cus-tomers will trust us more and see greatly increased value in the traditional direct marketing approaches we have to offer.

A great advantage to this approach is that it puts the dedi-cated New Media Company in the position we just left. If all they are presenting to their clients are email, Search Engine Optimization, PPC, Twitter, blogs, and other digital commu-

nications mediums, they are now in the position of having to explain why it wouldnt make more sense to integrate with proven and viable traditional media solutions to create a bet-ter solution. Why be on the defensive when you can put the other guy in that position?

Theres also lot of good news out there about New Media that can help us out.

First, it is in its infancy and as a result, every Tom, Dick and Harry who has a Facebook account is calling themselves a Social Media Expert/Guru. Ive never seen anything like it. A savvy buyer of new media solutions should be instantly suspicious of anyone claiming expertise in this field. And that creates opportunity for us.

Credibility is still completely up for grabs, and traditional media sectors such as direct mail marketers have a much better chance of claiming the experts seat than the thou-sands of middle managers from large corporations who were downsized last year and took out a LinkedIn account to dem-onstrate their new media savvy. We are proven experts in marketing and new media is simply another delivery channel for those decades of expertise. Lay claim to your expertise!

The second good bit of news is that there is absolutely noth-ing unique or even clever about new media that doesnt ap-ply to traditional media. Direct marketing is always about building relationships, serving instead of selling, meeting the needs of the client instead of hawking my wares, and creating an invitation to learn more. Every principle that applies to getting someone to open a direct mail piece ap-plies to getting someone to read your blog, open an email, or respond to a Twitter comment. And who is better at these things than companies that have been in the direct marketing business for decades? No one. You are in the catbird seat. Except that youre not seeing it that way.

Direct Mailer or Direct Marketer?As I shared in 2003 at an MFSA conference on integrating all the traditional media sectors, if you think you are a printer or a direct mailer, or a fulfillment company, youre in trou-ble. The railroads couldnt get their arms around the idea that they were actually in the transportation business. They were certain they were in the railroad business. What if they had understood their real business when the first interstate highways were being built? We likely would have transpor-tation companies with names like Santa Fe & Great North-ern with a lock on both railroad and trucking routes.

Direct mail marketing isnt going away anymore than rail-roading did. But you have to decide what business you are in. If you are in the direct mail business, then you had better hope you are one of the few railroads that survive the birth of other transportation means. But if you are truly in the Di-

Social Media continued from page 1

(Continued to page 13)

page 13MAY 2010

rect Marketing business, then you are already aggressively pursuing every possible means of direct marketing that you can provide for your customers.

new Media is Direct Marketing!Most of the new media sectors are simply new forms of direct marketing channels. Are you going to see them as a threat to your B & H 775 six-station inserters and your download stack sorter, or are you going to embrace all the best ways to get your client the exposure they need?

Stop thinking of yourself as a direct mailer. That is simply mechanics and tactics. Start thinking of yourself as the ex-pert in direct marketing that you are and become the com-prehensive, integrated company your client wants you to be. You have a much greater claim to the title of expert than the tens of thousands of people selling new media out of their virtual trunks.

He who makes the rules wins. Remake the rules in your favor, grab all of direct marketing and make it work for you and your customers. If you dont feel comfortable with the mechanics of new media, sift through the hundreds of ex-perts in your area and hire the one or two that will help you move into the future with a whole new growth cycle. Or at

least develop a strategic alliance with a new media company that understands the value of integrating all direct marketing channels.

The future is full of growth and stability for you as a direct marketer. Im excited to share at THE MFSA Annual Con-ference June 2-5 in Charleston. Well kick around a lot of practical ideas there on how to beat new media at their own game, and come out on top as the direct marketing expert. Youll walk away with some concrete things you can do to continue to grow and create success without having to be-come something youre not. Come be part of the conversa-tion!

Chuck Blakeman worked for six years in operations at The Hibbert Group, a $65 million marketing support services company, and then invested the next three years in startup SourceOne Worldwide before it was purchased by Young America. Blakeman went on to Holden Communications where he formed one company from five separate facilitiesHolden Marketing Support Services. He is now the president and owner of The Crankset Group, a consulting firm that provides outcome-based peer advisory, coaching, and con-sulting for business owners, CEOs, and their growing busi-nesses.

