Does anyone remember "Call Sheets?"

Dear Colleagues,

Does anyone remember "Call Sheets?"

I distinctly recall, early in my career, spending an inordinate amount of time trying to design the perfect Daily Call Sheet. Mine was 11" x 8-1.2", white 20# bond, black ink, with double spaced horizontal rules, padded 100’s with chipboard backer. On it, I crammed every bit of information known to the world of printing sales.

Late each afternoon, after all my orders, RFQ’s, customer quotes and memos were written, (writing being a prehistoric method of communication used prior to the invention of email, texting and twitting), I would prepare a Daily Call Sheet for my next day’s sales calls, which I entered in geographical order for driving efficiency.

To prepare, I would scan the indecipherable scribble covering every square inch of my current daily call sheet, then reference the client history cards in our vertical visible "Visi-Record" file looking for clients with impending reorders, This file could also be known as the "sanctus sanctorum" or holy of holies, since it was our ONLY file of client order records.

I swear I can hear you murmuring as you read. "What? No backup? Nothing scanned to your database? OMG, not even photocopies?" PULEEZ! Let’s have a little respect for antiquity. Those technologies weren’t even invented! Let alone "smart phones." Although, I did have an automobile, and I could always stop at a pay phone booth (remember those) to call the office for messages. Perhaps, you’d be more comfortable if you thought of it as "Daniel Boone does business forms."

At any rate, I LIVED by those Daily Call Sheets.

So, what’s the point?

Simply this. Somehow, I was able to leverage those Daily Call Sheets into an admission ticket to our 2009 e-Quantum International Client Conference in Reno May 6-8, along with 178 fellow attendees, to see where state of the art electronic technology has positioned our Industry today.

Today’s Print Services and Distribution Industry is NOT your father’s Oldsmobile - nor, my ’65 Corvair Monza, for that matter.

REALITY 2009 is that our clients look to us for expertise in a wide variety of highly technical product lines, including e-commerce, business printing, commercial printing, marketing services, office consumables, promotional products, logistics and distribution, graphics communications, and electronic business services, among others.

E-commerce provides the buying public with 24/7 access to your corporate products 365 days of the year. Just this past year, the buying public displayed over 50,000,000 (that’s FIFTY MILLION with an "M") e-Quantum Net web pages, and they ordered over 1,500,000 items from our distributor clients!

But, e-Quantum’s conference, described as "the best ever" by almost all attendees, had 44 educational sessions and twelve vendor sponsors that focused precisely on the technologies and products required in today’s hi-tech marketplace.

Our new Analytical Dashboard was created specifically to give C-level executives and business managers the ability to stay on top of the vital statistics of their business. Now, everyone from your CEO to your sales reps can use these graphics of financial and product data to spot trends and key information at a glance. Click here for demo.

Ennis, Inc. displayed their new e-commerce catalog punchouts and XML back office integration with e-Quantum, as well as their new ability to let distributors focus on vertical marketplaces.

Our new AccuData interface provides clients the ability to select and purchase online data lists for targeted marketing campaigns or VDP.

Our online "Employee Apparel Program," introduced a powerful new tool for system selling logo apparel and uniforms.

Our widely requested Internet RFQ will provide clients even greater incentive to use your e-commerce system. It’s customizable by product line, and your Q-Net users will love it.

A sophisticated new interface to GoldMine Premium CRM and our e-Quantum CRM give all clients access to an integrated Customer Relationship Module suited to their corporate needs.

There were also several topical professional speakers.

CCH (formerly, Commerce Clearing House) discussed the history and future of Internet sales tax reform (tip – it will probably pass in this Congressional session). National sales tax reporting will be required for all Internet purchases. The good news is the new e-Quantum/CCH interface will provide the capability to report by tax jurisdiction.

Twelve Horses, Inc. provided a concise explanation of search engine optimization and outlined various ways/costs to increase your website’s visibility on Google.

All in all, the conference was as close to a perfect "10" as e-Quantum can offer. We’re extremely proud of all our staff for their diligent preparation. And, we extend our heartfelt appreciation to all our supportive clients and sponsors.

Sincerely,



Ross Barker

P.S. Just in case you wondered if I wandered, our next CD release will contain the ultimate electronic Customer Call Profile that will knock the space bar right off your sales reps’ laptops. So long, Daily Call Report!