SBA rolls out business competition for products to assist women

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The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) has launched a nationwide competition for entrepreneurs focusing on products and services that will benefit women and their families. Both Syracuse and Utica were slated to host local competitions. The SBA started “InnovateHER: 2015 Innovating for Women Business Challenge” earlier this month with local competitions that universities, […]

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The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) has launched a nationwide competition for entrepreneurs focusing on products and services that will benefit women and their families.

Both Syracuse and Utica were slated to host local competitions.

The SBA started “InnovateHER: 2015 Innovating for Women Business Challenge” earlier this month with local competitions that universities, accelerators, clusters, scale-up communities, SBA’s resource partners, and other local organizations are hosting.

The agency announced the competition in a news release issued March 16.

The SBA is seeking entrepreneurs who have created a product or service that will have a “measurable impact on women and their families, fills a need in the marketplace, and has the potential for commercialization,” according to the news release.

Locally, the WISE Women’s Business Center and Onondaga Small Business Development Center hosted a competition in Syracuse on March 26. And, the Women’s Business Center of New York State in Utica was scheduled to do so on March 30, the SBA said.

The entrepreneurs the local judges select will make it to the semi-final round.

An executive committee that includes SBA officials will review the semi-final nomination packages and select no more than 10 finalists, the agency said.

The 10 finalists will travel to Washington, D.C. on May 8, where they’ll pitch their products and ideas to a panel of expert judges during SBA’s National Small Business Week.

The finalists will compete for a total of $30,000 in prize money that Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT) has provided.

“The landscape of the U.S. economy has evolved drastically during the last 50 years, and women played a significant role in that change,” Maria Contreras-Sweet, SBA administrator, said in the news release. “We are harnessing the power of America’s entrepreneurs to develop products, services and technologies that support women as they deal with the challenges of work and home. This innovation challenge will both help strengthen the economy and empower women to succeed.”

Kelly leads Tully Rinckey’s growing Syracuse office

Employee Benefits & Human Resources, Insurance & Financial Services, Law, Accounting & Taxes, People on the Move, Subscriber Only

SYRACUSE — Tully Rinckey attorney Donald Kelly is no stranger to managing a legal office. But this time, he’s not the only lawyer in the office. Tully Rinckey PLLC, an Albany–based law firm that operates an office in Syracuse, has named Kelly managing partner of the local office. Tully Rinckey made the announcement

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SYRACUSE — Tully Rinckey attorney Donald Kelly is no stranger to managing a legal office.

But this time, he’s not the only lawyer in the office.

Tully Rinckey PLLC, an Albany–based law firm that operates an office in Syracuse, has named Kelly managing partner of the local office. Tully Rinckey made the announcement Feb. 12.

The firm believes Kelly has an “in-depth understanding of law-practice management,” it said in a news release.

Kelly, who joined Tully Rinckey in 2012, had previously operated the Kelly Law Office, a sole proprietorship in Syracuse, for about 11 years, he says.

Kelly spoke with CNYBJ at the Tully Rinckey office at 507 Plum St. in Syracuse on March 19.

Kelly, who has nearly two decades of experience in the legal field, has focused on criminal-defense law since 2001.

In his new role, Kelly will oversee the daily operations of Tully Rinckey’s Syracuse legal team.

The Syracuse office has 12 employees, including Kelly. The local employee count includes six attorneys.

In total, Tully Rinckey has 119 employees, including 60 attorneys, the firm said in response to an email inquiry from CNYBJ. The firm has 18 partners, according to its website.

Operating his own office, Kelly noted, involved a “business side” and a “law side.”

Balancing both can be a “little bit difficult” at times, considering the number of administrative tasks required to operate a law office, he added.

He joined Tully Rinckey in August 2012 to “have the backing of a larger firm.”

The managerial role involves reports, data, dealing with the relationships between the attorneys and support staff, and managing the attorneys’ performance and conduct, says Kelly.

“You have to deal with client complaints and consider … how to handle those and what type of actions should be taken in response those complaints,” he adds.

He admits trying to juggle all the duties can be “difficult” when he’s trying to address his own clients’ needs at the same time.

Plans for Syracuse office

Tully Rinckey’s Syracuse office recently added an attorney, enabling the firm to offer a bankruptcy practice in the Northern-Western districts of New York, says Kelly.