Social Media continued from page 13

MAY 2010page 14

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neeD Help? cAll postal 9-1-1 the postal HotlineMFSA unveiled a new service called The Postal Hotline where members may call G. P. George Heinrich for advice regarding a particular postal regulation, mail acceptance problem or help with operational issues.

Typical questions What happens if my customer refuses to update their data? I have a problem with acceptance; they say my permit is incorrect.

MFSA is expanding the services provided by the Postal Hotline to include mediation with the Postal Service on ac-ceptance issues. Indicators show that upcoming regulation changes are likely going to create some problems during acceptance at your local office.

MFSA has contracted with George Heinrich to offer the Postal Hotline member service. He now also offers his services as a mediator to help resolve these issues. The first 30 minutes of your call to George is courtesy of MFSA.

Contact the Postal Hotline at 303-325-3048 or by e-mail at help@postal911.com. Explain the problem and what steps have already been taken. Have the BMEU clerks or MDAs name and phone

number available. George will discuss the issue with you and make suggestions on how to get the mail accepted. If needed, George will contact your BMEU or MDA directly and act on your behalf to resolve the problem.

We cant guarantee that we will always achieve positive results, but we promise that every effort will be made to do so.You can call G. P. George Heinrich at (303) 325-3048 (8 am 6 pm Mountain Time).

Still need help on an operational issue? Use the MFSA Listserve. Still need help in understanding a postal regulation? Contact Leo Raymond at (800) 333-6272 ext. 203.

page 15MAY 2010

Were still growing by leaps and bounds! Our pugs arecommitted to helping companies take advantage ofmaximum postal discounts while delivering mailreliably and on time. Thats why were running with thebig dogs, and Smart CEO magazine has recognizedThree Dog Logistics as one of the Smart 100companies in the Baltimore area.

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MAY 2010page 16

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Property/Segment: Prism Color (Printer) Buyer: Edmunds Direct Mail Edmunds Direct Mail, a company specializing in direct mar-keting strategies, and Prism Color, a provider of prepress and printing services, will merge into a new full-service di-rect marketing company to be called Edmunds Communica-tions Group. Terms were not disclosed.

Property/Segment: MarketPoint Direct, Inc. (Lettershop) Buyer: Com-Pak Services, Inc.Com-Pak Services, acquired the assets of MarketPoint Di-rect, a provider of strategy, creative, and data analytics, off-set printing, personalization, inserting and mailing services, along with fulfillment, and response analysis. Com-Pak of-fers direct mail lettershop, fulfillment and packaging along with other pre-mail services. Terms were not disclosed.

Property/Segment: Premier Graphics, Inc. (Printer) Buyer: Nationwide Graphics, Inc.Nationwide Graphics, a provider of e-fulfillment, supply chain management and commercial printing, acquired the assets of Premier Graphics (fka Master Graphics), a print communica-tions firm. Terms were not disclosed.

These mergers and acquisitions are the latest deals made in the direct marketing services sector. The information is provided by Petsky Prunier/Winterberry Group.

Property/Segment: Insty-Prints Business Printing & Digital Services (Printer) Buyer: Allegra Marketing & PrintTransaction Value ($MM): 33.0Allegra Marketing & Print, an Arizona-based marketing company, acquired Insty-Prints Business Printing & Digital Services, a full-service commercial printing company also in Arizona. Terms were not disclosed.

Property/Segment: HGI Company, Inc. (Printer) Buyer: Quad/Graphics, Inc.Quad/Graphics purchased a minority interest in commercial printer HGI Company. Terms were not disclosed. Property/Segment: Infogroup (Data Provider) Buyer: CCMP Capital Advisors LLC CCMP Capital Advisors LLC bought Infogroup Inc. in a cash deal valuing the database marketing company at about $463 million.

Property/Segment: GRIP Technology, Inc. (Digital Agency) Buyer: Fahlgren, Inc.Fahlgren, a communications agency acquired, GRIP Tech-nology, a web design and technology development firm. Terms were not disclosed.

page 17MAY 2010

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Recently retired Director of Fulfillment Services Tom Quinn now offers all MFSA members the opportunity to get 30 minutes of fulfillment consulting at no charge. Whether your questions be on operations, warehouse layout, software, sales, or marketing, you are only a phone call or email away from getting the answers.

MFSA has contracted with Quinn to offer the Fulfillment Hotline member service. He now also offers his services as a mediator to help resolve these issues.

