NeoCon 2011: Preview & New Products

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Office Environments of NewEngland Makes AssetPurchase of BKM TotalOffice

Two of the Northeast’s longstanding and

highest profile office furniture dealerships have joined forces to create

a major new regional player.

Boston-based Office Environments of New England (OENE) an-

nounced earlier this month its purchase of substantially all the assets

of BKM Total Office in East Hartford, CT. Both companies are long-

time Steelcase dealerships.

By leveraging BKM’s and OENE’s combined resources and capabili-

ties, the new enterprise will provide customers with expanded audio-

visual, architectural systems, floor covering and technology solutions,

as well as the most comprehensive offering of contract furniture and

services available in New England, OENE said.

"This is truly meaningful for our customers who depend on us to help

them create innovative and harder working spaces that inspire, foster

collaboration and optimize their real estate footprint,” said Robert

Kelly, president of OENE.

BKM chairman Don Griesdorn has

owned the company since 1977. He will

be retiring and transitioning ownership.

“I’ve had a long-standing vision of creat-

ing a stronger presence in the New Eng-

land marketplace,” he said. “I’m excited to see that vision come to

life as these two great organizations come together. I would like to

extend my sincere thanks and gratitude to our loyal customers and

dedicated employees.”

Effective immediately, industry veteran Larry Levine joins the com-

pany as president of BKM. Robert Kelly will continue to lead OENE

as president. Orlando Corsi, CFO and COO of OENE, will expand his

role across the entire enterprise. Dan Sabia, formerly BKM president,

newsAskingthe Right Questions &Findingthe Right Answersabout Outsourcing

If you’ve been in the office furniture business for anylength of time, you won’t need me or anyone else totell you about the importance of being able to turn ona dime in response to sudden market shifts.

Office furniture has always been a cyclical businessbut over the past ten years, the peaks have gottenhigher and the valleys a whole lot deeper.

In good times, dealers find themselves drawn toadding people and infrastructure to take full advantageof a healthy market.

In bad times, they go cutting to the bone and hopethey haven’t taken too much out of the business sothat when things start moving in the right directionagain, they’re still able to make the most of it all.

It’s a delicate balancing act and the margin for error isslim, indeed.

That’s what makes this month’s cover story particularlyuseful for today’s dealers. Outsourcing is hardly newin our industry any more. But author and consultantBrenda Brodt does a terrific job of putting it in the con-text of today’s business challenges, presenting thecomplete spectrum of outsourcing options availableand providing a clear-eyed look at their pluses and mi-nuses.

The article won’t answer all your questions about out-sourcing, but it will give you a much better idea of theright questions to be asking and offer some useful in-sight and direction on how to go about answeringthem.

And if you’ve got any comments of your own on out-sourcing that you’d like to share with our readers orquestions you’d like to ask them, we would of course,love to hear from you.

Thanks, as always, for reading, and enjoy!

MAY 2011 OFDEALER PAGE 3

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will assume a new role as executive business consultant.

Each business will continue to operate under its own individual

name, OENE said.

COS Business Products & Interiors,Chatanooga Dealer, Celebrates 70thAnniversary

In Chattanooga, Skip Ireland and his team at COS Business

Products & Interiors are icing up the champagne and getting

ready to celebrate their dealership’s 70th anniversary.

COS was founded in 1941 by Skip’s grandfather, Henry H. Ireland Sr.

Skip and his brother, James E. “Jim” Ireland, vice president of

operations, represent the third generation of the Ireland family to

lead the business, having purchased it in 1983 from their father,

H. Hudson Ireland, Jr.

Since that purchase, they have seen annual sales more than

quadruple and positioned the company as a true one-stop re-

source for the full spectrum of office needs, including office fur-

niture. COS is a Knoll dealership and holds an Office Furniture

USA franchise.

“As a company, we’ve

always been driven by

the needs of our cus-

tomers,” Skip points

out. “The range of

products and services

we offer today is light

years from what the

business started with—or even what it was just five years ago—

and that’s due to the tremendous changes that we’ve seen in how

our customers work and how they generate, communicate and

store business information. As a locally-owned and operated or-

ganization, listening closely to our customers is a key part of who

we are, and it’s enabled us to grow as Chattanooga has grown.”

Office Basics, PA Dealer, Acquires BF Molz

In Boothwyn, Pennsylvania, John Leighton and his team at Office

Basics, long a major player in their market in the office supplies

arena, are celebrating the arrival of some major new growth op-

portunities in the office furniture space, following the acquisition

of local, friendly competitor BF Molz in Moorestown, New Jersey.

The merger will provide an estimated 40% boost to Office Basics’

sales volume and, says director of operations Ray Kendall, prom-

ises to take the dealership’s furniture business to the next level

and then some!

“BF Molz is an extremely good fit for us,” says Ray. “They are an

outstanding organization with a truly excellent sales team that

has done a superb job against some very tough competition.”

BF Molz is an Allsteel/HON dealer and, says Ray, that side of the

business, was particularly attractive to Office Basics.

“We’re looking forward to combining our strengths on the sup-

plies side with BF Molz’s strengths on the office furniture side,

particularly in the healthcare arena,” he says.

Reflecting the strength of the Molz organization, the company is

retaining its name in the marketplace and will operate as BF Molz

Business Interiors, a Division of Office Basics going forward.

Office Basics is also keeping the entire full-time Molz staff, though

Ray indicated some realignment of job responsibilities will probably

be forthcoming and the two companies work through the consoli-

dation.

AAA Business Supplies & Interiors Expands Furniture Business withAcquisition

In San Francisco, AAA Business Supplies & Interiors recently ex-

panded the office furniture side of its business with the acquisi-

tion of Advent Office Furniture in nearby Santa Rosa.

AAA said it will be retaining the Santa Rosa Advent location, po-

sitioning itself for future expansion of its sales and support team

in the Northern California marketplace. AAA is also retaining most

of Advent’s employees, including former owners Mark Burchill,

Mel Konrad and Darvin Goodrum.

In addition, AAA also recently announced another acquisition in the

office supplies arena, Corporate-One, also in San Francisco.

Dealer News continued from page 3

MAY 2011 OFDEALER PAGE 4

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Software for Contract Furniture, Home Furniture and/or Office Supply Dealers

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DS&D, NJ Dealership, Secures State Grantfor Training Program

A commitment to ongoing training and education is one of the

hallmarks of any successful dealer today. In Somerville, NJ, Steel-

case dealer DS&D, (Dancker, Sellew & Douglas) has come up with

an innovative and cost-effective way to turn that commitment into

reality with the help of a generous assist from the state of New

Jersey.

For the past year or so, DS&D has been offering a comprehen-

sive, company-wide training program that’s been funded by a

training grant from the state and developed in cooperation with

a local community college.

New Jersey picked up the cost of outside trainers and course de-

velopment, with the main expense to the dealership coming in

the form of the time taken by employees to attend, since all

courses are held during work hours.

In addition to seven different courses on computer skills (project

management, presentations, spreadsheets, etc.), the program

also offered courses on time management, customer service,

business communications, finance for non-financial employees

and leadership skills.

It enabled DS&D to provide training for just about everyone—from

warehouse personnel to the sales team and senior and middle

management, reports HR director Mary Snyder. Response has

been very positive from employees especially since most compa-

nies have very little resource dollars to allocate towards training.

