Issue 12

Inside this issue:



Sherry Pelkey
Marketing Coordinator & Trainer
Atlantic Canada
Click here for Sherry's Bio

Audie McCarthy

Audie McCarthy
founder and president
of Marrek Solutions Inc.
Click here for Audie's bio

Lisa Dennie

Lisa Dennie
Training Associate
Click here for Lisa's Bio



Contact:
Phone:

902.367.1251

Email:

sherry@marrek.com

Web:

www.marrek.com

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Greater Charlottetown Area Chamber Of Commerce

Prince Edward Island Business Women's Association

J.A. Advisor

 

Since my work with SISO on the Workplace Development Toolkit (www.thetoolkit.ca), I have become keenly aware of the state of the Internationally Trained Professionals and Trades people in this country. I was recently reminded of the reality of how this affects business and community life.

Last week I had the privilege of attending a luncheon where the keynote speaker was Mr. Marvin Ryder, Professor at the De Groote School of Business in Hamilton. He was speaking about the trends affecting the economy and, of course, diversity was front and centre. The one thing he said that really stood out for me was that previous immigration to this country was by people with whom we had a common European heritage and as a result integration happened very easily. Because current immigration includes people with whom we do not share a common heritage and who do not look like us, it frightens us. We know that we need new Canadians to sustain a viable economy, and so we have to get over our fear and come to know, understand and welcome them. Then together we can build a sustainable economy.

This means two things: we have to update our view of our community to include people of all backgrounds, racial and ethnic. Also, we need to get to know more about the needs and preferences of these new Canadians to include them in our marketing plans.

Since this group possesses $76 billion worth of combined purchasing power in Canada (http://lookingahead.bc.ca/employer/index.cfm?chp=2), they hold huge potential for our businesses. Coming to understand their various cultural backgrounds and what appeals to them will help us include them in our labour and business markets. And that just makes good business sense.

Please see the Tips section below for help in integrating new Canadians into your marketing plan.

Have a great week.

 Lisa

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Marrek Moments

Tammy Younker of Inspired Life Coaching successfully delivered a lunch & learn session on the topic of The Power of Gratitude to a full room hosted by the PEI Business Women’s Association.

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  Events

April 22, 2008

PEI Business Women’s Association

Lunch and Learn - The Basics of Investing - Charlottetown
Presenter: Kim MacInnis, Wellington West

Studies have shown that, in general, women are more concerned with the fear of losing money than the chance of gaining it. Ease your concerns and gain knowledge and confidence. Learn the basics of registered retirement savings plans (RRSPs).

To register, contact Paula Laybolt by e-mail at office@peibwa.org or by phone at (902) 892-6040.

Registration deadline: Friday, April 19, 2008 at 4 pm.

12:00 noon - 1:30 pm  Location
Boardroom - Wellington West
119 Kent Street, Suite 310
Charlottetown  Price
Members - $15.00 plus GST
Non-Members - $20.00 plus GST

April 19 & 20
Greater Summerside Chamber of Commerce presents:
Showcase 2008 - "Think Green"

Summerside Marine Terminal Building

Saturday 10:00 a.m. - 8:00 p.m.

Sunday 10:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.

Door Prize Sponsors: Via Rail Canada  & Loyalist Lakeview Resort

Attention Business Owners : To participate as an exhibitor contact the chamber directly at 902.436.9651 or i nfo@chamber.summerside.ca

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Workshops

The Marrek Group presents “Live more Confidently” Workshop Series

Seating is limited to ensure the best possible learning environment and pre-registration is required one week prior to workshop

Coping with Change – April 23

 9am – 12noon

This half-day workshop encourages participants to look at change and its impact both personally and professionally. 

Topics include:

  • Approaches to change
  • Resisting change
  • Benefits of accepting change
  • Skills required to accept and adapt to change

Successful Selling Techniques – April 30th

9am – 4pm

This one-day introduction to sales workshop is intended to help improve your sales results through the use of the six-step selling process. 

Topics include:

  • discovering personal strengths
  • how to use them to connect with customers
  • mastering the art of relationship-building
  • the philosophy of the soft sell and securing repeat business

Other “Live more Confidently” workshops coming Soon:

 Stress in the Workplace-May 14-9am-12noon

 Location: Sherwood Business Centre – Conference Room

161 St. Peters Rd. Charlottetown, PE

For more information and to register simply call Sherry at 902.367.1251 or via email: sherry@marrek.com.

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UPEI Centre for Life Long Learning

 

Creating AMAZING Customer Service – May 7 th, May 8 th

It's not enough these days to provide "ok" customer service, loyal customers are hard to come by, and once you have them you want to keep them from being lured from the competition.

This workshop is designed to improve customer service skills by focusing on areas such as projecting a professional image and understanding how providing poor customer service impacts the image of your organization, customer perceptions and the bottom line.

Two Full Days
8:30 - 4:30, May 7th and 8th, 2008,
Main Building, UPEI, 550 University Avenue, Charlottetown.

Register Online at http://www.upei.ca/extension/short/schedule.html

Or call the Centre at 902.566.0336

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ProfitLearn PEI Upcoming Workshops

April 10 th & April 15 – 6:30pm to 9:30

Practical Promotional Pointers
Presented By: Sherry Pelkey, The Marrek Group

Explore techniques to engage your target customer with practical, economical methods. Activities include Idea Generator and realistic planning tools to assist you in captivating your customer. Topics include:

  • Elements of Promotion
  • The Emotional Connection – new P’s to consider
  • What today’s customer is really buying from you
  • Customer Retention

Details and to Register:

April 10 th – Best Western, Grafton St., Charlottetown

Contact: Greater Charolottetown Chamber, Winnie O’Leary 902.628.2000

April 15 th – Loyalist Hotel, Summerside

Contact: Greater Summerside Chamber, Joan Glover 902.436.9651

April 17 th, 2008 1:30pm – 4:30pm

Effectively Assertive - Selling Yourself!
Presented By: Sherry Pelkey, The Marrek Group

Upon completion of this workshop, you will be able to:

  • Identify your personal assertiveness style.
  • Demonstrate your understanding of how it differs from others and how it impacts others.
  • Identify personal hot buttons and verbally express your reactions to those hot buttons.
  • Express your feelings with confidence and clarity.
  • Demonstrate increased confidence when dealing with situations that were previously avoided or handled ineffectively.

Location:
Slemon Park Convention Centre, Summerside

Click here for details

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Tips

Marketing to New Canadians  

  1. Focus on a niche market of new Canadians.
  2. Hire new Canadians from their ethnic group.
  3. Research their food, clothing, and home décor – whatever suits your business.
  4. Discover how you can bring their comforts of home to them.
  5. Find out about their culture, feasts, and holidays.
  6. Build a relationship with their community by honouring their culture.
  7. Focus your marketing efforts on what is important to them.
  8. Advertise through their ethnic media: newspapers, radio and television stations.
  9. Find out how other companies market to their ethnic group.
  10. Remember, doing business with new Canadians makes good business sense!

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