Contact the Fulfillment Hotline at 770-632-9253 or by e-mail at tom@qfulfill-

mentsolutions.com. Explain the problem and what steps have

already been taken. Quinn will discuss the issue with you and

make suggestions on how to correct the problem.

neeD Help? cAll Fulfillment 9-1-1 the Fulfillment HotlineWe cant guarantee that we will always achieve positive re-sults, but we prom-ise that every effort will be made to do so. With his many years of experience, his knowledge of the industry and key players, Tom is an excellent resource.

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Stay for the closing general session and you could have your hotel bill

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The winner of the hotel room pay-ment will have their room and tax covered for their entire stay at the Francis Marion Hotel at the group rate of $145 per night, for up to

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page 19MAY 2010

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MAY 2010page 20

(Continued to page 27)

tops the list of critical skills required to succeed. Every as-pect of building a business or a team is reliant upon employ-ees throughout your organization being able to communicate effectively with internal and external customers.

Throughout our educational experiences, we are taught to speak, read, and write. Unfortunately, very few people re-ceive any formal training in the art of listening the most critical of all communication skills.

Research indicates that during a managers typical day he spends more than 45 percent of the time listening. In fact, surveys have indicated that the most successful executives spend 50 to 60 percent of their day listening to others. More-over, during a sales interaction, it is recommended that a sales professional spend 80 percent of the time listening to the customer. Now, think about your own experiences with salespeople. How many do you know who actually do that?

listeningThe simple fact is that ineffective listening behaviors such as pre-judging the speaker, completing someones sentences, assuming that you understand what the speaker is saying, interrupting, poor eye contact, and ignoring nonverbal mes-sages are costing even small companies tens of thousands of dollars in lost profits.

Poor listening not only results in lower productivity and un-planned waste, but also has an immense negative emotional impact on your people. At a time when it is so difficult to find and keep productive employees, can we really afford to ignore the impact of the daily communication problems that exist in all our companies? As stated earlier, managers spend 45 percent of their time listening. And, research indi-cates that typical managers listen effectively only 25 percent of the time. They confuse listening and hearing. Listening should be active, not passive, involving a more sophisticated mental process. You must learn to listen with your eyes, ears, and heart.

People have a desperate need to be listened to. They want to be acknowledged by their peers and managers. In fact, you will earn the respect of your employees simply by taking the time to actively listen to them. How many times have you met with unhappy employees and quickly offered ad-vice when all they really wanted was the opportunity to work through a problem and vent their emotions?

The fact of the matter isif you want to be interesting, be interested. If you focus on listening rather than on speaking, you will become highly regarded. Most people love to talk about themselves. Therefore, if you are a good listener, you will be sought out. If you want to be received as a resource, demonstrate that you care by exercising positive listening behavior. This trait can be particularly effective in sales situ-

ations. If you are not sure about the effectiveness of this, think about how it felt the last time someone really listened to you. Now think about the last time someone wouldnt listen to you, or only listened half-heartedly.

communication AttitudeMost of us find it difficult to listen to someone completely. In fact, it is not uncommon to finish another persons state-ment, either verbally or mentally. Stop and think about how it feels when someone does this to you. One of the reasons for this behavior is that we speak at 200 words per minute, but can listen at about 500 words per minute. And, when you get bored, your mind races or wanders.

In order to correct this communication deficiency, we must carefully concentrate on what the speaker is saying, and try to understand the underlying meaning. Ask clarifying ques-tions or paraphrase to ensure your understanding of what is really being said. This process starts with a positive com-munication attitude. In other words, you have to care about the other person and what they are trying to communicate. When you care, people know it.

positive listening Behavior Many of us know what it takes to be a good listener; we just dont implement whats required. Think about the behavior of those you know who listen well. Most likely they care about you and concentrate on what you are saying. They make eye contact and dont pre-judge you; they are willing to accept your point of view even if they dont agree with it.

When they dont understand what youve said, they ask questions and even paraphrase your statement, giving you the opportunity to better articulate your message. Finally, they are willing to give you their time and stay focused on you, without becoming distracted.

type of listenersLets take a look at three different types of listeners. Most of us listen at all three of these levels at different times. The type of listening behavior we exhibit is usually dependent upon how we feel and to whom we are listening.