“The program really made a statement about the importance we

assign to ongoing education at DS&D and given an extra dimen-

sion to our efforts to attract and retain talented and motivated

people,” she explains.

And with the market overall showing signs of continued strength-

ening, the timing certainly couldn’t be better!

Dealer News continued from page 4

MAY 2011 OFDEALER PAGE 6

“ F I N E A R C H I T E C T U R A L H A R D W A R E F O R Y O U R F I N E F U R N I T U R E ” ®

w w w . m o c k e t t . c o m 8 0 0 - 5 2 3 - 12 6 9

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Dunlap Furniture Industry Index Shows Slight Downturn in First QuarterResults from the most recent Michael A. Dunlap & Associatesquarterly industry survey, completed during April, showed a slightdownturn from the previous survey, conducted in January.

The survey yields an Industry Index Number to quantify where theindustry is currently performing, with 100 signifying things“couldn’t be better” and one meaning “absolutely the worst” theycan be.

The overall index for April came in at 55.38, compared to 57.01 inJanuary. The highest recorded Index was 59.72 in July 2005; thelowest was 41.45 in April 2009. The average since the surveystarted in August 2004 stands at 54.24.

Despite the downturn from January to April, Dunlap offered amostly optimistic assessment of survey results. “Although onlythree of the ten index values show improvement over January,they are important,” he noted.

“Order backlog has improved, tooling is improving and the per-sonal outlook index continues to rise, Dunlap pointed out. “I don’tsee anything to be concerned about, with the possible exceptionof rising material costs. All of the other index values are strong, inspite of their modest declines.”

Kimball Office and Dealers Donate more than$26,000 to Aid Japanese Rebuilding Efforts In the wake of the tragic earthquake and tsunami in Japan, Kim-ball Office and its network of dealers have raised more than$26,000 for Architecture for Humanity, a nonprofit design firmdedicated to building a more sustainable future using the powerof design.

Contributions were raised through individual donations over atwo-week period during a recent meeting of the manufacturer'stop-selling distribution partners.

"The images of towns completely washed away had a powerfulimpact on our dealers and employees," said Jeff Fenwick, vicepresident and general manager of Kimball Office. "We wanted toaid in the country's efforts to build stronger, more sustainablecommunities, and that is at the heart of Architecture for Human-ity's mission." For more information, visit http://architectureforhu-manity.org.

HON Wins Major Slice of U.S. Navy BusinessThe U.S. Navy has awarded The HON Company a five-year Blan-ket Purchase Agreement (BPA), effective June 1, 2011.

MAY 2011 OFDEALER PAGE 8

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Earlier this month, the Business and InstitutionalFurniture Manufacturers Association (BIFMA)released its market statistics for March andonce again, the news was mostly very positive.According to BIFMA, March orders and ship-ments were both up 25% compared to thesame month last year, a gain made even moreimpressive given that March was the first monthin a long time that comparisons were beingmade against growth in the prior-year period. The industry has now experienced year-over-year order growth for 13 consecutive months—following 19 months of year-over-year orderdeclines from August 2008 to February 2010.

Industry analyst Budd Bugatch of the RaymondJames investment house declared himself“pleasantly surprised” by the re-acceleration inMarch incoming order rates. “Net-net, the March 2011 BIFMA release wasanother favorable data point for the office furni-ture industry and corroborated our positive in-dustry view,” Bugatch commented. “While the key macro drivers of office furnitureconsumption (corporate profits, business con-fidence, white collar employment, net absorp-tion of office space) remain somewhat mixed, itfeels like we are headed in the right direction,”he added.

BIFMA MARCH NUMBERS: Orders and Shipments Both Up 25%

According to Jean Reynolds, HON's vice president of strategicdevelopment for government markets, the award makes HON theonly commercial manufacturer authorized to sell to the Depart-ment of the Navy in all five furniture categories and in all 50 U.S.states plus Puerto Rico, Guam and other destinations where theNavy has facilities and furnishings needs.

Categories covered by the award include furniture systems andworkstation clusters; worksurfaces, workstations, computer fur-niture and accessories; filing and storage cabinets; executive of-fice furniture and multi-purpose seating.

Global Hosts ‘Spring Fling’ 2011Global - The Total Office recently hosted more than 450 design-ers, architects, dealers and VIP guests at the annual “SpringFling” events in its New York City and Atlanta Midtown Show-rooms.

Global’s newest products—including Global Accord Mesh incolor, Roma and the Duet seating series and the company’sbrand new Princeton desking system—were all prominently dis-played in each showroom.

New Name for Ghent Manufacturing Lebanon, Ohio-based Ghent Manufac-turing has changed its corporate name toGMi Companies. CEO Mark Leasure saidthe new name more suitably positionsthe organization for future growth andhelps trade and local communities better

distinguish the corporation relative to its primary product brands.

GMi Companies began as Ghent Manufacturing, Inc. when it wasfounded in 1976. Since that time, the business continually mar-keted its line of Ghent brand of visual communication productsand added three distinct company brands: the Waddell brand offine furniture display cases acquired in 1986; the VividBoardbrand of high impact signage boards acquired in 2006, and theWoodWare Furniture brand of technology support furniture ac-quired in 2010.

Today, under the GMi Companies corporate umbrella, the Wad-dell and WoodWare brands are part of the GMi Companies Fur-niture Products Group, while the Ghent and VividBoard brandscomprise the GMi Companies Visual Communication ProductsGroup.

GMi Companies will continue to be headquartered in Lebanon,Ohio. The corporation has two production facilities in Ohio andone in Pennsylvania.

Calibrate from AIS Achieves GreenguardCertificationAIS has announced its Calibrate line has achieved GreenguardIndoor Air Quality Certification and Greenguard Children andSchools Certification.

Calibrate is the latest product introduction from AIS and consistsof freestanding components and accessories designed to con-struct open plan desking and benching solutions as well as pri-vate office environments. This marks the 6th GreenguardCertified product line for AIS.

ANSI Approves 2011 Editions of M7.1 FurnitureEmissions Method & X7.1 Furniture EmissionsStandardThe American National Standards Institute (ANSI) has approvedthe new edition of ANSI/BIFMA M7.1-2011 Standard Test Methodfor Determining VOC Emissions from Office Furniture Systems,Components and Seating; and also the new edition ofANSI/BIFMA X7.1-2011 Standard for Formaldehyde and TVOCEmissions of Low-emitting Office Furniture and Seating. Copiesof the new editions are now available from BIFMA.

Inspiration Blooms for West Coast Cancer Centerwith $25,000 Gift from National Office FurnitureAs flowers and foliage vibrantly bloom this spring, National OfficeFurniture delivered a blossom of inspiration; spending a day withGood Samaritan Regional Medical Center in Corvallis, OR tolearn about the many great things the hospital does throughoutthe region and to drop off a big check. Samaritan Hematology &Oncology Consultants, an outpatient clinic of the hospital, wasawarded National’s $25,000 Gift of Inspiration for Healthcare.

The cancer center’s outreach services run solely on donations inproviding care and counseling to cancer patients around the Cor-vallis area with some traveling hours for treatment. National OfficeFurniture’s $25,000 Gift of Inspiration provides a much neededboost for the outreach program to support these families, espe-cially those with extended, daily treatment schedules. The fundswill help keep spirits high with a variety of services such as onsitelodging in the hospitality house for patients and families and as-sistance in the form of gas cards, groceries and utility bill pay-ments.

