FARGO — A new high-end jewelry store will open later this summer in the RDO Building in downtown Fargo.
Owner Taylor Mertz tells The Forum the business will exhibit and sell high-end, contemporary art jewelry. Featured pieces will be handcrafted by established and emerging artists and made from fine materials.
She writes, “Think of this as art you can wear! Included among our collection is a selection of unique engagement/union rings and original art. Additionally, we will offer a collection of fine gifts such as hand-crafted apothecary items, small-batch perfumes, and pieces for personal adornment.”
Salt Hill Gallery will open in the RDO Building later this summer. The business will carry high-end jewelry handcrafted by established and emerging artists, according to owner Taylor Mertz.
Moorhead Business Association to sponsor annual fireworks display
The Moorhead Business Association is carrying on its tradition of organizing a free Fourth of July fireworks display for Moorhead residents and surrounding communities.
Fireworks will blast off from Horizon Park, 3801 24th Ave. S., at dusk (around 10:30 p.m., weather permitting), lasting approximately 25 minutes.
The park will be closed starting at 3:30 p.m. for safety reasons (as the entirety of that area will be within the “blast zone”), but fireworks can be viewed from almost anywhere in Moorhead.
The Moorhead Business Association will continue its tradition of sponsoring a Fourth of July fireworks display this year.
Contributed / Moorhead Business Association
Parking will be blocked off along 40th Street or 24th Ave. Watchers are free to park and walk up closer; however, volunteers will be monitoring distance. Please follow their instructions.
Watchers may also head over to the VIP parking lots at Horizon Middle School or The Career Academy to enjoy their planned festivities beforehand and take advantage of the great view. Parking is $10 per vehicle and lots open at 7:30 p.m.
Entrepreneurs invited to sign up for free, virtual Lean Startup Program
Entrepreneurs and soon-to-be-entrepreneurs in the West Central Minnesota and Fargo region are invited to participate in a free, virtual Lean Startup Program led by ILT Academy, a St. Cloud-based ed tech startup focused on critical thinking, design innovation and startup entrepreneurship.
Those interested in participating in the 10-week program, which runs every Thursday evening between July 28 and Sept. 29, must register by July 13 at
. There are a limited number of openings available.
Nick Tietz, founder and CEO of ILT Studios, which created its ILT Academy in 2020, said participants do not need startup experience or a fully-formed idea for a startup — just ambition, motivation and grit. The Lean Startup Innovation Program will build startup skills as participants work on their business ideas.
“A lean startup is a methodology for developing business and products that aim to shorten the product development cycle and discover if a business model is viable,” said Tietz via news release. “Our platform enables entrepreneurs to have unique opportunities to connect, collaborate and experience success faster by getting better customer feedback and iterating through their proposed business model.”
Tietz added that while working on their business ideas, participants will learn and practice the skills needed to refine, explore, innovate and develop a plan for their business ideas. Participants will also connect with fellow entrepreneurs, coaches and mentors to be a part of the community of startup entrepreneurs.
Each Thursday session will run from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. The final evening, Sept. 29, will include a Founder’s Showcase, where teams will have the opportunity to present their ideas to the regional startup community, business leaders and potential investors.
Another day, another unsettling inflation report. And for the Dow and S&P 500, another day of losses, with the indices each posting their fifth consecutive day of declines. However, the Nasdaq managed to escape the downdraft, recovering from an early loss to finish with a fractional gain.
Disney (NYSE:DIS) was among the victims of the general downward pressure. Shares of the entertainment conglomerate slipped to a new 52-week low.
More dramatically, Novavax (NVAX) lost more than a quarter of its value, weighed down by allergy risks connected to its COVID vaccine.
Looking to some of the day’s standout gainers, Angi (ANGI) received a boost thanks to strong monthly revenue. Meanwhile, Grocery Outlet Holding Corp. (GO) continued its long-standing march higher, setting a fresh 52-week high.
Standout Gainer
A surge in monthly revenue sparked buying in shares of Angi (ANGI). The stock rallied nearly 10% after the release of June performance metrics.
IAC, the company’s parent, announced statistics showing that ANGI experienced a 27% jump in total revenues for June compared to the previous year. This included a doubling of revenue for Angi Services.
ANGI finished Thursday’s action at $4.30, a gain of 38 cents on the session. Even with the uptick, shares remain in a trading range, off a 52-week low of $3.47 set in May. The stock has fallen about 54% in 2022.