Active/Empathetic ListenerActive, empathetic listeners pay close attention to verbal and nonverbal messages and remember what they hear. They make good eye contact and provide positive emotional feed-back after listening working at advancing relationships with people. They paraphrase and ask clarifying questions in an effort to accomplish two-way communication. (85-100 score on assessment)

Part-Time ListenerPart-time listeners very often hear, but dont listen. They dont dig for the inner meaning of what is being said. They

Listening continued from page 1

page 21MAY 2010

MFSA MEMBERS: Leverage the Advantage of A Dedicated Direct Mail Components Supplier

Tidewater Directs twelve web offset presses put plenty of production muscle behind the continuous forms, letters, brochures, lift notes and reply devices that are commonly found in direct mail. We offer both heat-set and non-heat-set presses in configurations from one-color over none to five colors over five. Weve been serving the component needs of direct mailers since 1959. Count on Tidewater Directs conveniently located East Coast and Midwest facilities to help reduce transportation time and freight expense.

A message from the owner, Ken Boone:As a general contractor in the Direct Mail industry for 25 years, I formed a very strong vision of what I wanted in a component part supplier: well-documented, accurate and fast quotes; wholesale prices; reliable delivery; very good communication and above average quality. I also insisted on someone knowledgeable at the end of the phone when I had a need. I have molded Tidewater Direct into exactly that vision. Let Tidewater Direct help you win more total packages by partnering with us for your component part needs.

Tidewater Direct LLC300 Tidewater Drive, Centreville, MD 21617 410-758-1500 www.tidewaterdirect.com

Ken Boone, President kboone@tidewaterdirect.comArt Kudner, Baltimore/Washington Sales akudner@tidewaterdirect.com

Brandon Boone, Head Estimator bboone@tidewaterdirect.comGeoff Eisenberg, Vice President of Manufacturing geisenberg@tidewaterdirect.com.

MAY 2010page 22

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page 23MAY 2010

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MAY 2010page 24

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Kern, Grove City, OH, introduced a new software package designed to be an economical mailpiece production track-ing solution with the ability to create control files on the fly. mailFactory WorkCell and WorkCell Plus integrate into ex-isting ADF Workflow software systems, offering mailers a way to connect single inserting system production data with the entire print and mail operation.

BWE BELL + HOWELL (BBH), Wheeling, IL, has hired Hank Martin as vice president, Postal Software Mar-keting. Martin brings more than 25 years of experience to the company, most recently with AVI, and prior to that with postal software provider Firstlogic. He will provide an im-portant voice of the industry combining the rapidly evolv-ing software and data services of BCC Software with BWE BELL + HOWELLs innovative sorting technology.

VeraCentra, Inc., Napa, CA, has signed an agreement with Harte-Hanks Inc. to brand and sell the VeraCentra Collabo-rate solution, an on-demand marketing intelligence tool and delivery platform. Harte-Hanks recognized the need to lev-erage technology within its existing multichannel solutions to complement their overall offerings. Under the terms of the agreement, the Harte-Hanks platform is branded as AMP to its direct marketing services customers, in industries such

as technology, consumer goods, retail, automotive, pharma-ceuticals, and financial services. The solution is now avail-able to Harte-Hanks customers, who will be able to create informed, relevant and measurable campaigns with a few clicks of a mouse.

RESCO, Hudson, WI, announced the addition of Mike Brueske to the RESCO team as their Vice President of Mar-keting & Sales. Brueske, who has worked for the past 27 years for Reinhart FoodService, most recently as a Regional Sales Manager, will be charged with creating, implementing and overseeing the marketing programs as well as the local, regional and national sales team efforts.

Datatech SmartSoft, Agoura Hills, CA, has released Ac-cuMail Verify - based on its award-winning AccuMail address correction engine - to enable companies to validate postal addresses during data entry. Easily integrated into native applications, AccuMail Verify provides real-time ad-dress validation, utilizing powerful address targeting tech-nology that allows the user to drill down through possible address options as an address is entered, arriving at the com-plete, validated address in as few as 9 to 14 keystrokes.