“This is more than a monetary donation. The gift will provide in-spiration, access to treatment and comfort to oncology patientsand families during very difficult times. Words cannot express thedifference this will make in many people’s lives,” says MelanieBrown, regional operations manager at Samaritan Hematology &Oncology Consultants.

“Our goal is to be a good neighbor. The Gift of Inspiration is oneway for us to give back to organizations that do so much for theircommunities through providing care, education and assurance.We’re proud to support such a worthy program as Samaritan’sHematology & Oncology Consultants. Their commitment torestoring normalcy and providing on-going support to patientsand their families in the toughest of times is honorable, and we’rehumbled to be a part of it,” says Kevin McCoy, vice president,general manager, National Office Furniture.

Industry News continued from page 8

MAY 2011 OFDEALER PAGE 9

This year’s OFDA Dealer StrategiesConference, September 25-27 in Tucson, AZ,will focus on strategies to help you‘transform your business for future success’and offer practical approaches to help youimplement your chosen strategies.

In recent months, OFDealerhas highlighted our keynotespeaker, Jaynie Smith, a top-rated Vistage International

presenter, who will focus ondefining and communicating

your unique competitive advan-tages, and our manufacturer presi-

dents’ panel on “The Future of theOffice Interiors Industry: Changes in Cus-

tomer Expectations and Dealer Roles.” Thesetwo sessions will kick off our September 26 and 27conference programs.

OFDA also is organizing two additional general ses-sion panels that will follow the September 26 and27 luncheons, respectively.

Our general session panel format will allow confer-ence participants to submit their own written ques-tions, anonymously, from the floor to ensure that themost pertinent issues are addressed by ourthought-leader panelists.

All panelists are now confirmed for our Monday

early-afternoon general session program, which will take as itstopic, Emerging Workplace Trends and Major Customer Needs –The Future is Now!

The session will be moderated by Mary Lee Duff, Assoc. AI, principal of IA Interior Architects, a highly respected internationalarchitecture and design firm active in many major U.S. metromarkets. She has helped OFDA organize a diverse panel of experts on emerging workplace design and facility use planningin corporate, government and other vertical markets. Panelistsinclude:

� Kevin Kelly, Sr. Architect, Center for Workspace Delivery, General Services Administration

� Jan Penagos, LEED AP, Senior Strategic Planner, Intuit

� Garth German,Change Management Consultant, Expressworks

These individuals are on the front lines of building and interior design projects with some of the world’s most progressive andsophisticated customers, who are defining and applying state-

OFDA 2011 Dealer StrategiesConference – Looking to TransformYour Business?

continued on page 11

MAY 2011 OFDEALER PAGE 10

OFDA news continued from page 10

of-the-art workplace strategies to attract,develop and retain the top talent they needfor future success. OFDA’s 2011 confer-ence offers you a unique opportunity to in-teract with and learn from thesethought-leaders.

Third SundayAfternoon WorkshopConfirmedOFDA has also confirmed its third Sunday

afternoon (September 25) workshop:

“Dealer Boot-Camp Program for Hiring

and Training New Sales Talent,” to be pre-

sented by Debbie Junge and Brenda Brodt

of Junge + Associates, a highly regarded

consulting team with a strong back-

ground of experience in sales and oper-

ations within our industry.

This workshop will provide guidance and

tools that participants can take home and

apply to improve their own sales team’s

effectiveness. Topics will include:� Hiring the right DNA of top

performers� Establishing performance

measurements and rewardingresults

� Implementing training

approaches for on-boarding newsales employees

� Helping new employees set goals,develop daily plans andunderstand ‘the sales cycle’

Your engaged participation in any part ofOFDA’s annual conference—Sunday work-shops, Monday keynote, Monday or Tues-day general sessions or a handful of our15 interactive “how-to” breakout ses-sions—will ensure a positive return on yourinvestment of time and money to attend.

The scope and depth of this uniquelydealer-focused, educational and networkingexperience are unparalleled in our industry.

Where else can you effectively learn fromyour most successful peers and knowl-edgeable experts on industry and generalmanagement best practices in areas suchas sales and marketing, operations andtechnology, organizational developmentand strategic planning and leadership in acompact two-day period?

If you have not done so recently, we en-courage you to visit the OFDA website toreview our updated conference program.You can register online at http://www.of-danet.org/Dealer-Strategies-Conferencethrough the end of May to take advantageof our low ‘early bird’ rates.

MAY 2011 OFDEALER PAGE 11

May 31 is Deadline for 2011 Dealer Financial Comparison SurveyIf you haven’t yet completed the survey for this year’s OFDA Dealer FinancialComparison (DFC), please find time in the next week or so to do so. The finaldeadline for survey responses is May 31.

When it comes to finding out just how well your dealership measures upagainst industry best practices and determines your operation’s strengthsand weaknesses, there are few better resources available than OFDA’s annualDFC Survey which is prepared confidentially by Industry Insights.

But we need your participation to insure results that reflect as broad a cross-section of the industry as possible.

Go to https://www.iisecure.com/OFDA/Survey/Login.asp to get started.

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Don't be afraid to change the model.– Reed Hastings CEO Netflix

Our industry has spent the last 10+ years adapting to ever shrinking mar-gins and volume. We have all been forced to embrace the “close to thebone” business model. Dealers have honed the multi-positioning of keyemployees and the painful release of others, while many if not all manu-facturers have introduced more complex products but reduced theamount of dealer support they provide to bring them to market.

The big question today: How much or how little “people power” shoulda dealer put in place to win and manage the work? How can a dealer cre-ate a robust, low-risk, flexible model for sustainable future growth withinnovation, knowledge, stability and healthy margins? Many dealersstruggle daily to manage their staff and resources through the constantebb and flow of business that comes with the occasional tide wave ofdemand.

Outsourcing or the use of marketplace partners has become the norm inbusiness today. Though a relatively new and limited concept for officefurniture dealers, this practice has been fully embraced by many otherindustries. In the technology industry, hiring on an “as needed” basis iswidely accepted because it is simply too costly to hold a permanentskilled brain trust in-house.

Today’s business environment has cultivated a highly developed, spe-cialized breed of contractual workers and services. There is an up crop-ping of new young lean office furniture dealers that outsource virtually alltheir work and technology is what makes this new aggressive model pos-sible.

The people who resist change will beconfronted by the growing number of

people who see that better ways are available;thanks to technology.

– Microsoft chairman Bill Gates

SMART

MAY 2011 OFDEALER PAGE 13

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sourcingOutSource? MultiSource? InSource?

By Brenda Brodt

“

“

And it is not an all or none proposition. Almost all dealers whooutsource believe in multi-sourcing, blending your internal cus-tomer-centric staff with external expertise to gain agility and max-imize growth.

David Noel, president of MOI, a Knoll dealer and one of the largestdealers in the Washington, DC market, explains that they haveused outsourcing for over 20 years. It initially was a tactic to copewith surges in business. Today, it is firmly part of their businessstrategy for managing multiple locations and an extensive staffthat includes over 20 on-staff designers and their own installationteam.

“Outsourced talent often has expertise that doesn’t existing insideour own walls,” says Noel, who cited as an example a recent sit-uation involving a client who owned competitive product. “We out-sourced the reconfiguration work to maintain control of therelationship,” Noel explained.

