Megan Simons, owner and CEO of
Capota Trends, Inc. and its Pippa Pelure
and Sethina Rae Styles, which are both
located on northeast Beach Drive in
St. Petersburg, announced that her
Pippa Pelure boutique is the very first
in this country to carry Paris designer
Klara Cadieux’s unique, perfectly tailored
Cadieux line of women’s fashions.
Amber Skjelset, manager of the
Scientology Information Center, welcomed
Tampa Bay area business professionals,
owners and CEOs to a Business Networking
Reception and program on
beating early signs of recession and staying
at the forefront of their fields that was
held in the Historic Bank of Clearwater
Building in downtown Clearwater.
Stephan Gay announced that the
Tampa Bay Businesses for Culture
and the Arts’ 2016 IMPACT Award
honorees are artist Janet Echelman
(International Artistic Achievement
IMPACT Award), Smith & Associates/
Bob Glaser (Business Impact Award),
Dr. Kent Lydecker (Individual IMPACT
Award) and Mark Mahaffey (Patron of
Culture and the Arts IMPACT Award).
The formal presentation will take place
at the IMPACT Awards dinner on
October 20th at the Mahaffey Theater in
St. Petersburg.
The Honorable Jeff Brandes, who
represents St. Petersburg in Florida’s
House of Representatives, received the
National Federation of Independent
Business’ Guardian of Small Business
Award during a lunch meeting in
St. Petersburg.
Carol Le Pierre, a Tampa jewelry
designer, has a new line of lightweight,
easy to pack and wear pieces that combines
different gem stones with a sterling silver
compass rose. Her jewelry is currently
available at the Dunedin Fine Art
Center’s Gallery Gift Shop, as well as
through her own Le Pierre Design. 9
70 TAMPA BAY MAGAZINE
Jim Urbanski, the former Tampa Tribune
publisher, and his wife Ann are both
volunteers at Tampa General Hospital
and attended the Hospital’s Volunteer
Luncheon where Kathe Vijayanagar
was given an award in recognition of
her volunteer services.
Dr. Lauren Baker Murray has been named
music chair of the Straz Center for the
Performing Arts’ Patel Conservatory. She
received a Bachelor of Music Education from
Stetson University, a Master of Music from
Yale University and a Doctor of Musical Arts
in Oboe Performance from the University of
North Texas. In addition to years of experience
in arts education, Lauren is an accomplished
and recorded oboe and English horn player.
GRAM
Betsy Byrd, the managing director of Eight
O’Clock Theater, and Judy Hall, the board
president, orchestrated a reception and
preview of the group’s upcoming 2016-2017
season, which was catered by Betsy’s Stuffed
Mushroom of Safety Harbor and held at the
Largo Cultural Center.
| JULY/AUGUST 2016
BUSINESS
MYTHS
By Jim Marshall and Clint Babcock
Sandler Training of
Tampa Bay
The “dog days” of summer are already
upon us, and there’s a popular, albeit
unfounded, belief that summers are slow
for business. High-achieving professionals,
however, know that new business prospecting
and marketing should actually be increased
during the summer, not decreased, as these
five myths suggest:
1. Don’t try, because no one’s there.
Business development professionals know
that summer is a great time to make sales
calls. You should seize the opportunity
since, during the summer, phones aren’t
ringing as much. With fewer inbound calls,
your prospects will be more likely to take
your call, listen and talk to you about your
product or service.
2. It’s too hot/rainy/early/late to
make calls. It’s been said that the best
time to make a sales call is when it’s raining.
That’s because your competitors are staying
inside and your prospects are too.
3. Fridays are a wash. While some
people take Fridays off during the summer,
some sales people overcome this by
increasing their sales calls and prospecting
behavior Monday through Thursday. So, if
things are slow on Friday, they are already
ahead of the game.
4. Decision makers disappear.
Don’t let the assumption that everyone’s
“out of the office” sidetrack your activity. Ask
about your clients’ and prospects’ vacation
and travel plans for the summer and work
accordingly.
5. It’s a slow time in the budget
cycle. How do you know? If you contact
them and find out, you will be surprised to
learn that people do business all year long.
Your customers will continue to do
business while you’re slowing down for
the “lazy, hazy days of summer.” Don’t let it
be with someone else.
EDITOR’S NOTE: Sandler Training provides
proven, effective sales, corporate and management
training to high-achieving companies and
individuals throughout Tampa Bay. Call Jim
Marshall or Clint Babcock at (813) 287-1500.