Member news

page 25MAY 2010

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Postscripts_May_2010_FINAL_outlined.ai 1 4/13/2010 1:14:55 PM

MAY 2010page 26

By Eric Herrenkohl

I first realized how unscientific the hiring process was in most companies when I worked as a recruiter in the financial arena. I was placing CFOs, Controllers, and other finan-cial personnel with some highly regarded companies. My clients were very successful senior executives. Yet the hir-ing process was unstructured and ineffective. They were, of course, very busy people. They would emerge from a meeting and head to the conference room where they were to interview a candidate. Often, they would read the resume as they walked to the interview! Once with the candidate, they would often spend too much time talking and not enough time asking questions and listening. After the interview was completed, they would stop by the office of someone else who had interviewed the person and ask that perennial ques-tion: so, what did you think about that guy?

This is no way to run an interview. If you are falling into some of these traps, then consider adding some or all of the steps below to reduce hiring mistakes:

1. Determine an A-Player Profile. Would you know an A-player if you met one? How so? What would tell you that an individual you currently employ or that someone you are interviewing is an A-player? I know this sounds obvious, but you would be surprised at the lack of clarity within com-panies about the profile of an ideal candidate. If you dont know exactly who you are looking for, you and your team will be slow to agree upon and actively pursue the right peo-ple.

2. Look for overall patterns of accomplishment. The best way to reduce hiring mistakes in an interview is to get a very clear picture of someones overall pattern of accomplish-ments in their life and career. Then, compare that pattern to your A-Player Profile for the role. Unlike mutual funds, past performance is the best indicator of future results.

3. Ask initial screening questions to weed out unqualified people. For example, some roles require that applicants have certain software expertise or industry experience. If you cant determine this from the resume, ask about these abilities early in a phone screen. If someone does not meet these minimum criteria, they are eliminated and the phone interview is over.

4. Starting with their most recent role, confirm their dates of employment, including both the month and the year. People often fudge these dates you want to verify them.

5. For each role, ask questions specifically designed to dig into their accomplishments. The best overall question to ask is: Please tell me briefly about the top accomplishments for which you were personally responsible while employed in this role?

eight Steps for reducing Hiring Mistakes During the interview process6. Ask follow-up questions that keep the candidate talking. These questions include: How did you do that? Why so? Please tell me how you made that happen? What were the most important steps you took to make that happen? Such open-ended questions dig beneath a candidates initial, pre-planned answers and programmed responses to find out what he or she really did.

7. Take verbatim notes: I have found that jotting down the word-for-word responses that people provide during inter-views is helpful. When you go back and look at your notes, those verbatim quotes will help you to recall the persons strengths and weaknesses.

8. Score each candidate: Create a scorecard for yourself us-ing the A-Player Profile that you created. Give candidates a score for each key area in the profile as well as an overall score. This helps you to objectively compare and contrast the strengths and weaknesses of all the people you interview.

In the end, it is your job as an interviewer to gain a com-plete picture of the accomplishments, failures, strengths and weaknesses of each person you interview. Then, you com-pare that picture to your A-player profile for the job. By taking this approach, you uncover more about job candidates than your typical interview and determine the person who best fits the role. The end result will be fewer hiring mistakes and more A-players hired.

Eric Herrenkohl is the author of How to Hire A-Players www.howtohireaplayers.com being published by John Wiley & Sons.

Disaster Preparedness & Business Continuity Planning CDThis tool will allow you to prepare your own continuity plan while documenting valuable company information to be used in a time of need. This document explains the points an organiza-tion needs to think about in order to prepare its own disaster recovery plan so that, should an interruption occur, it is able to resume operations. $100 for members only

Job Descriptions CD This CD contains a collection of job descriptions submitted by MFSA members. The descriptions can be saved onto a computer and altered or used as a guideline to create new descriptions. Coupled with the Wage, Salary and Fringe Benefits Survey, the manual will enable a company to create thorough and comprehensive descriptions for all of its job titles. $99 for members only

Forms CD This CD contains a collection of over 100 forms submitted by MFSA members. It is a sampling of forms that are commonly used in the mailing and fulfillment service industry. The forms can be saved onto a computer and altered or used as a guideline to create new forms.The assembled forms include quality control, work orders, inventory control forms, general estimate forms, purchase orders, postage forms, resident mail forms, and miscellaneous forms. $99 for members only

MFSA library

page 27MAY 2010

only partially concentrate on the speaker and become easily distracted. They give the appearance of listening listening logically, but not emotionally. (60-84 on assessment)

Indifferent ListenerIndifferent listeners are passive listeners. They believe that hearing and listening are the same. They have the tendency to pre-judge people and dont try to understand the other persons point of view. They would prefer to do most of the talking and typically spend the rest of their time formulating their rebuttal rather that listening to what is being said. (0-59 on assessment)

11 Keys to improve Your listening Behavior

Give the speaker your full atten-tion.