Greg Sheridan of Metro Office Solutions, a Teknion dealer in Bel-camp, MD, is actively seeking a balance between in-house designstaff and qualified outsource partners. As with many dealers, hestruggles with the possible loss of control but understands thisnew, efficient model is most likely the future.

“A recent manufacturer transition increased our dealership’s needfor bandwidth,” explained Sheridan. “There are many different

types of design outsource vendors available. We have experi-mented with true off-shore services, a small independent and aU.S.-based company with national reach. Of course prices variedas did the services. We feel there are advantages to a companywith compatible software and errors and omissions insurance. Wehave outsourced other services with great success includingTeamDesign improvements, internal process restructuring andmonthly accounting and controller services,” he reports.

At Intereum, a large Herman Miller dealer located in Plymouth,MN, managing partner Matt Sveen is an avid proponent of out-sourcing. Even with their sizable staff, management understandsthe power of purchasing expertise from the outside. Their newestventure in outsourcing is with a PhD psychologist who is helpingthem develop a deeper cultural bond between multiple genera-tions within the company.

“We continually augment with many of the traditional servicessuch as design and installation,” explains Sveen. “We also havean ongoing affiliation with a contractual CFO who assists our con-troller, advises us in our succession strategy and has been key inthe development of our banking relationship.”

There are vast advantages to outsourcing to be leveraged insidean office furniture dealership.

Many dealers have developed a comprehensive business strategyusing many different types of outsource partners. Kris VanDieren-donck president of KV Workspace a Kimball dealer located inNew Orleans started her dealership in 1995 using outsourcing asa key component to managing her costs. She successfully con-tinues today contracting services such as IT, payroll services, in-stallation, sales training, sales strategy and design.

“Outsourcing gives me flexibility and can gain time,” saysVanDierendonck. “As we all know time kills deals.”

Is there opportunity inside your dealership to leverage the main-stream acceptance of outsourcing? The services available arevast and include:

Cover continued from page 13

MAY 2011 OFDEALER PAGE 14

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Sales & Leadership� Training

� Project Strategy

� RFP Development

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� On Boarding

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Marketing � Website Management

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Design Services� Specification

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Installation � Project Management

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� Capacity Management. A marketplace partner canassist in stabilizing workload surges.

� Flexibility. It is easier to flex hours with a vendor than tocut an employee or their hours.

� Response Time. Outsourcing can enable your companyto function 24/7 and respond more quickly to yourcustomers.

� Expertise. An outsource partner is focused andspecialized in their field. They concentrate on staying up-to-date on the latest technology, codes and guidelines intheir field. They often are best of breed.

� More Focus. Outsourcing non-core activities will giveyou more time to concentrate on core processes.

� Best Practices. An outsource service provider’s focusedexperience and exposure to multiple resources allow themto accumulate greater depth of knowledge in a particularbusiness segment. A commitment to using the bestpractices in any field is a commitment to using all theknowledge and technology at one's disposal to ensuresuccess.

� Reduce Expenses. You can move many of your fixedexpenses to variable expenses and reduce labor costs byoutsourcing. The total cost of an in-house employee isusually higher than an outside service provider.

� Control Capital Expenditures. Your outsourcing partneris investing in technology i.e. software, computers etc., notyour dealership.

� Risk Mitigation. By selecting a marketplace partner withan errors and omissions policy, you can lower yourcompany’s exposure.

� Training Costs. There are no training costs or ramp uptime involved with the use of a marketplace partner.

� Level Playing Field. Outsourcing can help yourcompany operate in an increasingly competitivemarketplace. It can enable a smaller company to match orout perform a larger competitor’s in-house support staff.

� Networking. Your outsource partner may be a sourcefor networking, referral opportunities and lead generation.

On the flip side there are certainly less positive aspects to usingmarket partners to be considered and addressed throughout theprocess.

� Trust. You are putting your company’s reputation insomeone else’s hands and creating possible exposure ofconfidential information. It is extremely important to select avendor with aligned values by interviewing and checkingreferences just like you would with a new employee. Your

contract should include a confidentiality clause.

� Complexity of Transaction. It can be perceived asbeing more complex to manage an outsource vendor vs.using in-house staff. A co-management or in-housequarterback is the essential mechanism for communicatingand managing individual projects and ensuring that theparties in the relationship understand and agree on thecurrent business strategy, sourcing maxims, sourcingstrategy and delivery strategy.

� Lack of Control. Customers may not be handled theway you prefer. Using your own staff for client interface andrelationship management is often preferable.

� Threatened Dealership Employees. Your employeesmay feel threatened by the use of outsourcing. Thecommunication of your outsourcing strategy with your teamcan actually create a cooperative and productive situation.

� Non-Exclusive Outsourcing Relationship. Youroutsource provider may be catering to more than onecompany and may not be exclusively focused on yourcompany. Developing and maintaining an outsourcepartnership that understands your business strategy andforecast is advisable.

� Managing Expectations. Develop a contract with theexact scope, thereby ensuring that the parties in therelationship understand and agree on the current businessstrategy, delivery strategy and deadlines.

� Lack of Company Knowledge. Your outsource partnermost likely will not have an understanding of yourcompany’s processes, ethics or culture. Business strategieschange during the course of a sourcing relationship. Aninternal company coach to manage the process and handleall communication will ensure greater success.

When developing an outsource portfolio, consider the following:

� What work should be outsourced?

You can outsource simple tasks such as a single speccheck or long term more complex projects or serviceagreements such as sales management over manymonths. Either way all work should be well defined.

� How do you define scope?

Develop a detailed description of what is to besupplied (the deliverables), with any additional servicesto be provided and other options, all with a concisetimeline.

Cover continued from page 14

MAY 2011 OFDEALER PAGE 16

continued on page 17

Cover continued from page 16

� A service level agreement orcontract is critical.

This should outline fees, scopeand address protocol for errors.

� Your mess for less?

Be realistic. Are you outsourcingas a way to hand over amuddied business process thatneeds cleaning up?

� Develop solid communicationbetween your dealership and theservice provider.

This may be a functiondelegated to a single personinside your organization to act asa liaison.

� There should be continualand/or periodic review of servicelevels to ensure they're being met.

One decision organizations mustmake in outsourcing is howtightly the monitoring must be.Too tight and transaction costsrise. Too loose and riskincreases.

Many businesses view outsourcing moreas the simple delegation of tasks than. thedevelopment of a refined business strat-egy. Certainly, there are advantages to bal-ancing a dealerships’ daily load of endlesstasks but we would be remiss in not ex-panding the unlimited opportunities to fur-ther our business prowess through theknowledge and expertise of outsourcevendors.

The point is that outsourcing is a simpleterm for a multitude of simple or complexactivities. There are many ways to usethese services and many reasons why. Itmay be time for you to consider incorpo-rating or increasing your level of outsourc-ing to advance your business strategy andcreate a more sustainable dealer modelthat works for you.

Brenda Brodt is a veteran in the contract furniture

industry with over 20 years of experience. She

joined Junge + Associates as a sales, leadership

and operations specialist in 2009, where she

provides consulting services that include

development, training and implementation of

best practices. Her years of practical work

experience include leadership positions with

multiple dealerships that are aligned with

Steelcase, Kimball, Haworth and most recently

Knoll. For more information, visit

www.jungeassociates.com.