“That really was a big move for us,” he adds.

The firm is also recruiting two additional attorneys, which Kelly called the local office’s “chief goal” by the end of the second quarter.

He’s hoping to expand both the number of attorneys in the office and the types of practice areas that the Syracuse office can offer.

Reorganization

Kelly’s new role is part of the reorganization of Tully Rinckey’s management structure.

When Kelly joined the firm, he says it was aligned under a director of legal services, who was responsible for all the attorneys in the firm.

“That become overly burdensome [for that attorney],” says Kelly.

Attorney Thomas Carr, who is of counsel with the firm in its Albany office, held the position, according to Kelly.

Tully Rinckey then added a second, similar position to handle the Washington, D.C. and Alexandria, Virginia locations, or the firm’s southern offices.

The firm considers Albany, Syracuse, Rochester, Buffalo as its northern offices, he adds.

But even that management structure became “overly burdensome,” Kelly noted.

The director of legal services’ position originally focused only on Albany and Syracuse, before Tully Rinckey added offices in Rochester and Buffalo, he says.

Tully Rinckey in early 2014 changed its management model to have a leader in each office instead of two directors of legal services in charge of a group of offices.

Kelly termed it a “boots on the ground” philosophy.

The firm developed the plan at the beginning of its “latest growth phase to decentralize key management functions and reach new levels of efficiency and client

service,” according to the news release announcing Kelly as a managing partner.

The firm has elevated “key” attorneys to newly created managing-partner positions at each office following the firm’s “exponential” growth, it added.

The launch of Tully Rinckey’s Syracuse office in August 2012 started the firm’s “latest growth phase.”

It then opened a Buffalo office the following January, which it then moved to a larger, newly constructed suite that was “some five times larger” than its previous location.

Tully Rinckey also opened an office in Rochester in July 2013. In between, the firm relocated its office in Washington, D.C.

The firm opened its first West Coast office in San Diego in September of last year, it added.

Mathew Tully launched Tully & Associates, PLLC from his ski home in Hunter, New York, according to the firm’s website. Tully, who had worked for the legal department at Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS), escaped the World Trade Center during the Sept. 11 terrorist attack in 2001.

Greg Rinckey joined the firm in 2004 after having served in the U.S. Army Judge Advocate General’s Corps, also known as the JAG Corps.

The firm became Tully Rinckey & Associates PLLC on Jan.1, 2005, and, with the addition of new partners and offices, changed its name to Tully Rinckey PLLC on Jan. 1, 2008, the website says.

Hancock Estabrook attorneys discuss telemedicine issues at symposium

Law, Accounting & Taxes, Subscriber Only, Technology

DeWITT — Four lawyers in the health-care group of Hancock Estabrook, LLP discussed legal issues of telehealth and telemedicine during the Syracuse law firm’s 2015 Health Law Symposium held March 5 at the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel in DeWitt, near Carrier Circle. The panel discussion covered topics that included reimbursement, licensure, medical-staff credentialing, liability, and

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The panel discussion covered topics that included reimbursement, licensure, medical-staff credentialing, liability, and security issues.

The attorneys participating included Mary Miner, Meghan Gaffey, Catherine Diviney, and Laurel Baum.

Reimbursement

“We have some similarities and some inconsistencies” on definitions of telehealth in terms of reimbursement, depending on if you speak to general practitioners or to Medicare representatives, Miner said to open her remarks.

For reimbursement, Medicare defines telehealth as a “condition of payment,” meaning telehealth must use an interactive audio and video-telecommunications system that permits real-time communication between the provider and the patient.

“Interestingly, CMS (Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services) also has a definition of telemedicine under Medicaid, which is the same as this first definition … but they call it telemedicine,” said Miner.

New York has legislation pending, she added, but currently has a separate definition for telehealth, which includes telemedicine, store and forward technologies (such as the use of digital images and teleradiology services), and remote patient monitoring.

“The main limitation to reimbursement for Medicare has been that they only reimburse for services that are provided to patients in a rural area,” she noted.

But that doesn’t mean that Medicare doesn’t reimburse for other services provided through communication technologies.

“They just don’t call it telehealth or telemedicine,” said Miner.