Maintain eye contact. Be aware of your own body lan-

guage. Pay attention to nonverbal as well

as verbal messages. Focus on understanding the mes-

sage. Dont be judgmental; respect the

other persons point of view. Dont interrupt or finish the other

persons sentences. Be empathetic; try to understand

the speakers feelings. Ask clarifying questions to ensure

you understand the message. Take notes when appropriate. Paraphrase to confirm your under-

standing.

Schers known by many names busi-ness builder, executive, sales trainer, facilitator, coach, mentor. Regardless of the title, the end result is the same making people around him signifi-cantly more successful. Jerrys ability to identify growth opportunities, design a plan, train the team and actually coach the successful execution of the plan is clearly a unique capability. If you are struggling with achieving sustainable business growth, Jerrys help may be just the ticket.

About our green valueOur team of seasoned business experts go far beyond simply understanding to-days green and sustainable issues. By

applying core business principles, infused with the nuances of todays green forces, well help you take advantage of the changing landscape rather than get left behind. Whether a green business or simply a business now being affected by green, we see the opportunities, and so will you.

If youre willing to do the work, well open up our toolbox (through our membership site). If you need more help, well bring our toolbox to you (through consulting and coaching). Either way, from green basics to business growth and sus-tainability, well help you put your new knowledge, insights and skills to use immediately to build green value in your life, your career and our collective world.

Listening continued from page 20

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By Connie OKeefe, ManagerJohn Roberts Company, Minneapolis

When Tom Quinn, former MFSA Director of Fulfillment Services, approached us at the Fulfillment Conference in Tampa Bay and asked if we had considered getting the MFSA Fulfillment Accreditation, it was just the motivation we needed to finish documenting all of our processes/proce-dures and put things in place to make us a better fulfillment provider.

At John Roberts, we understand the importance of having processes and procedures stand up to the scrutiny of an outside auditor. Our certifications that require regular audits include ISO 9001:2008, Sustainable

Green Printer, M i n n e s o t a Great Printer, G7, FSC, SFI and PEFC. These Certifications/Accreditations keep our process en-hancement bar high and encourage us to continue to strive for continuous improvement.

To achieve the MFSA Fulfillment Accreditation will provide yet another tool with which to help John Roberts continue to create value for our customers.

Register for one at $75 (over $50 sav-ings from 2009). Each participant gets unlimited online access to the recording after the event. Remember: you may be entitled to a complimentary webinar registration depending on your dues cat-egory.

The rest of 2010 webinar schedule in-cludes:

June 15, 2010 - Topic: Selected from a hot topic from the 2010 Annual Con-ference

July 27, 2010 - Fulfillment The Op-portunities in Product Fulfillment

September 14, 2010 - Strategy Form-ing Strategic Partnerships

October 26, 2010 - Postal - Financial Outlook of the Postal Service and its Impact on You

December 7, 2010 - Going green - Conserving Resources to Run Your Op-erations

MFSA Webinar calendar

Why We choose to Become MFSA Fulfillment Accredited

page 29MAY 2010

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2010 B MFSA 7.5x9.75 Ad.qxd:Layout 1 1/8/10 4:00 PM Page 1

MAY 2010page 30

northwest chapterPresident: Gordon Taschuk; Kirk Integrated Marketing1st VP: Mark Weeks; International Direct Response Services2nd VP: Chris Huber; Virtual SystemsSec/Treasurer: Wayne Modica; AKA DirectEvents Coordinatorand Membership:: Dan Minga; ImagistyxThe next meeting is scheduled for Thursday, May 20, 2010 from 5:30 - 8:30 PM. The presentation is called Adding Cross and Social Media Marketing to Your Offerings. The speaker is Howie Fenton, Sr. Consultant of NAPL.For years the industry has been talking about the importance of offering more value added services to the traditional services. These new value added services may include digital printing, large format printing, design, mailing and fulfillment. Once companies introduce and master these services the question becomes whats next? NAPL research shows that the hottest investment today is variable data printing (VDP). For those that master VDP the next services to consider are cross media marketing tools (email marketing, Purls) and social media marketing tools.For more information on the chapter, please contact MFSA at 703-350-6177.