MAY 2011 OFDEALER PAGE 17

Combining several offices into one is never an easy task, but ac-

cording to Kevin Kennedy, vice president of sales for Waldner’s

Business Environments in New York City, a melding of the minds

made the consolidation of Publicis Healthcare Communications

Group’s three offices with three distinct groups of employees into

one centralized location one of the easiest projects of the year.

An aligned Steelcase dealer since 1939, Waldner’s is a certified

women-owned dealership that does about $100 million a year out of

three locations in Farmingdale, Westchester, and New York City, NY.

Waldner’s preexisting relationship with a member of the project

management firm responsible for the new real estate allowed the

dealership to avoid the bid process and jump into the project very

early in the planning stages.

A leading healthcare communications agency offering a wide

range of corporate communication and media services, including

creative advertising, media and campaign planning, marketing,

and public relations, Publicis’ decision to move into a brand new

office building in Ardsley, PA would require all new furnishings to

fill the three-story space, including 280 workstations and 82 private

offices for its more than 375 employees.

“The project manager, Steve Whaler of WG Project Management,

did his homework well in advance,” said Kennedy, who explained

that Whaler had priced out a number of different manufacturers

and dealers in advance of deciding on Waldner's. "Whaler knew

what his clients were looking for and what would fit the space."

"Today's new business reality has changed," said Kennedy.

"Clients are more budget conscious and want a high-quality prod-

uct that is aesthetically pleasing and has great functionality and

they want it without spending a lot of money."

Working with the tight budget, AIS was chosen as the primary

manufacturer for all 362 workstations/desks and the office's break-

room areas with the conference room furnished by Nucraft and

seating from Global-The Total Office, Humanscale and Steelcase.

"Some of the workstations would be used for employee groups

that have to work together and communicate frequently," said

Kennedy. "Although not publicly released, the design firm for the

project was introduced to AIS's new Calibrate freestanding desk-

ing solution and liked the open feel and low panels. AIS's DiVi

monolithic workspaces were chosen for the private offices."

Orders were placed and time lines arranged to coordinate the in-

stallation in three stages. Because AIS's Calibrate product was so

new and the client wanted customization of Calibrate panels and

MAY 2011 OFDEALER PAGE 18

projectprofile

CommunicatingTeamwork

By Alicia Ellis

continued on page 19

benching, Kennedy worked very closely with AIS senior vice pres-

ident of sales Ben Maxwell and executive vice president of sales

and marketing Rob Lazarus.

"We were happy to work with Waldner's and to further develop

our Calibrate product to suit Publicis' needs," said Lazarus. "Our

goal is to make it easier on the dealer to complete a project and

maintain their profitability.”

Furnishings were shipped directly to the site and Waldner’s team

of installers was able to put everything together within the aggres-

sive schedule with no problems to speak of.

The combination of project manager, client, design team, manu-

facturers and support staff at Waldner’s helped to make every-

thing run smooth," said Kennedy. "You hope for a couple of these

types of jobs a year and start to finish, this was one of them."

Profile continued from page 18

MAY 2011 OFDEALER PAGE 19

Every so often, the Harvard Business Review publishes a break-

through issue. I was excited to see that the special double issue

for Jan/Feb 2011, which turns the spotlight on business model

innovation, was one of those exceptional issues.

Typically, many HBR articles are geared to larger corporations and

their leaders. However, this issue was equally applicable to small

businesses—for that matter, to our entire industry—in terms of

addressing innovative leadership and strategic planning.

As a follow-up to my December 2010 column titled, “2011:

Greater Opportunity, Greater Risk,” I thought it could be very ben-

eficial for dealer principals and their management teams to ex-

tract some of the gems of wisdom from the recent HBR.

Reinvent Your BusinessIn an article titled, “Reinvent Your Business Before It’s Too Late,”

Paul Nunes and Tim Breene write about the dire consequences

of failing to reinvent yourself in time.

They cite an alarming statistic published in the book Stall Points

Business ModelInnovation for 2011By Bill Kuhn

MAY 2011 OFDEALER PAGE 20

continued on page 21

by Matthew S. Olson and Derek van Bever,

namely that, “When a company runs up

against a major stall in its growth, it has less

than a 10% chance of ever fully recovering,”

with many of those companies later being

acquired or forced into bankruptcy.

That’s particularly interesting in light of a

recent industry poll in which 67% of those

polled said they did not believe our indus-

try would return to a $10 billion per year

business in the next five years.

The office furniture industry fared better than

that 10% chance of recovery during the 2000

to 2002 recession, as many dealers found

ways to expand in product areas such as

green products and LEED projects, as well

as expanding into growth markets including

healthcare, education, and government.

However, those dealers who didn’t move

quickly often became the kind of casual-

ties cited by Olson and van Bever.

Nunes and Breene suggest that at-risk

companies typically focus on their existing

operations and wait too long in preparing

the groundwork for their future. Compa-

nies frequently fail to move from the end

of one performance curve to the rising

slope of another.

Their research also indicates that those

companies that successfully reinvent

themselves have two traits in common:

first, the ability to broaden their focus be-

yond their present product lifecycles, and

second, the ability to address three key

areas—the need to track the basis of com-

petition in their industry, renew their capa-

bilities and nurture a ready supply of talent.

How many of you really address these

areas as you develop your business plan?

This article on reinventing your business is

packed full of strategies and thought

processes to address these three areas. I will

certainly be incorporating these concepts

when I work with dealers in their strategic

planning processes.

Business Model continued from page 20

MAY 2011 OFDEALER PAGE 21

continued on page 22

...at-risk companiestypically focus on

their existingoperations and wait

too long inpreparing the

groundwork fortheir future.

“

Design a Winning Business ModelAnother informative article in the Harvard Business Review issue

on innovative business planning is by Ramon Casadesus-

Masanell and Joan Ricart and titled, “How to Design a Winning

Business Model.”

While most companies are engaged in some type of business

model planning, the authors contend they typically develop their

models in isolation without adequately thinking about competi-

tion, even models that companies believe are highly innovative.

The writers state that a company’s model must depend upon how

it interacts with the models of other players in the industry, argu-

ing that a more narrow view dooms many to failure.

Other players are no longer just manufacturers, independent in-

stallers, design firms, and competitive dealers. Increasingly, they

include commercial brokers and a constantly changing mosaic of

different rationales and decision-making authority among cus-

tomers. One needs to know how, who, and where these customer

decisions will be made.

It is important to develop your strategies around the vulnerabilities

of competitive players, including conducting your own SWOT

analysis (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats) as

well as a SWOT analysis for each of the major players in your mar-

ket, particularly those doing well and perhaps a step ahead of you

in their creative thinking.

The Role of Leaders in Business Model Reinvention Business model reinvention requires leadership on the part of the

dealer principal and his or her management team. The third article

I reference is titled “The CEO’s Role in Business Model Reinven-

tion” by Vijay Govindarajan and Chris Trimble, both with the Tuck

School of Business at Dartmouth.

In past articles, I’ve written about the need for the appropriate vi-

sion, about change, flexibility and organizational realignment.

These authors perhaps say it better. They contend that a forward-

looking CEO must do three things: Manage the present, selec-

tively forget the past and create the future.

They argue that for companies to endure, they must get the right

balance among three boxes: Box 1 being preservation, Box 2

being destruction, and Box 3 being creation.

The authors go on to say that most companies overwhelmingly

focus on Box 1—managing the present (i.e., preservation).