Standout Loser
Novavax (NVAX) dropped around 26%, with the plunge happening despite news that the firm received U.S. emergency use authorization for its COVID vaccine, Nuvaxovid. The slide came amid worries about severe allergic reactions tied to the product.
After a process that took much longer than many had anticipated, NVAX revealed late Wednesday that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration had given it the emergency use authorization for Nuvaxovid. This followed similar approvals in multiple other countries.
However, the positive impact of this news was undercut by an announcement from European authorities that they would add severe allergic reactions to the list of potential side effects for the COVID vaccine.
On fears that the risk of potential reactions would drive users to competing products, NVAX plunged $18.33 to close at $51.62. Shares have fallen nearly 64% so far this year, although the stock remains off a 52-week low it reached in June.
Notable New High
Discount closeout retailer Grocery Outlet Holding Corp. (GO) saw another uptick on Thursday, with investors betting that low-price options will draw increased demand in a high-inflation environment. The stock rose almost 3% to set a new 52-week high.
GO finished the session at $44.89, an advance of $1.24 on the day. During trading, the stock reached an intraday 52-week high of $45.20.
The latest uptick extended a longer-term rally for the stock. GO has climbed 57% in 2022.
Notable New Low
The possibility of a sinking economy put further pressure on Disney (DIS). The stock slipped an additional 1% during the session, driving shares of the entertainment giant to a fresh 52-week low.
The release of a hotter-than-expected wholesale inflation report prompted DIS to fall to an intraday 52-week low of $90.23. Shares bounced back later in the session but still closed lower by $1.16, ending the day at $91.84.
The persistence of high inflation has fueled fears that the Federal Reserve will be forced to trigger a recession as it aggressively raises interest rates to get price increases under control. The prospect of an economic downturn would undercut consumer spending, hurting results for companies like Disney (DIS).
Thursday’s slide added to a longer-term downturn. Shares have fallen about 41% so far in 2022, coming further off a 52-week high of $187.58 set last year.
For more of the day’s best- and worst-performing stocks, turn to Seeking Alpha’s On The Move section.
A four-day workweek sounds appealing to workers. Possibly alarming to employers.
A bill introduced in the California legislature earlier this year proposed a regular pay rate for 32 hours of work per week, with overtime kicking in after that. The measure stalled in committee for a lack of broad support but could resurface in 2023.
Meanwhile, 4 Day Week Global, a nonprofit foundation associated with Oxford University, is piloting a six-month trial of a four-day workweek “with no loss of pay for employees.” More than three dozen companies in the U.S. and Canada are participating in the experiment, with a total of 150 organizations and 7,000 employees involved worldwide.
Of more than 1,000 U.S. adult employees surveyed by research firm Qualtrics in January, 92% said they would support their employer going to a four-day workweek; 79% of them said it would help mental health, and 82% said it would make them more productive.
Will more employers embrace the change?
People are also reading…
The change can be challenging
“I’ve always been curious about burnout. It truly affects those that should be thriving,” says Lisa Belanger, CEO of ConsciousWorks in Canmore, Alberta. She consults with businesses on workplace well-being. In her quest to find “how work is meant to be,” she decided to explore a four-day workweek herself.
Results have been mixed, at best, she says.
“I think I’ve failed so far in my own personal experiment,” Belanger says. Business travel plans or other work-related responsibilities often interrupted her Day Five off.
“One of the reasons it’s so challenging for me, and most people, to do a four-day workweek is other people are working on that fifth day, so you’re getting email and you’re getting pulled in,” Belanger says.
Altering consumer behavior and expectations
“People are realizing that while this might be an intriguing or interesting idea, there’s probably some trade-offs,” says Benjamin Granger, head of employee experience advisory services at Qualtrics. He says the company’s research indicates concerns regarding customer frustration if staffing changes have an impact on response time.
Widespread adoption would have to reach critical mass, where companies believe they have to adopt a shorter workweek to compete in the workforce, he adds. And consumer behavior and customer expectations and services would need to be reshaped.
“We’re not even close to that yet,” he says.
If it’s not a four-day workweek, there are other levers to pull when it comes to workplace flexibility, Granger says.
Those could include perks that make a job more attractive, like choosing the hours you want to work rather than the usual 9-to-5, or the ability to run errands during the workday.
Few employees would be willing to take a pay cut
Less than 4 in 10 (37%) of the employees surveyed by Qualtrics would be willing to take a 5% or more pay cut for a four-day workweek. But nearly three-quarters (72%) of those surveyed said a four-day workweek would mean they would have to work longer days.