great lakes chapterPresident: Kimberly Dunham; Presort SolutionsVice President: Jan Merchantz; Superior Mailing ServiceFor more information on the chapter, please contact MFSA at 703-350-6177.

pacific chapterPresident: Tom Duchene; TDMS Immediate PastPresident: Ken Cachat; Direct List TechnologyBoard Member: John Hodgman; Direct Connection MailingFor more information on the chapter, please contact MFSA at 703-350-6177.

new england chapterPresident: Laura Harper; FPMSI2nd Vice Pres.: Shannon Campbell; W.A. Wilde CompanySec./Treasurer: Paul Silvestri; FPMSIThe next meetings are scheduled for Thursday, May 6, 2010 and Friday, May 7th from 11:30 AM - 1:30 PM. The 6th will be in the Newington, CT area and the 7th will be in the Boston area. The topic for these chapter meetings is the Move to Marketing Services and the presenter will be MFSA President and CEO, Ken Garner. He will address the unprecedented convergence of societal, economic, and industry specific issues that threaten the current composition and structure of the printing, mailing, and fulfillment indus-tries. This reality is forcing our industries, and the companies that comprise them, to reconsider their existing business models and value propositions. This session will illustrate the reasons why a business transformation may be necessary and how you can work to expand your menu of products and services to be more attractive and relevant to existing and future customers. For more information on the chapter, please contact MFSA at 703-350-6177.

Southwest chapterPresident: Lisa Strange; DeLStran MarketingFor more information on the chapter, contact Lisa Strange at 405-943-3139.

chesapeake chapterPresident: Ken Gossett; AMITreasurer: Milton Olekson; AMIFor more information on the chapter, please contact MFSA at 703-350-6177.

ohio valley chapterPresident: Tammy Caserta; Think PatentedVice President: John Palazzolo; AdPhosTreasurer: Tony Cockerham; BuhrsSecretary : Lori Swetlin; Pitney BowesThe next meeting is scheduled for Thursday, May 13, 2010 from 2:00 - 5:00 PM, hosted by Kodak. The presentation will be given by MFSA President and CEO Ken Garner who will be speaking about the Move to Marketing Services. For more information, see New England Chapter meeting.For more information on the chapter, please contact MFSA at 703-350-6177.

Southeast chapterPresident: Scott Coggin; DatadirectVice President: Bruce Goins; Buhrs Americas, Inc.Secretary: Townley Chattman; HighCottonTreasurer: Chuck Cairatti; McQuiddy ClassicFor more information on the chapter, please contact MFSA at 703-350-6177.

philadelphia chapterFor more information on the chapter, please contact MFSA at 703-350-6177.

rocky Mountain chapterPresident: Jim Albany; Newmark PrintingFor more information, please contact MFSA at 703-350-6177.

great plains chapterFor more information on the chapter, please contact MFSA at 703-350-6177.Board Member: Mike Colestock; Japs-Olson Board Member: Rhea Friederichs; The John Roberts CompanyBoard Member: Craig Schiller; Action Mailing Services

new York chapterPresident: Carmen Ocello; Direct Mail Depot 1st Vice Pres.: Joseph Gomez; Federal Direct2nd Vice Pres.: John LaGreca; Federal DirectTreasurer: Timothy Kennon; McVicker & HigginbothamSecretary: Doug Branch; Mailtech Mailing SystemsFor more information on meetings or member information, contact Jim Prendergast at 212-217-6824 or visit www.mfsany.com.

chapter news

MFSA Southeast chapter Holds Meeting in nashville During npFMore than 25 attendees listened to MFSA President & CEO Ken Garner present the Move to Marketing Serv-ices during the Southeast Chapter meeting. The group was attending the NPF and took time to gather for break-fast and share ideas during the event. Scott Coggin, chapter president, thanked both the members and non-members who were in attendance for their commitment to the association.

page 31MAY 2010

X X X

The Old Way - or - The New Way

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What is MyLeads? MyLeads is a lead generation service for direct mail providers. Every month we receive requests from prospects actively looking for companies to handle their mail campaigns. These campaigns represent millions of dollars in business. The prospects send us the specifics of their job which we distribute to our members.