I certainly cannot argue against that position. Of the dealers I’ve

observed and consulted with, I would estimate that 80-90% are

devoted to the present (i.e., I have my hands full at trying to sur-

vive and get through these difficult times).

Perhaps 10% are devoted to the future (I’ll worry about that when

I know times will be better), and roughly 5% to selectively forget-

ting the past (I can change…if I have to).

I’ve continually preached that real change is very difficult. The

writers state it slightly differently: “Before you can create, you

must forget.”

They add that many companies become too comfortable with

their existing business models and that they need to reinvent

those models to fend off new competition.

A Call for Innovative Planning and LeadershipThis HBR issue triggered my thinking on several issues that deal-

ers should be continuously reassessing.

What happens if you do, or do not, have a competitive differenti-

ated advantage? Are you looking at all of your potential opportu-

nities (including new growth) and are you positioned to respond

to possible threats?

Do you know when and when not to outsource? Have you and

your leadership team developed a mindset that will create a busi-

ness model based upon innovation?

BIFMA is now forecasting 2011 orders to increase by 9%, ship-

ments by 14%. The majority in an industry poll believe that is a

too robust a forecast, but the industry is looking better.

The opportunity is here and the time is now; however, it appears

that it is still survival of the fittest. Capturing that opportunity in a

timely fashion will require an innovative business model. Take to

heart what these HBR authors have said.

Bill Kuhn, principal of William E. Kuhn & Associates, is a noted industry

consultant, writer, and speaker with over 35 years of industry experience. He

consults with dealer principals and their management teams in areas of strategic

planning, leadership and organizational development, marketing, financial

management, valuation and merger/acquisition. For more information, contact Bill

by phone 303-322-8233, fax 303-331-9032, or e-mail: BillKuhn1@cs.com.

Business Model continued from page 21

MAY 2011 OFDEALER PAGE 22

2011

m | t | w

June 13–15The Merchandise MartChicago

neocon.com

Come see.

Pre-Register by June 11th & Save | Onsite Registration is $25

The 43rd annual NeoCon World’s Trade

Fair, which runs June 13–15 at Chicago’s

Merchandise Mart, is North America’s

largest exhibition of contract furnishings

for the design and management of the

built environment.

NeoCon features the latest design trends,

products, and concepts in office, health-

care, hospitality, residential, institutional and

government interior environments from more

than 700 showrooms and exhibitors.

Keynote speakers at this year’s event in-

clude CEO of Frisker Automotive, Henrik

Fisker; actor and environmental activist Ed

Begley; film and television set director Amy

Wells, sponsored by Paoli; Editor-in-Chief of

Architectural Digest, Margaret Russell, and

President and CEO of Global Green USA,

Matt Peterson, sponsored by Allsteel.

In conjunction with NeoCon, OFDA will

once again be offering its Dealer Strategies

Seminar Series led by industry experts and

focused on the issues that concern office fur-

niture dealer principals, project managers,

senior sales and operations managers the

most. Sessions include:

� How to Wow Interior De-

signers in the Furniture Specifi-

cation Process by Stephen Witte,

project leader for Stephen Witte

Associates, Evansville, IN, who will

teach dealer sales associates how

to build a loyal following by bring-

ing the “wow” factor when selling

to interior designers. A design ex-

pert will illustrate which specifica-

tion information is most useful,

how to customize your presenta-

tions for maximum impact, and

how to build loyalty with better

communication and service.

� After-market Business Op-

portunities for the New Furniture

Dealer, presented by Keith Ver-

Hage, principal at United Asset

Management in Alto, MI, is de-

signed to teach dealers how to

identify customers who are as-is

furniture buyers without compro-

mising new furniture business.

Topics include managing customer

expectations in the after-market

business, how to handle logistics

such as freight and expenses and

how to create a financial model for

the right profit margin. Dealers al-

ready in the after-market business

can sharpen their skills to maximize

revenue and control expenses.

MAY 2011 OFDEALER PAGE 24

continued on page 25

NeoCon®20

11

� Leveraging and Integrating Technology Tools for Improved

Processes, Customer Experiences and Profitability, presented by

David Solomon, principal at SolomonCoyle, LLC in Alexandria, VA, will

help dealers find ways to increase efficiency, improve communications

and reduce internal operating costs. This session will include examples

of how dealers are integrating new technologies in areas such as lead

management, work order management and project management to dif-

ferentiate their companies in the market, compete to win and manage

business more effectively

� Solomon will also conduct a seminar entitled The Dealer’s Role in

the Integrated Project Delivery (IPD) Process and the opportunity for

dealers to position themselves as a trusted consultant, strategic partner

to their clients and valued member of the project team. Learn how IPD

works, how the dealer fits into the project team dynamic, and how deal-

ers can move from being viewed as a vendor to taking an active role in

the process.

� Wayne Breitbarth, president of M&M Office Interiors, Inc. in Pewau-

kee, WI, self-professed Linkedin guru and frequent writer and speaker for

OFDA, will host LinkedIn for Skeptics and Novice Users, a seminar de-

signed to teach dealers about the merits of social media. Discover not

only why professionals should use LinkedIn, but also how to navigate the

world's largest business networking site, create a powerful personal pro-

file and develop a strategy that will lead to more customers, business

opportunities or perhaps even a new job or career.

� RFP Responses: Outsource or In-House is a session led by Evan

Morris, founder of RFP Specialists, LLC in Greenwood Village, CO, that

will show dealers that, when presented with the opportunity to react to a

high dollar volume, low margin RFP, there are compelling reasons to con-

sider outsourcing the process. Find out how to provide a high quality,

world class response that most likely will cost less than if you used in-

house resources to respond and review the basics for organizing a logi-

cal response to an RFP that will help dealers get to the next step, and

win.

In addition to the many opportunities for attendees to network with manufactur-

ers, colleagues, new business prospects and peers, more than 40,000 industry

professionals from around the world will have the opportunity to review thousands

of new products from more than 700 of the world’s top manufacturers for com-

mercial office, residential, health care, hospitality, institutional and government

design environments.

Following are just a few of the many products that will be showcased at this year’s

NeoCon. Check out more products in OFDA's weekly Connecting eNewsletter.

To subscribe, visit OFDA's website.

NeoCon continued from page 24

MAY 2011 OFDEALER PAGE 25

A Benefit for Barry Coyle

Join us in honoring Barry Coyle's dedication to ourindustry by establishing a scholarship in his name.

When: Sunday, June 12 from 5:00 to 7:00 PM (the day before NeoCon)

Where: Wine & Beer Tasting Reception, The Artisan Cellar, Suite 116, Merchandise Mart, Chicago

Why: Join with Barry's friends and colleagues torecognize his many contributions to ourindustry, celebrate his life and work, andraise funds to establish an annual Barry E.Coyle Memorial Scholarship

Special Guests: Gayle Wyborny and Brian Coyle,Barry's wife and son

Please join hosts Mark Vignoles of ServiceWest andDavid Solomon of SolomonCoyle for the Barry E.Coyle Memorial and Scholarship Fundraiser. Thisevent honoring Barry offers the opportunity toshare our memories, connect with colleagues andpay tribute to his legacy.

Our goal is to raise $25,000 to establish a namedscholarship to be awarded annually through theOFDA Association Scholarship Fund. The scholar-ship will commemorate Barry's many contributionsto our industry and his extraordinary commitmentto higher education, training and continuous im-provement.

