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May 2015
Welcome to the May issue of ERA’s monthly wrap-up, designed to provide you with a quick, convenient way to catch up on information, announcements and other news you may have missed.
Watch for future issues coming during the FIRST week of every month.
To share recent newsworthy or noteworthy items and/or calendar dates with your fellow members, please email info@era.org.
POS Index Update
Budde Marketing, which provides monthly POS Index reports to ERA members, has completed the updating of its index to start in January 2014, and it now runs through March 2015. Go to era.org to view the new index which shows that the industry is generally flat. The first quarter of 2015 was up only 1.5 percent versus the first quarter of 2014 and down 3 percent compared to the last quarter of 2014. For details on Budde Marketing’s services, visit BuddeMarketing.com.
Industry News and Other Items of Interest
* ALL EDS ATTENDEES: If you have not yet registered to attend the FREE annual ERA/ECIA Breakfast Program on Thursday, May 14, you can still do so by emailing info@era.org. The breakfast is scheduled at 6:45 a.m. in the Grand Ballroom of the Mirage Hotel. The program will feature an economic update by guest speaker Dr. Esmael Adibi, economics professor at Chapman University and director of the school’s A. Gary Anderson Center for Economic Research.
* Remember that manufacturing data reports from the Institute for Supply Management (ISM) are published on or about the first of every month and can be accessed at ISM. The May 1 report for April shows there was continued overall growth in manufacturing for the 28th consecutive month. Of the 18 industries included in the index, the computer and electronic products sector was one of 15 that showed expansion last month.
* Even electronics design is now a commodity, further eroding profit margins in the high tech market, claims EPS publisher and editor-in-chief Bolaji Ojo. Read his article at EPS.
* Respondents to a recent survey conducted by the Electronic Components Industry Association (ECIA) say they expect growth across all market segments in the second quarter of this year. The strongest increases are projected in the automotive, industrial, medical and consumer sectors. Find the survey summary at ECIA.
* When Moore’s Law turned 50 years old on April 19, many comments and concerns about its future were published. One of the more interesting perspectives came from Stacy Smith, CFO of Intel, whose co-founder, Gordon Moore, first made the observation that became Moore’s Law in 1965. Smith believes the law may not survive to see its 60th anniversary. Discover why at Recode.
* Can a next generation CRM solution drive more revenue for component and semiconductor companies? EBN’s Chanan Greenberg believes so, citing the vertical adaptations that are occurring in CRM systems. Learn more in his blog post at EBN.
* There are four main issues now squeezing the financial performance of Silicon Valley companies, namely: the strong U.S. dollar; Japan’s GDP growth; China’s antagonistic regulators; and the “wrath of Putin.” All four are detailed in a late April article in BloombergBusiness.
* Selecting the right managers at all levels of an enterprise is the most critical of four specific strategies to increase revenue per employee, as reported by the Gallup organization from its decades-long research. That one strategy can boost revenue by 27 percent. To read more about the research and all four human behavior strategies, go to Gallup.
* Referrals, referrals and more referrals! They are the well-known but too-infrequently used methods to “get past the gatekeeper” at prospective customer companies. For a process to develop, implement and measure a successful referral system – that can convert prospects to customers more than 50 percent of the time – go to SMM.
* What is a sales opportunity, and when do you know it’s not a lead anymore?For the three criteria to upgrade a lead to a solid opportunity (and they’re not what you may think), read the blog post at HubSpot.
* Capping commissions is the single worst way to stunt your company’s growth, according to a recent article on the website of Inc. Nick Hedges, president and CEO of Velocify, a sales management software producer, delineates the reasons capping commissions is a risky mistake.
ERA Updates
* All members attending EDS: Be sure to make the ERA Business and Hospitality Center, in the Grand Ballroom of the Mirage Hotel, your first stop to pick up your member ribbon and the printed edition of the EDS Lines Available Bulletin. Manufacturers who have not listed in the bulletin can still submit information on-site. As always, the Business and Hospitality Center will be members’ headquarters for coffee breaks, small meetings and plenty of networking.
* ERA’s next FREE teleforum is Wednesday, May 27, at 3 p.m. EDT, and the topic is “The Art and Science of Selling: Which One Is It?” Joining teleforum facilitator Nicki Weiss for this conversation will be consultant Bryan Shirley, CPMR. Watch for the announcement coming shortly with details and the link to the online registration page. And don’t forget that audio files of all 30+ teleforums of the last six years are available to members for downloading from ERA’s website. Just go to TeleforumLibrary.
* ERA’s new website was launched in late March, and it is loaded with new features and easier navigation. All members: If you have not yet reset your password to access the member-only pages, see the March 30 email that contained the reset instructions. If you need assistance, just email info@era.org.
* With the Spring 2015 issue of The Representor now in readers’ mailboxes and online at Representor, it’s not too early to plan to advertise in the Summer 2015 magazine.The deadline for placing ad orders is June 5. For details go to RepAds.
* Sponsorships are now available for ERA’s 47th Management and Marketing Conference, to be held from Sunday evening, Feb. 28, through Tuesday afternoon, March 1, 2016, at the AT&T Conference Center in Austin, Tex. For details on sponsorship opportunities to promote your company or chapter, go to Sponsorships. Then be sure to bookmark this link – Conference – for all event updates, including the upcoming announcement of the keynote presentation.
* Join the conversation on ERA’s social media sites. Check out Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and the association’s professional LinkedIn Group.
For Your Calendar
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