For example, Medicare reimburses for teleradiology but it’s not telehealth “because the patient isn’t present at that time,” said Miner.

For 2015, Medicare has expanded the services that it will reimburse under telehealth, which include annual wellness visits, psychoanalysis, psychotherapy, and prolonged evaluation and management services, she noted.

Miner also talked about chronic-care management, which doesn’t fall under the telehealth definition because “it’s not necessarily provided by a communication technology in real time.”

She called it an “important development for Medicare” because these services, which are provided to beneficiaries with chronic conditions, can involve care management, care planning, communications between providers, and medication management.

“Previously, these services were not reimbursed separately,” she said.

Miner thinks it signals that Medicare is recognizing that it will need to start reimbursing for the services to “get away from these costly, face-to-face interactions” and to be “more proactive” in treating patients before they have “really significant health problems.”

Physicians could provide the treatment through “other types of communication technologies,” such as phones or secure messaging, she added.

The New York State Legislature in 2014 approved the Telehealth Parity Law, Miner noted.

“What that means is that now commercial payers and Medicaid are going to be required to reimburse for certain telehealth services,” said Miner.

But she also noted the state isn’t currently enforcing the law because Gov. Cuomo’s signature on the legislation was contingent on making some changes to the bill that the legislature approved.

The law was scheduled to take effect Jan.1, but payers “weren’t going to have enough time to adjust,” Miner said.

Other issues centered around what the law would require insurers to reimburse; and reimbursing telemedicine when insurers wouldn’t reimburse for the same services that were provided in a face-to-face visit, she added.

The Senate and Assembly are currently considering some chapter amendments to the legislation, Miner said.

Federal/state differences

Miner went on to outline some differences between how New York and the federal government are treating telemedicine.

The first is a difference in definition, she said.

Telemedicine is defined as the two-way interaction, but the Telehealth Parity Law is going to require commercial insurers to reimburse for these other technologies, including the “store and forward” technology and then for something called remote patient monitoring.

“It’s sort of similar to what Medicare is doing with the chronic-care management. Remote patient monitoring is going to be services provided to a patient in their home and it’s for patients that have chronic-care needs that need frequent monitoring or have technology-dependent care, such as a ventilator, continuous oxygen, or something of that nature,” said Miner.

New York also won’t limit the originating site where the patient is located to rural areas, she added.

“So, that’s another important development that providers will not be limited in that same way that they are under Medicare,” Miner said.

In addition, the way New York is defining qualified providers who can bill for these services, is “at this point, much more expansive than Medicare.”

“It’s going to include social workers, speech pathologists, genetic counselors.”

She noted that part is “subject to change.”

Licensing

In her remarks, Gaffey spoke about professional licensing requirements, which “are generally set at the state level.”

The location of the telemedicine provider will determine the state in which the provider will need a license, she said.

“For instance, if you have a patient here in New York … and a doctor who’s actually physically located in Texas providing telemedicine services to the patient, in which state is the care actually being provided?,” Gaffey asked, in illustrating her example.

In 2000, the state’s Office of Professional Medical Conduct indicated that “as far as they’re concerned, the state in which the patient is located and receiving the services is actually the state of care,” said Gaffey.

Providers who wish to provide telemedicine services to patients in New York they need a license to perform such a service in New York, she added.

Gaffey also discussed credentialing, noting that Medicare, the Joint Commission, and New York … have all [approved] new standards in the last few years that allow providers to rely on the credentialing practices of the telemedicine provider’s location.

“The good news as far as credentialing is that the standards that Medicare and The Joint Commission in New York have passed … are almost identical, so as long as you can make sure you’re following one set of standards, you’re probably following them all,” said Gaffey.

The Joint Commission is an Oakbrook Terrace, Illinois–based independent, nonprofit organization that accredits and certifies more than 20,500 health-care organizations nationwide, according to its website.

Liability

In addressing the liability issue for telemedicine, Diviney said that a successful personal-injury claim involves four elements, including duty, breach, causation, and damages.

“You had a duty, you breached the duty. That caused the injury, and … because of the injury, I had damages,” said Diviney

Diviney then used the remainder of her remarks discussing duty and breach “because the causation and damages … flow from the first two issues,” she added.