However, 10-hour days often aren’t child care friendly. And if a company offers to pay for only four days of eight hours each, it could indicate a shorter workweek might be the result of a company trying to reduce expenses.
Considering the trade-offs
“I think there is a lot of work and research that an organization has to do before it pulls the trigger on this,” Granger says.
A four-day workweek — or other workplace flexibility — might begin with a series of discussions. If there is interest on both sides of the payroll, Granger suggests a trade-off analysis: “Look statistically at the factors that people would be willing to trade off, and would it be worth it to them?” If interest remains strong, the organization could run a pilot program with a small group of employees before a wider rollout.
If a four-day workweek isn’t in your near future, Belanger offers these ideas for employees to possibly seek — and employers to consider:
Occasional extended weekends off. Belanger says this allows time away without the stressful “work is piling up while I’m away” feeling during longer vacations.
A meeting-free Friday or a reduction in the number of meetings overall.
Email, instant messaging or texting hiatuses. “Telepressure” — the compulsion to quickly respond to work-related messages of any kind — is a real thing, Belanger says.
“You need a couple of hours every single day where you’re wholly not working — 100% not working,” for mental health, she adds.
The article Are 4-Day Workweeks, Flexible Hours the Future of Full-Time? originally appeared on NerdWallet.
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Great sales prospecting is your ticket to a calendar that’s crammed with meetings. Learn our three top tips for prospecting success.
If you’re a sales rep and you’re not prospecting every single day, chances are that your sales pipeline is looking pretty barren.
We get it, though. Prospecting isn’t that simple and can be one of the most challenging parts of B2B sales. But it’s a crucial step to maintaining a healthy pipeline and filling your calendar with meetings.
So if you’re unsure where to start or need a little advice to give your prospecting that extra push, you’re in the right place.
Keep reading to learn our three top prospecting tips that’ll get you booking more meetings in no time.
Sales prospecting is the first step in the sales process. This includes reaching out to people you think might be interested in your product or service.
The goal is to book a meeting with your prospect so you can educate them on your offering and convince them to buy.
Three Sales Prospecting Steps to Book More Meetings
Let’s jump into three prospecting steps you can use to start booking more meetings ASAP.
1. Identify Your Ideal Customer Profile (ICP)
To start, getting an idea of your company’s ideal customer profile (ICP) is crucial. An ICP captures the ideal or perfect customer—that is, the customer that’s the perfect target for your solution.
How to Identify Your ICP
Luckily, your organization has a wealth of knowledge you can draw on. Talk to sales development reps, your manager, account executives, or customer support reps to determine your ICP.
Remember the following when identifying your ICP:
What does the typical customer look like?
What’s the status quo of what goes on within their organization?
What are they typically trying to accomplish with a product like yours?
Once you have your ICP, you might get overwhelmed by the sea of people you can potentially call. The best way to approach this is to select a specific niche of ICPs to narrow down on.
“If I get more into that ICP niche, my confidence in selling to that customer will increase, and my ability to provide value to that customer quicker will also go up.”
Kara Smith BrownLeadCoverageFounder & CRO
You can do this by looking up people who work at companies in the niche you’ve chosen. From there, make a list of people who’ll benefit from your product, and then choose people who are senior enough that they can probably make the purchase.
Once you’ve found the right prospect, do additional research on them to give yourself a jumping-off point that’ll help you stand out.
Identify Triggers
All the information you’re gathering on your ICP is called a trigger.
Triggers provide context behind the reason why you’re reaching out to the prospect. Triggers can typically be the first sentence in an email or cold call. This way, the person you reach out to (who may not know who you are) has some summary/context.
A few good ways to identify triggers include looking at:
The prospect’s LinkedIn profile
The prospect’s company website (press releases, newsroom, etc.)
Interviews on YouTube done by the prospect
Once you’ve identified those triggers, start reaching out to your prospects so you can start filling up that sales pipeline.
Free Cheat Sheet Grab the outbound prospecting cheat sheet.
With your ICPs identified, it’s time to choose your prospecting method.
Right now, the most popular prospecting methods are:
Cold calling
Cold emailing
Video messaging
Social selling
The best sales reps don’t just use one prospecting method, though. They use a good mix of all of these.
Cold Calling
The first prospecting method, and probably the most well-known, is cold calling.
If you’re calling a customer without having an appointment on their calendar, it’s a cold call.
When cold calling, always introduce yourself and recognize that you’re calling out of the blue. From there, get into your sales prospecting.