Please RSVP to the event by calling 800.542.6672or email Billie Zidek, Scholarship Coordinator atBZidek@iopfda.org. For more information, visitOFDA's Scholarship page.

Visual Impression20-20 Visual Impression software creates full-scene, manufac-turer-specific, 3D visualizations of office environments. As a com-panion product, it is tightly integrated with 20-20 CAP Studio,20-20 Giza Studio and 20-20 Worksheet. This integration withthe design and sales software that dealers are using today fitsinto the current workflow and makes 3D visualizations possibleon every project, helping to shorten the sales cycle, lowers costsand create more satisfied customers.

� 20-20 Technologies800-227-0038 | www.2020technologies.com7th Floor, #7030

New Seating OptionsBallara is a collection of single and modular seating units that in-corporate lounge, table and power components. From the clubto the open armed seating and bench, Ballara units can gang to-gether to incorporate an infinite number of lounge seating sce-narios. The Duet high-density stacking chair with built-in wallsaver feature and a waterfall front seat design can be stacked upto 40 with a mobile dolly and up to 10 high on the floor. The Romafamily of seating is available in three versions: mesh, upholsteredor perforated flexible polypropylene. A flexible built in lumbar sup-port changes shape with user movement.

� Global - The Total Officewww.thinkglobalstyle.com10th Floor, #1035

MAY 2011 OFDEALER PAGE 26

continued on page 27

NeoCon®20

11

CalibrateUse AIS Calibrate to construct open plan desking and benchingas well as private office solutions. This new product contains free-standing components and accessories to pump up the volume ofany traditional office space while delivering custom workspaces.Consider Calibrate an à la carte offering with flexible upscale com-ponents you can mix and match. Calibrate components can becoupled with any AIS product.

� AIS | 800.434.7400www.ais-inc.com10th Floor, # 1082

CET Designer 2.6 Configura’s CET Designer 2.6 will launch on August 15. Best ofNeoCon award-winning CET Designer is used to design andspecify office furnishings and space. The software producesphoto-realistic renderings in 2D and 3D, video fly-thrus, accuratebills of materials and complete installation instructions. NewPhoto Lab, included automatically with CET Designer 2.6 offersphotorealism rendering in a single design-and-specification so-lution. Enables immediate post-rendering processing andchanges, renders multiple images at once, performs automaticupdates and eliminates need for add-on-tools or outsourcing.

� Configura www.configura.com7th Floor, #7046

Canvas Office LandscapeHerman Miller, Inc., introduces its latest advancement in systemsdesign: Canvas Office Landscape. Bringing choice, harmony andconnection to the interior workspace, Canvas Office Landscapeprovides a look and can be moved from one application to an-other. Scalable in price and performance, it enables endusers toleverage one solution for multiple applications.

� Herman Miller888.443.4357 | www.hermanmiller.com3rd Floor, #321

NeoCon Preview continued from page 26

MAY 2011 OFDEALER PAGE 27

MADE IN COLORS

InTouch true blueAn utterly hip and versatile seating experience,

InTouch is available in 6 designer colors on an innovative thermal-plastic back, with matching seat fabrics. InTouch: superior comfort and support – and good looks.

available in: black sage slate chestnut white battleship

Visit us at NeoCon June 13 -15, 10th floor, showroom 110

continued on page 28

Think SmartFrom the reception area to interactive learning stations and com-puter labs, Lacasse offers a complete range of products coveringthe full needs of teaching establishments. All components are de-signed to meet user requirements in terms of ergonomics, flexi-bility and the integration of new technologies. Think Smart. ThinkEnvironment. Groupe Lacasse is GreenGuard Children & Schoolcertified.

� Groupe Lacasse888.522.2773 | www.groupelacasse.com10th Floor, #1042

VoiAn integrated solution for multiple work styles, Voi’s collection oflayered worksurfaces and practical storage components is de-signed to meet the personal needs of any user in any type ofworkplace application from private and semi-private office toteaming, touch down and open plan. Not only does Voi achievethe right mix of functionality and style, it creates a unified, cohe-sive aesthetic for an entire workplace community.

� The HON Companywww.hon.com | 800.553.823011th Floor, #1130

Cover continued from page 27

continued on page 29

Strategic Planning and Risk/Opportunity AnalysisStrategic Planning and Risk/Opportunity Analysis

Merger/AcquisitionMerger/Acquisition

Executive CounselingExecutive Counseling

Succession Planning and Exit StrategySuccession Planning and Exit Strategy

Valuation and Maximizing Owner ValueValuation and Maximizing Owner Value

William E. Kuhn & AssociatesWilliam E. Kuhn & AssociatesWilliam E. Kuhn & Associates billkuhn1@cs.com billkuhn1@cs.com billkuhn1@cs.com 303303303---322322322---823382338233

We Can Help You Reach the SummitWe Can Help You Reach the Summit

MAY 2011 OFDEALER PAGE 28

FinnInfluenced by mid-century Scandinavian design and joining woodand aluminum, Finn displays the natural beauty of wood with aclear finish that reveals the true fingerprint of each species. Finnis built to exceed BIFMA standards to live for many generationsof proud furniture owners. Arm and armless models with one, twoand three seat capacity accompany a full range of lounge tables.

� Jasper Groupcommunityfurniture.com3rd Floor, #111

New Priority OptionsWith several new additions, Kimball Office’s casegood line, Pri-ority, is designed to allow people to move seamlessly betweenindividual and group work modes. New pieces include benchingand worktable solutions with space-dividing and mobile storagebench height components, vertical units, and stanchion-sup-ported overheads. There are height-adjustable tables with multi-ple adjustment options, too. Priority will also feature new pullsand new wood and woodgrain laminate finish options. Priority isSCS Indoor Advantage and BIFMA level certified.

� Kimball Officewww.kimballoffice.com | (800) 482-1818325 N. Wells Street

TransAction 120º WorkstationTransAction’s 120-degree, 3-person workstation allows threepeople to work individually yet come together collaboratively.Acrylic screens add privacy, power/data are concealed in theunder table trough and monitor posts can be placed in the centerfor shared use. The workstation is available in Mayline’s full se-lection of high-pressure laminates and corporate paints includingnew Tech Silver. A knife-edge profile and a stylish leg end panelwith coordinating laminate strip complete the look.

� Maylinewww.mayline.com11th Floor, #1147

MiiMii is all about you. With multiple design options and a comfortflex-back, all Miis nest together, allowing anyone to create work-space possibilities by multiplying seating capabilities. Flip up theseat for compact storage. A variety of style options and optionalphenolic tablet arm with pencil holder are also available.

� Safco | 800.328.3020www.safcoproducts.com3rd Floor, # 331

NeoCon Preview continued from page 28

MAY 2011 OFDEALER PAGE 29

continued on page 30

Exhibit Exhibit’s use of wall space with various inserts, such as slat wallsand work tools, marker boards and tack boards, serve as an or-ganizational coach, brainstormer or an impromptu art gallery. Ex-hibit’s wall rail solution supports National’s WaveWorksworksurfaces and overhead cabinets, which can be positionedanywhere along the rail. The rail, along with tackable and markerboard inserts, can be field scribed for a custom fit without thecustom price. Exhibit is SCS Indoor Advantage Gold andANSI/BIFMA level 2 certified which can contribute towards LEEDpoints.