Security

Finally, Baum discussed issues involving privacy and security, noting that telemedicine will often involve communication between a provider and a patient over a Skype transmission.

Skype is a messaging program that requires a web camera and an Internet connection to speak with someone who has the same configurations in a different location.

“Somebody in your organization, and it’s definitely going to involve your security [people], needs to be involved to make sure that you have some risk analysis … of the equipment you’re using and your service provider,” said Baum.

She also noted the ongoing debate about whether Skype should be considered a business associate under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA), which would require an agreement outlining the Skype-provider relationship as business associates.

Attorney, Viviani, returns to Rome roots

Law, Accounting & Taxes, People on the Move, Regional News, Subscriber Only

ROME — In April 2014, after spending nearly two decades in the corporate law litigation arena, Louis Viviani opened his own practice, Viviani Law Firm PLLC, in Rome. The firm, located at 416 N. James St. in Rome, is a general practice firm that brings Viviani back to his hometown. The Rome Free Academy

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ROME — In April 2014, after spending nearly two decades in the corporate law litigation arena, Louis Viviani opened his own practice, Viviani Law Firm PLLC, in Rome.

The firm, located at 416 N. James St. in Rome, is a general practice firm that brings Viviani back to his hometown. The Rome Free Academy graduate started his law career in Rome at the O’Shea McDonald and Stevens law firm. Viviani worked there for about five years until joining Costello Cooney & Fearon, PLLC in Syracuse.

“Great office. Great people,” Viviani says of his time at Costello Cooney & Fearon, where he was a partner in the litigation department. However, he said, the time was right for him to branch out and start his own law firm.

“It was always sort of in the back of my mind to have my own practice,” he says. Last spring, the time was finally right. “I felt like I was both old enough and young enough.” At 48, he says, he has the right mix of experience and energy.

He was also eager to get back to a more personal atmosphere, a people’s practice where he has more interaction directly with clients, Viviani notes.

While at Costello Cooney & Fearon, Viviani says his specialty was personal-injury law on the plaintiff’s side. “Here I’m doing more,” he says. “Crime cases, more real estate.”

In a smaller community like Rome, he says, it makes more sense to have a wide practice area instead of focusing on just one thing. “I’m doing a little bit of all of it, and I enjoy it,” he says. Viviani Law Firm offers a variety of legal services including will preparation, real estate, criminal defense, and vehicle and traffic law.

However, his emphasis remains on personal-injury plaintiff cases and trial work.

“There aren’t a ton of plaintiff firms around,” he notes, so there is definitely a void he can fill with his experience.

Viviani is leasing 1,100 square feet on the first floor of the building on North James Street from the Main Street Alliance.

“They did a ton of work on the interior of the building,” he says. The building once housed a bar and restaurant, but the Main Street Alliance did a great job of creating a space that he could finish to suit his needs, Viviani notes.

Though he’s renting now, Viviani says he will have an option to buy after he’s been there a year. The second floor of the building houses an apartment.

The law firm currently employs one legal assistant along with Viviani, but there is space to add more employees as the firm grows. So far, Viviani says he’s been gaining new clients through word-of-mouth and “that’s been really good for me.” The firm does not currently have a website or social-media page.

Viviani is living in DeWitt and commuting daily to his office in Rome, but says now that he’s settled in at the office, he may consider moving to the area where he still has family.

Viviani graduated from the State University of New York at Albany in 1988 and Albany Law School in 1991.

Why You Should Ask Your CPA to Do More Than Your Tax Return

Opinion, Subscriber Only

It’s tax time and in all likelihood you’ve had some close, personal contact with your CPA firm during the last few weeks. While taxes and financial statements are probably at the center of conversation … are there other items on the agenda? I sincerely hope so. CPAs are much more than number-crunchers and your

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CPAs are much more than number-crunchers and your CPA-client relationship should reflect that dynamic. Certainly, timely and accurate financial information, as well as tax filings, are important, but if the conversation stops there, you are surely missing out.

