Don't Blink
Scott Bidwell, President/COO

A good friend of mine recently celebrated her birthday. I called to give her my good wishes and asked how she was feeling about being another year older. “I'd rather have another birthday than the alternative,” she said. “I've still got lots to do and time flies by so quickly.”

We talked about that for a bit, how time does go by in a blink and moreso with each year that passes. We laughed as we remembered how, as children, we'd hear adults lament how the days (and years!) seem to fly by. At our young ages, when time seemed to always be at a standstill, we simply could not understand what they were talking about. For me, it was somewhere around the age of 32 or maybe 35, that time started moving at warp speed. One day, I'm putting an event on my calendar that's months away and the next thing I know, the event is just days away.

Take the PRISM Annual Conference coming up May 11th – 13th . Am I the only one who feels like he just celebrated New Year's, yet will be packing for Reno in mere weeks? I'm sure I'll have a similar feeling of time sneaking up on me when it comes to the ASI Users Seminar. It's months away, yet I know September 14th – 15th will be here before I know it.

With these upcoming events and day-to-day responsibilities, I feel there are many things on my “to do” list. I think though, that these are a small part of what my friend was referencing when she said she has lots to do in a little time. More aptly, I think she's saying that each day and year is a gift and to make the most of it. I'd also add that, it's important to slow down to appreciate the people and world around us, whether they be friends, family members, colleagues or co-workers. Kenny Chesney has a song entitled “Don't Blink” that puts it a lot more eloquently than I can. I've edited it a bit, but it starts like this:

I turned on the evening news,
Saw an old man being interviewed
Turning a hundred and two today.
Asked him what's the secret to life,
He looked up from his old pipe
Laughed and said "All I can say is…”

Don't blink.
Trust me friend a hundred years goes faster than you think
So don't blink.

Here's to living with our eyes wide open and to making the most of each day that we're “on the sunny side of the grass.”

Back to Top

ASI Users Seminar Offers Information for Everyone

The ASI 2010 Users Seminar will be held September 14-15, 2010 at the beautiful Hyatt Regency Cleveland at The Arcade. This year's agenda is packed with valuable ASI and industry-specific content developed specifically for ASI clients. Informative sessions slated for this year's event include:

"FROM HIPAA TO SAS 70: A REGULATORY REVIEW AND UPDATE"
Presented by PRISM International's Executive Director Jim Booth, this session will cover the business impact of recent or impending regulatory activity. Jim will discuss everything from HIPAA and HITECH, to client compliance issues related to the PCI Data Security Standard and Sarbanes Oxley and how these client requirements overlap to your operation. He'll also discuss the steps PRISM International is taking to create a friendlier operating environment in these areas.

"MY AH-HA MOMENT" or "NOW I KNOW WHAT I DIDN'T KNOW"
It can be difficult to understand the impact of business decisions when you don't know what you don't know. New to the Users Seminar Agenda, this peer panel session features three ASI Users representing single and multi-market operations. They'll share a significant learning moment where ASI worked with their operation to help improve their business.

These are just two of the many instructive sessions we have on tap. Attendees will also enjoy an energetic, put-it-into-practice sales presentation from sales guru Ray Barry as well as in-depth ASI sessions covering everything from data input to the latest VCKweb.NET news and more.

Make plans now to attend this important event. Click here to book your room online. If you prefer to make your reservation by phone, call:

Toll-free: 1-888-421-1442 or 1-402-592-6464.

If booking by phone, be sure to mention you are attending the Andrews Software Users Seminar to receive the specially negotiated room rate.

Back to Top

Attend ASI Roundtable at PRISM event

If you're attending the PRISM Annual Conference, be sure to attend the ASI Roundtable Discussion on Thursday, May 13th from 10:05am - 12:00N. Entitled "Are You in the Shredding Business," this interactive session, led by Scott Bidwell, will discuss avenues for selling to new and existing customers, the different types of services being provided in the industry and the ingredients needed to provide these services.

For more information, see Page 11 of the PRISM Annual Conference brochure or contact sales@AndrewsSoftware.com . See you in Reno!

Back to Top

ASI Support Solves Sluggish PC Problem to Save Client Dollars
Brian Chivers, ASI Support Specialist

Support Issue
ASI Support was recently contacted by a client who had installed VCK-SQL on their server. Two computers have access to the server and she was experiencing performance issues with one of them.

"VCK-SQL runs fine on my PC, but on the other one, it runs dreadfully slow” she said. “I've compared the specs on each computer and mine is not much different, yet it runs so much faster. Could VCK-SQL have been installed incorrectly on the other machine?”

It was important that we rule this out as a contributing factor, since her IT tech was recommending purchasing a new machine – not something she really wanted to do.

ASI Resolution
After detailed diagnosis of all software-related components, we were able to rule out VCK-SQL as a factor in the lackluster performance of the second PC. It was determined that the issue was related to the network or perhaps other software installed on the PC, which would not make it necessary for the PC to be replaced. Subsequent to our findings, the client asked a different IT tech to clean up the problem PC.  A new minimal install for VCK-SQL was then initiated and the computer performed at an acceptable speed.

The first technician was ready to replace the sluggish PC with a brand new one to "solve" the issue. With a little guidance, the ASI Support Team saved our client hundreds of dollars by simply asking some basic questions about their network, environment, other installed software packages and PC setup.

Although we live in a disposable society, sometimes it is worth digging a little deeper to evaluate all factors in a situation to save some extra bucks in a tight economy.

Back to Top

How to Make Successful Cold Calls
Tom Egelhoff, connectITnews.com

If you've ever spent any time talking with actors, they will tell you that the worst possible audition is something called a "cold reading." In a cold reading, the actor has no idea what kind of scene they will be asked to read for. Who the character is or what the scene is about until it is time to do the actual reading.

Most salespeople treat the cold call the same way as the actor's cold reading. And that's the problem. The actor has an excuse. There really isn't any way for the actor to know what to expect. There is no excuse, however, for the salesperson. The salesperson has methods available for finding out in advance what information is needed to make a successful cold call.

Types of Cold Calls
Before we discuss how to make your calls successful, let's explore the different types of cold calls.

To read the full article, click here.

Back to Top

If you know someone at your office who should be receiving The ASI Archive, please take a moment to register them and we'll be sure to add them to our distribution list. If you would like to no longer receive the newsletter please click here.