� National Office Furniture800.482.1717 | www.nationalofficefurniture.com325 North Wells Street

Livello Work and MeetingRoom TablesLivello workstation and mobile flip-top tables are height-ad-justable workstation tables that permit seated or standing workand encourage a variety of postures. Mobile Flip-Top meeting ta-bles are ideal for collaborative activities and group tasks that re-quire space larger than the typical workstation. Livello meets orexceeds industry standards for various ergonomic requirements.

� Teknionwww.teknion.com | 877.TEKNION10th Floor, #1048

NeoCon Preview continued from page 29

MAY 2011 OFDEALER PAGE 30

In previous articles we have discussed thevalue of connecting with other profession-als via LinkedIn and developing a compre-hensive profile that will allow people to findyou when they are searching on LinkedIn.

The next step to maximizing your usage ofLinkedIn is learning how to effectively findothers. LinkedIn can be used for findingnot only prospective customers andclients but also for finding:

� New strategic vendors andsuppliers� People you want to join you in aproject or endeavor, including acharity or not-for-profit with whichyou are involved� New employees� An expert in a specific industry� Someone you want to engage in asocial/business event, e.g., a golfouting or networking event� People you want to meet whenyou are out of town for an event� A speaker for an upcoming eventyou are hosting� People who are responsible fororganizing events at which you maybe qualified to speak or participate

By using keywords and other search crite-ria—such as region, job title, group affilia-tion, etc.—you can easily find the peopleyou are looking for.

Ask yourself, “Who do I really want tofind?” As a business owner, business de-veloper or job seeker you will need to iden-tify which keywords the person you want

to find has most likely included in his pro-file. If that person has done a good job ofcreating his profile, you’ll find him or her.

Bear in mind that LinkedIn has over 100million members. In other words, once youselect your search criteria and hit theSearch button, you are looking throughwhat is the largest database of resumes inthe world.

No tool like this existed prior to LinkedIn,and the site becomes more and more use-ful each time a new person joins—andsomeone joins up every second of the day.

As LinkedIn becomes increasingly popular,the database will become that much moreuseful. But enough of the generalities—let’s get on to how an actual search mightwork for you.

As an office furniture dealer myself, I amalways thinking about the keywords mypotential customers would have in theirprofiles.

Two of those words would be facility andfacilities, because in many of the largercorporations, the people I target have titleslike Director of Facilities, Facility Manager,or something of a similar nature. For thatreason, I do most of my searching in theAdvanced People Search function ofLinkedIn.

If you go to the top of any LinkedIn page,you can access the search feature byclicking the word Advanced, which is justto the right of the magnifying glass on thetop right of the toolbar. I type “facility ORfacilities” in the keyword box and push the

blue Search button at the bottom of thescreen.

This searches the entire LinkedIn networkfor my query, ultimately finding 75,818 pro-files that have the word facility or facilities.

That’s obviously too many for me to re-view, and my market is not the entireworld. So, if I go back and modify the ad-vanced search to find contacts within a50-mile radius of my zip code, I now get764 results.

That number is much more manageableand more regionally relevant, and if youthink about what it represents—people inmy region who somewhere in their profile,have the word facility or facilities—you seethat it’s an important list for me.

But let’s continue refining the search. Let’ssay that, on top of facility or facilities, Iwould like to search for employees of acertain company.

So, I choose one of the larger companiesin my marketplace, Harley-Davidson, andadd it to the Company line. Now I amsearching for Harley-Davidson employeeswith facility or facilities in their profiles whowork at a location within 50 miles of my zipcode. That produces 13 results.

By now I think you see how you can usethe different search boxes on the Ad-vanced People Search page, which allowsyou to narrow the entire LinkedIn databasedown to a small, targeted group.

Keep in mind that the success of yoursearches is directly related to the number

LinkedIn Advanced People Search:

Your Ticket to Improved ROIBy Wayne Breitbarth

MAY 2011 OFDEALER PAGE 31

continued on page 32

of people to whom you are connected onLinkedIn.

There is no exact number of connectionsyou must have to perform effectivesearches, but I do know it takes at least50 to 70 quality connections before yoursearch will consistently provide significantresults.

This part of LinkedIn, the finding part, re-ally rewards the person who has spenttime building his or her professional net-work and then makes the effort to putthose people into LinkedIn as first-levelconnections.

Saved SearchesOnce you land on a search that producesquality targets for you, LinkedIn allows youto save that search.

This is one of the best features onLinkedIn, but it is often overlooked. Fromthe screen that shows your search results,simply click Save on the top right and thenchoose whether you want LinkedIn to send

you an e-mail weekly or monthly to notifyyou if a new person who meets your searchcriteria has been found in your network (in-cluding Levels 1, 2, 3, and Groups).

You can save up to three searches with afree LinkedIn account.

If you are not saying to yourself, “Oh mygosh, that is so cool!” you are not under-standing the power of the saved searchfunction.

This is a perpetual lead generator, and it isabsolutely free. So, when LinkedIn notifiesyou of a new search result, get on thephone and set up a meeting with this per-son who has become a part of your net-work. It could turn out to be a home run.

In user surveys that I conduct on a semi-annual basis, Advanced People Search isconsistently rated as the most useful fea-ture on LinkedIn.

This is really where the money is. It’s whereyou will undoubtedly see the majority ofyour productivity on LinkedIn.

As you continue to grow your LinkedInnetwork and learn how to maximize yoursearch results, you should begin to see aneven greater return on your time invest-ment in LinkedIn.

Using the all-important keywords, consis-tently try to identify and search for the per-son you would love to find and make aconnection with—and then get ready tosee your ROI soar.

Wayne Breitbarth is an owner of M&M Office

Interiors in Pewaukee, Wisconsin. Wayne began

moonlighting as an unofficial LinkedIn trainer in

early 2009 and has now led seminars for over

10,000 business professionals across the

country. He was a featured speaker at last year's

OFDA Dealer Strategies Conference and has

recently released a book entitled The Power

Formula for LinkedIn Success. Contact Wayne at

wbreitbarth@mmoffice.com

www.powerformula.net

www.linkedin.com/in/waynebreitbarth

LinkedIn continued from page 31

MAY 2011 OFDEALER PAGE 32

Jaynie Smith

Uncover Your Competitive AdvantageRealign Marketing and Management Strategies to Transform your Business for Future Success

Jaynie Smith’s customized keynote for this year’s OFDA Dealer Strategies Conference will focus on helping you uncover and clearly define your true competitive advantages and realign marketing and management strategies to “transform your busi-nesses for future success” – the theme of OFDA’s 2011 event. In an industry and general economic environment characterized by unprecedented competition and extreme margin pressures, her focus on differentia-tion of your organization from the competition will help your company close more sales, improve margins and retain more customers.

OFDA Dealer Strategies ConferenceKeynote Speaker Jaynie Smith

Keynote Speaker

Founder & CEOSmart Advantage, Inc.

www.ofdanet.org/conference

Jaynie Smith Highlights: 15 Top Performer Awards for CEO Coaching

Contributing Business Expert Columnist to Affluent Magazine Featured in telecast with Jay Conrad Levinson of Guerrilla Marketing Association Guest on Bloomberg Radio, WABC Radio "Brinker Show,"& NPR affiliate WLRN

Featured in Entrepreneur, IndustryWeek, Investors Business Daily & Business Strategies Author of the best-selling Creating Competitive Advantage (2006) - now in its 10th printing Radio host of Mind Your Biz Today on The Biz - South Florida’s only business radio station