Author: GAWDA MEDIA

by Randy MacLean, President of WayPoint Analytics In this article, I’ll share the most effective analytics used by companies to actually control their results. If you have financial or performance responsibility, you’ll likely be using the new measures that follow to get control of your results. Managers at or near the top of every company have certainly experienced failures in attempts to control the financial measures that please the owners and stakeholders. Traditional financial metrics (like ROI, GMROI, EBITDA, inventory and receivables turns) seem to have a pernicious immunity to our intentions and actions. The reason for this is that…

Sales Pipeline Forecasting Fact or Fiction? By Jay Spielvogel, Venator Sales Group, LLC “I believe I have a 50/50 shot of getting an order.” “They loved our pricing; I’d give this a 75% chance of closing at this point.” “My contact is reviewing our quote internally; I’d say we have a 90% chance of closing this one.” Sound familiar? How often do you hear these optimistic statements from your sales team, and then find yourself asking, “Whatever happened to all of the other deals that you forecasted at 90% chance of closure?” Only to hear the typical responses: “They are…

As part of its continued push to help GAWDA members get the most out of their membership dues in the association and stay on the front lines of emerging industry trends and hot-button issues, GAWDA has several volunteer committees devoted to specific areas of the industry. The volunteer committees include: Government Affairs, Human Resources, Industry Partnering, Insurance Trustees, Leadership Development, Member Services, Safety, Women of Gases and Welding, and Young Professionals. This new feature in Welding & Gases Today will update readers on the latest news and events from each committee. We thank all the committee chairs for their help…

Ask Your Board is a new feature that will run in the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th Quarter issues of Welding & Gases Today. The purpose of Ask Your Board is to ask common business questions that all GAWDA members might be dealing with and to see how GAWDA’s Board of Directors are dealing with these issues within their own companies. To submit a question for GAWDA’s Board Members to consider, please email [email protected] THE QUESTION How has your communication, both internal and external, evolved over the past year? Are there any changes that were made that you anticipate continuing long-term?…

GAWDA’s consultants discuss how to prepare for an audit as well as other recent trends in the gases and welding industry By Tom Badstubner, Marilyn Dempsey, Michael Dodd, Rick Schweitzer and Steve Guglielmo The GAWDA Consultant Program is a GAWDA member benefit that is included as part of your member dues to the association. It is consistently rated as one of the most valuable member benefits that GAWDA provides. Between the four of them, GAWDA’s consultants bring more than 150 years of industry-specific experience to the association. For this issue, we spoke with the consultants about a variety of topics,…

By Brian McLaughlin As a GAWDA Member, you have access to the GAWDA Group Life Insurance program through MetLife and can take advantage of an offering that has averaged over a 10% dividend for more than 50 years! This dividend eligibility is not available with the typical single employer plan. History indicates that many employees have no other life insurance. The employer paid Group Plan may be their only family security. The enhanced GAWDA Life Insurance Program offers: Triple Indemnity for Occupational Death & Dismemberment No Charge for $10,000 spouse insurance, and $5,000 child insurance Eligibility for “good claim experience”…

Members of GAWDA’s Member Services Committee Discuss the Biggest Member Benefits of GAWDA The following is an excerpt from the June 1 episode of GAWDA TV. Watch the episode here: For the June 1 Episode of GAWDA TV, we had the opportunity to speak with members of GAWDA’s Member Services Committee to discuss the biggest benefits that come with GAWDA membership. Aside from the networking and education that take place at the SMC, Annual Convention, and Regional Meetings, membership in GAWDA comes with a whole host of other benefits. So, whether you are looking to take more advantage of your GAWDA…

How GAWDA consultants can help GAWDA members avoid costly mistakes By Tom Badstubner, Marilyn Dempsey, Michael Dodd, Rick Schweitzer and Steve Guglielmo The GAWDA Consultant Program is a GAWDA Member Benefit that is included as part of your annual dues to the association. It is consistently rated as one of the most valuable member benefits that GAWDA provides. Between the four to them, GAWDA’s Consultants bring more than 100 years of industry-specific experience to the association. For this issue, we spoke to the Consultants about specific examples of times where they were able to help GAWDA members save money and…