News and Trends

• C&S Wholesale Grocers to supply Penn Traffic
  C&S Wholesale Grocers Inc. has signed an agreement with Penn Traffic Co. to supply Penn Traffic supermarkets and independent stores in the Northeast. Penn Traffic operates grocery stores in New York, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania and Vermont under the P&C, Quality Markets and BiLo banners. C&S will handle purchasing and supplying, and Penn Traffic said it will downsize its management team. The Observer (Dunkirk, N.Y.) (10/1)

• Food-service workers file lawsuit against Aramark for "service fees"
  Food-service workers have filed a lawsuit against Aramark Corp., alleging the company collected a 20% "service fee" from customers but failed to distribute the extra payment to employees, who say the charges should be considered tips. The lawsuit covers banquet servers who work at the John B. Hynes Veterans Memorial Convention Center and the Boston Convention & Exhibition Center. The unionized banquet workers reportedly earn wages ranging from $16 to $40 per hour instead of the minimum wage paid to most servers who do collect tips. Boston Herald (10/1) , The Boston Globe (10/1)

• Other News

• Trucking, trailer outlook uniformly negative
  Fleet Owner (10/1)

Best Practices

• Three criteria help determine if incentive truly has value
  Incentives may or may not inspire employees, depending on the value they hold for a worker. Three criteria can help determine whether an incentive will truly have meaning: The degree to which an employee is interested in receiving it; whether it does honor to the employee's efforts; and its utility in the sense that it is something the employee can truly use. Manage Smarter (10/1)

• Stay positive, keep perspective to get through financial crisis
  Entrepreneurs can help preserve their sanity during an economic slump by realizing that such periodic crises are normal, staying as positive as possible and using the downtime to further their professional development. American City Business Journals (9/29)

Sales

• Remember the "Seven C's" of staying relevant
  Staying competitive and relevant in the marketplace is more essential than ever. The "Seven C's" to achieving this include making a commitment to one's customers, having meaningful communications with them and caring for clients in a personal and empathetic way. MarketingProfs (free registration) (9/30)

Hot Topics

Top five news stories selected by NAW SmartBrief readers in the past week.

• Wolseley CEO discusses possible sale of unit (Modern Distribution Management)

• Avnet announces employee cuts (American City Business Journals)

• Motivate sales team with fun, imagery (Manage Smarter)

• Study: Honey could be sweet cure for sinusitis (HealthDay News)

• Cardinal Health to spin off clinical, medical products units (Forbes)

• Results based on number of times each story was clicked by readers.

Small Business Manager

• Five warning signs of an at-risk business
  As the economy has weakened, experts say, many entrepreneurs have had difficulty knowing when to walk away from their dream without losing everything they have. Hagop Bedoyan, a business law expert in Fresno, Calif., points to five warning signs that a business is at risk: sleep disorder, threat of lawsuit over failing to meet obligations, liens, chronic cash-flow problems and inability to meet payroll. MSNBC (9/26)

Executive Life

• Some Marriott hotels to equip rooms with Nintendo Wiis
  Marriott hotels in five U.S. cities are equipping either their rooms, or in one case, the lounge, with Nintendo Wiis and a selection of 20 games. Guests will be able to buy packages to play all they want, and the games will be pre-loaded. CNET (9/30)

• Column: More older workers remain on the job
  Many older workers have decided to remain in the work force because they must support themselves or because they simply prefer work to retirement, Phyllis Korkki writes in The New York Times. The Bureau of Labor Statistics found that the number of employed people 65 and older doubled from 1977 to 2007, she writes. Korkki also notes that the number of older workers who work full time is also increasing. The New York Times (9/27)

NAW Insider

• Payment paradigm has shifted
  From NAW and Solveras Inc. comes the first all-in-one invoicing, check imaging, ACH and credit card processing solution with your business in mind. Web-based, bank neutral with faster funding -- Paradigm^SM delivers major savings to your bottom line. Get more information.

• Sales executives: Give a copy to every front-line salesperson!
  Distributor salespeople need a consistent sales model that provides them with the structure to effectively use their talents and skills for increased profitability -- especially today. Objective-Based Selling in Wholesale Distribution provides exactly that sales model. It is specifically geared to distributor salespeople in all lines of trade. It will teach your salespeople how to sell more at higher gross margins!

Weekly Poll

• What incentives does your company offer to its salespeople?
  After voting once, check out the real-time poll results on NAW's All Access page as often as you'd like.

	Tangible incentives: trips, latest techno gadgets, money
	Intangible incentives: employee recognition, feedback, reviews
	It used to be a mix of these, but our incentives program is suffering right now.
	We do not offer incentives.

Logistics Manager II Menlo Worldwide Augusta, GA

SmartQuote

Practice is a means of inviting the perfection desired." --Martha Graham, dancer and choreographer