Cold calling can be awkward initially, and you might encounter failures or rejection. But don’t take them personally. Truthfully, customers have different priorities, and sometimes they’re just not interested in buying. Just keep cold calling, and you’ll eventually find the people willing to buy from you.
Cold Emailing
The next most common prospecting method is cold emailing. Like cold calling, you’re sending an email to a prospect without any prior contact.
Some people waste no time deleting prospecting emails in their inboxes. So the best way to approach cold emailing is to keep your email short and structured like this:
First sentence: Quick context as to why you’re reaching out.
Second sentence:Describe the current state and the current problem with it.
Third sentence: What does the future look like for them with your product or solution?
Final sentence: Finish with a call to action (CTA) like booking a meeting.
Try to avoid the following when sending a cold email:
Long emails
Poorly formatted emails
Cliches (“I hope this email finds you well,” “bumping this for visibility,” etc.)
A calendar link to book at their convenience—instead, suggest specific times (“book a call with me tomorrow or Thursday”)
The BEST Cold Call Opening Lines
In this episode of Sales FAQ, eight trainers, leaders, and practitioners dish out the best way to open a cold call. Watch this video to learn what works best for them!
Make sure to read your email out loud before sending it. You’ll hear issues that aren’t apparent while reading and can edit them before the email goes out.
After sending, don’t be discouraged if your email doesn’t get a response. Even the best emails don’t get responses sometimes. Don’t give up! Just keep sending.
Video Prospecting
Using video messages to prospect is a game-changing outreach method and is a powerful way to book more meetings.
Video stands out in inboxes. The customer gets to see you and feel your energy. And best of all, you can personalize your message in no time flat. Using video for sales (even if those videos are only 15-30 seconds long) is proven to increase response rates for more than 70% of sales reps.
See it in Action
This prospecting video is short and sweet. It gets straight to the point: Booking a meeting with Ryan can help property managers fill their glass and increase occupancy across their properties.
With video tools like Vidyard, you can easily record and send a video via email clients, sales engagement platforms, or even LinkedIn InMail messages. You can also take advantage of video analytics to see how much of the video somebody watched and even get notified when they view it so you can follow up right away.
Here are a few things to consider for your video outreach:
Avoid looking creepy (filming in a dark room, in the corner, etc.)
Don’t make it too long (shoot for 30-60 seconds)
Provide a brief written summary before the video embed in case they can’t watch it in their current situation (i.e. a company firewall blocks it)
New to video prospecting? Here are the 10 best video templates and ideas to help you get started.
See it in Action
In just one minute, Amelia McColl from Rant & Rave showcased her pup, got a quick response, and closed the deal. See the cuteness for yourself!
Master Video for Sales Learn the fundamentals behind effective video selling in our free 20-minute Video Selling Master Class. Take the Class
Social Selling
Social selling is a newer but efficient prospecting method. It’s a great way to create your personal brand, be recognized by millions of people using social platforms, and produce content to drive sales.
Use social media to educate people in your networks about your solution or product by commenting on posts, sharing content about your product, or sending video messages.
You can also leverage video to further engage and connect with your audience. Video can be an eye-catching way to start conversations with prospects. 93% of businesses landed a new customer because of a video on social media. Just remember to keep your videos authentic to who you are.
3. Structure Your Day to Maximize Your Time
Now that you have an idea of what prospecting methods you should use, your success as a salesperson will be very predictable based on how you also choose to spend your time.
Ask yourself: How much time do I need to spend to fill up my pipeline? What do those daily pipeline-filling activities look like?
Breaking up your day into smaller doses, like time-blocking your weekly calendar to create focus periods, can help maximize your prospecting time.
Time Management Tips for Sales Prospecting
When managing your time for prospecting, consider these things when you time block your day:
When is the best time to call prospects?
When is your energy level the highest so you can be the most effective on these calls?
Are you being consistent when making those calls?
Will you be able to stick to your calendar?
You have to have a process that works and a goal every day. This way, you’re not letting your day take control of you.
“Prospecting is like working out! It’s hard to do, but if you’re consistent, you’re going to get results.”
Morgan J IngramJB SalesDirector of Sales Execution
On Your Mark, Get Set, Go!
And that’s everything you need to know about sales prospecting, with three easy prospecting steps to help you book more meetings.
Once you get those tips and prospecting strategies down, you’ll be filling up that sales pipeline like there’s no tomorrow.
So get out there and start prospecting. You’ve got this!