In the very near term, taxes do matter. Your conversation, however, should go well beyond the balance due. One of the hottest topics at the moment is tangible property. What used to be a relatively simple consideration, focused in many cases on buy now or buy later, has taken on a life of its own. Beyond the initial consideration of what to expend is the determination of category and type of classification. With a multitude of terms swirling around, including 481(a) adjustment, safe harbor, election, partial disposition, and form 3115 — it’s not shocking that many taxpayers are surprised at the impact of the new tangible-property regulations. Without in-depth consultation with your CPA, you can quickly join that club, or worse, file a negligent tax return.

A qualified CPA is also a worthy ally as you work to ensure that your business grows and prospers. Whether considering an expansion or sale, your CPA will provide you with a full understanding of the potential financial outcomes. A conversation that commences after the deal is done can dramatically limit your options, and certainly the opportunity to approach the transaction armed with complete information.

What else should your CPA be doing for you? To begin, your meetings should not be reserved for year-end, alone. Just as you shouldn’t visit your doctor only when you have the flu, you should maintain an ongoing dialogue with your CPA. Does he or she know about your business operations? Your competition? What are your long-term plans for succession? Does your CPA know what keeps you up at night? Your CPA should be a sounding board, an adviser, a partner. The implications of this type of relationship are far-reaching — in a good way.

Let me put a few things on the table for consideration. Beyond tax and financial reporting, what about your financial-reporting system? After all, this is where everything begins. Does the system and available reporting meet your needs, providing timely and reliable information? Many businesses today utilize dashboard reports, but these important tools are only effective when reporting accurate, useful data. A conversation with your CPA can help determine whether any information issues you might be experiencing are system or data related.

Accurate information provides a clear view of the actual cost of doing business. Consideration of direct and indirect costs, overhead, break points, and profitability all combine to tell a story. The combination of key performance indicators and analysis can identify when action is necessary in order to respond to today’s quickly changing business environment. Your CPA can help you synthesize and utilize all of this.

There is almost no limit to the areas where your CPA can provide valuable insight. Financing, workforce issues, expansion, transition, management-information systems, competitive advantage, the list goes on. Broach the topics. The response may be a simple conversation or a more in-depth consultation. Yes, I know, “consultation” sounds expensive, but isn’t the price of failure far greater? You are probably talking with your CPA about taxes, why not much more?

Gail Kinsella is a partner in the Syracuse office of The Bonadio Group accounting firm. Contact Kinsella at gkinsella@bonadio.com

State Comptroller: Fewer school districts overriding tax cap

Insurance & Financial Services, Subscriber Only

The number of school districts overriding New York state’s property tax cap fell by more than half over the past three fiscal years, according to a recent report issued by State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli. The report found 19 school districts overrode the cap in 2014-15, down from 44 districts in 2012-13. “Low-need” and

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The report found 19 school districts overrode the cap in 2014-15, down from 44 districts in 2012-13. “Low-need” and “average-need” districts were twice as likely to go over the tax cap as high-need districts, according to the comptroller.

“As the cap fluctuates below 2 percent, it becomes increasingly difficult to stay under the levy limit while also dealing with increased costs and uncertain state aid. If the past three years are any indication, however, school districts will continue to hold the line on taxes despite these challenges,” DiNapoli said in a news release.

Overall, 6.5 percent of school districts exceeded the tax cap in 2012-13 (44 districts), 4.7 percent (32) in 2013-14, and 2.8 percent (19) in 2014-15, according to the report. In this three-year period, 79 school districts exceeded the cap at least once. Fourteen districts went over the cap in two of the three years and one district exceeded the cap all three years.

Of the districts overriding the cap, the report noted that low-need and average-need districts generally receive less state aid than high-need districts, and therefore were more dependent on property taxes to fund their programs. From 2013-2014 to 2014-2015, 3.3 percent of low- and average-need districts exceeded the cap, while 1.5 percent of high-need districts did so.

DiNapoli’s office also found, based on individual calculations, that 363 school districts could have increased the tax levy by more than 2 percent last year and, of these, 62 could have increased the tax levy by 4 percent or more while technically remaining under the cap. In contrast, 69 districts were held to less than a 1 percent increase — with 17 actually being subject to a levy decrease from the prior year.

Nuances in the complex cap calculations have also resulted in some large year-to-year fluctuations for some districts. For example, one district’s allowable levy limit was 21.7 percent less than in the previous year, while another district’s allowable levy limit was 45.5 percent higher than in the prior year, the comptroller’s report found.