How does it works?Become a member of our network and you will receive Request For Quotes (RFQs) that meet job criteria. If you like what you see, for a nominal fee you can purchase the requestors contact information and bid on the job. The average job has 3 bidders.

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Find out what others are saying about the MyLeads service:

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WINTERSPECIAL

MAILDOMINANCE

MAY 2010page 32

Chairman of the BoardMichael MurphyJaps-OlsonSt. Louis Park, Minnesota

SeCond ViCe ChairmanMike KelloggCentury Direct, LLCLong Island City, NY

treaSurerKen GossettAMiAlexandria, Virginia

immediate PaSt ChairmanConstance HillVeraCentra Napa, California

direCtorSCharles BuchananWorld Marketing-DallasDallas, Texas

Tammy CasertaThink PatentedDayton, Ohio

Tom DucheneTDMS Huntington Beach, California

Greg FischerMarketing Support ServicesCincinnati, Ohio

Joy FranckowiakValpakSt. Petersburg, Florida

1421 prince Street, Ste. 410Alexandria, virginia 22314-2806

(703) 836-9200 (800) 333-6272 (703) 548-8204 faxhttp://www.MFSAnet.org

Laura HarperFPMSINorth Andover, Massachusetts

Tim JohnsonImpact Proven SolutionsMinneapolis, Minnesota

Chris LienBCC Software Inc.Rochester, New York

Ted KulpinskiW.A. Wilde Company Holliston, Massachusetts

Buz ProsserConsolidated Mailing CorporationShawnee Mission, Kansas

Anita PursleyWorldcolor LogisticsAtlanta GA

Eric StrandRESCOHudson, Wisconsin

Gary WeinbergQuality Letter Service, Inc.New York, New York

PreSident & CeoKen GarnerAlexandria, Virginia

editorKimberly A. KightAlexandria, Virginia

The following supplier members have become Gold Partners with MFSA due to their level of support.

For information on becoming a Gold Partner, contact MFSA at 800-333-6272.

MFSA gold partners

MFSA Board of Directors and officersclassified Ads

The 70lb Sterling Ultra Gloss paper for this newsletter was donated by NewPage Corporation. www.newpagecorp.com

AdPhos ALG Worldwide LogisticsBCC Software Hewlett PackardinterlinkONE Kirk-Rudy, Inc.Mailers Haven MCS/Think InkPitney Bowes R.R. Donnelley LogisticsSatori Software Three Dog LogisticsVirtual Systems

NEED HELP Call Postal 911... The MFSA Postal HotlineSpeak with postal professor, George Heinrich, for advice on postal regulation, mail acceptance, or operational issues. This is an MFSA membership benefit the first 30 minutes is complimentary. George can be reached at 303-325-3048, 8 am 6 pm Mountain Time. Need help with a postal regulation? Remember the MFSA Listserve or contact Leo Raymond at 800-333-6272 ext. 203.

Charleston, South CarolinaFrancis Marion Hotel

June 2 - 5, 2010

Connecting Clients to Canada with KEYCONTACTExperiencing delivery issues, de-lays with tight timelines, customs challenges or postal concerns? As your MFSA Canadian partner, KEYCONTACT is able to allevi-ate these challenges through opti-mizational capabilites to integrate across multiple media platforms. Our services include Customs Brokerage Assistance, Print, Data, Lettershop, Fulfillment & Contact Centre. 1.800.632.3568, Solu-tions@keycontact.com www.key-contact.com

NEED HELP Call Fulfillment 911... The MFSA Fulfillment Hotline Recently retired MFSA Director of Fulfillment Services, Tom Quinn, now offers all MFSA members the opportunity to get 30 minutes of fulfillment consulting at no charge. Whether your questions be on operations, warehouse lay-out, software, sales, or marketing, you are only a phone call or email away from getting the answers. To. To contact Tom, please call him at (770) 632-9253 or tom@qfulfill-mentsolutions.com.

Reduce Undeliverable Mail, Protect Postal DiscountsAbout 1.2 million households and businesses file a change-of-address notification with Canada Post each year. Reach more of your Cana-dian customers by obtaining their current addresses. Melissa Data of-fers a low price pledge on U.S. and Canadian NCOA processing. For more info, please call 1-800-635-4772 opt. 5 or go to www.Melis-saData.com/cncoa.