Overall, school-district tax levies increased by nearly the exact amount allowed by the state tax cap. In 2012-13, school districts consumed 99.6 percent of their available limit; in 2013-14, it was 99.2 percent; and in 2014-15, it totaled 99.7 percent.

To read the full report, visit: http://www.osc.state.ny.us/localgov/pubs/research/snapshot/schooldistricttaxcap0215.pdf breakdown of tax levy data, download the Excel file here: http://www.osc.state.ny.us/localgov/pubs/research/snapshot/schooldistricttaxcap0215.xls.

Jump-Starting Upstate Must Be a Budget Priority

Opinion, Subscriber Only

Throughout the budget-negotiation process, I’ve discussed a number of priorities, like the need to help middle-class families, supporting our children’s education, and helping family farmers. I think we’ve had some meaningful conversations on these matters. We must also see what we can do to invigorate upstate New York. I am very passionate about finding

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I am very passionate about finding ways to support our part of the state. I see two looming needs in our area: economic growth and support to repair and rebuild our bridges and roads. These two needs complement each other, as efficient and sound infrastructure is very important to supporting and attracting small businesses and job creation.

It is interesting how differently the governor and each conference of the state legislature approach economic development. Personally, I have always believed that our first responsibility in this area should be to make the state a better place to start and operate a small business. The fact is that New York has created an environment where taxes and over-regulation have made it very difficult to keep mom-and-pop shops open.

Over the last few years, the governor has held many economic-development competitions. That isn’t a bad thing, but I am growing frustrated because we are creating winners and losers when all communities Upstate need help. Cuomo’s plan to create yet another competition, his “Upstate New York Revitalization Competition,” where only three regions out of seven will win $500 million in awards, is creating disparity among the regions of upstate New York. To put it simply, all regions need assistance, especially in the Mohawk Valley and the North Country. We should not risk alienating any New Yorkers from economic opportunities just because they do not reside in one of the chosen regions. I have been advocating for more funds that will be fairly distributed throughout Upstate for economic revitalization.

And as I have said, economic development and infrastructure go hand in hand. Our local roads and bridges are crumbling because of the state’s failure to assist our upstate municipalities. I have been fighting for the funds from the more than $11 billion windfall in bank settlements to be invested in fixing Upstate’s long-neglected roads and bridges.

We have an obligation to support upstate New York and offer solutions that will help invigorate it to create new jobs and economic growth. I will be considering all these priorities when I make my final vote on the budget.

Marc W. Butler (R,C,I–Newport) is a New York State Assemblyman for the 118th District, which encompasses parts of Oneida, Herkimer, and St. Lawrence counties, as well as all of Hamilton and Fulton counties. Contact him at butlerm@assembly.state.ny.us

NYFarmNet Reaches Local Farmers

Opinion, Subscriber Only

National Ag week was celebrated recently. It’s a week in which we recognize the abundant crops harvested by farmers all over the nation and the contributions they make to the economy. In New York state alone, the agriculture industry recorded $5.68 billion in cash receipts in 2013, up more than $1 billion from 2010. Economists estimate

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Economists estimate that for every one job created in agriculture, that one job generates an additional 0.8 non-agricultural jobs.

Consumer demand for local produce has surged in recent years. We’ve also seen communities voice a desire for open spaces amid pressures from land developers. Local farms provide both local produce and open spaces, but running a profitable farm is not easy. For the most part, these are family-owned and operated businesses that are subject to market and price fluctuations, weather, crop disease, and many rules and regulations where rest and time off is hard to come by, especially in dairy farming.

One group in particular that has recognized some of the complexities unique to a family-owned farm business is NYFarmNet. The organization assists farmers in transferring assets or farm ownership to the next generation, helps with expansions, and assists with retirement and estate planning. If a farmer calls with a concern, NYFarmNet determines which type of counselor to send — either financial, crisis management, or a business analyst. Counselors are hired on a consulting basis, which helps the organization save on costs, and counselors travel to the farms to assist the farmer directly.

In January, the organization held a two-day seminar on farm-business transfers in Syracuse. The seminar attracted 150 farmers. In talking with those who operate NYFarmNet, I found there is a growing demand in agriculture for this type of service. As farmers look to retire, they either need to transfer their farms to the next generation with financial agreements or sell outright. NYFarmNet also helps with advertising farms for sale.

In addition to financial and legal services, NYFarmNet provides mental-health counseling services and can send a psychologist or social worker to the farm when asked to do so. Most counselors and financial advisors have some experience with farming so they can identify the problems inherent and unique to farmers. Recently, NYFarmNet has had to respond to reports of barn roofs collapsing or damage to property due to the heavy snowfall this winter. This type of damage or property loss comes with its own set of considerations that the organization can provide advice on.

NYFarmNet is funded in part by the New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets as well as the Office of Mental Health, and is managed by administrators through Cornell University. Last year, NYFarmNet received a total of $875,000 in the state budget through both departments. I support the funding of these services and hope through budget negotiations the legislature can at least maintain funding for the important services they provide to the agriculture industry. To learn more or to seek help, visit nyfarmnet.org or email them at nyfarmnet@cornell.edu or call 1-800-547-FARM (3276).

William (Will) A. Barclay is the Republican representative of the 120th New York Assembly District, which encompasses most of Oswego County, including the cities of Oswego and Fulton, as well as the town of Lysander in Onondaga County and town of Ellisburg in Jefferson County. Contact him at barclaw@assembly.state.ny.us, or (315) 598-5185.

The Sales Answers Have Changed

Opinion, Subscriber Only

It is spring as Professor Albert Einstein and his assistant walk across the Princeton University campus. The shy assistant asks the famous physicist if the test he just gave his physics graduate students isn’t the same test he gave last year to this same group of students? “Yes,” Einstein answers, “it is the same test

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The assistant asks dumbfounded, “How could you give the same test to the same students two years in a row?” “Well,” Einstein answers slowly, “the answers have changed.”

What about your business? Has business changed for you and are the sales programs that worked so well for you in the past not working so well today?

Recently, we’ve seen news stories about companies such as Target, Microsoft, IBM, Best Buy, Family Dollar, Caterpillar, GameStop, and Nordstrom planning closures or layoffs. Think their business is changing?

Are you making any changes in your company due to the continued changes in your business environment? One business owner told me he hoped business would improve. Well, business will only improve for you when you improve your business.

In today’s highly competitive marketplace, the sales answers have changed.

– Your customers have changed the way they wish to do business.

– The way your customers purchase products and services has changed.

– The way your customer wants to deal with a salesperson has evolved.

– The balance of who is in control of the sale has changed.

– Are you aware of how your customers want to do business today?

Progressive Insurance and its TV spokesperson “Flo” know what customers want. Between 1996 and 2005, Progressive Insurance grew an average of 17 percent per year, from $3.4 billion to $14 billion in sales.

The Harvard Review wrote, “Progressive’s success is maddeningly simple: It out-operated its competitors, it simply took their customers away.”

Have you adapted to all of the changes in the business world, or are you using the same sales playbook from the past?

In the wonderful past, you the salesperson had all of the power. You had all of the pertinent information about the product or service you offered and knew far more than the buyer. You had control.

Today, the buyers know as much, or to your embarrassment, more than you do about what you are selling and how it compares in the marketplace. They are in control.

Does this mean the end to the art of selling? Yes and No.

Yes, it will mean the eventual end to the old way of selling. Misleading people, using high-pressure techniques, outright lying, being dishonest or mistrustful, not being totally upfront with the customers, and not knowing what the customers want as an outcome of their purchase will kill the sale and destroy a business. If you don’t differentiate yourself from the competition you will lose the sale.

No, it won’t be the end for the sales professionals that do it the right way. Salespeople that are trustworthy become a partner to the buyers in the sales process, being more of a trusted adviser than a pushy salesperson. Using honesty, integrity, ingenuity, and determining what the customers want as an outcome to this purchase will move you to the front of the line in gaining their trust and their business. Differentiate yourself from your competitors.

If you want to grow your business, just remember, the sales answers have changed. Have yours?

James McEntire is founder and owner of JM Sales Consulting, a company that says it provides training and coaching for those who want to excel in sales. Contact him at (315) 761-3208, or visit his website at http://jmsalesconsulting.com

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