Business

DAY page 27

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signers, space planners or busi-
ness owners," said Mr. Blitz, who
had his own marketing firm for
eight years before selling it and
joining Illuminating Concepts.
"I introduce our company to
them, and in most cases, they're
familiar with projects we've
worked on. I typically will call
after reading about projects pub-
licized in newspapers or trade
publications."
Mr. Blitz also finds con-
tacts through organi-
zational memberships,
individual referrals, conventions
and trade shows, where he plans
exhibits that showcase the
capabilities of Illuminating Con-
cepts.
With extensive print facilities
at the Farmington Hills location,
Mr. Blitz very quickly can put
together packages of materials
that show prospective clients rel-
evant work and format ideas
that can address their needs.
He also is able to utilize in-
house resources to prepare ad
campaigns appearing in trade
papers.
"Selling really comes down
to selling yourself first," the
marketing director said. "If you
don't sell yourself, you're going
to have a difficult time selling
people on your product. If you
are believable and easy to get
along with, you can be convinc-
ing that what you have to sell is
of value."
The majority of Mr. Blitz's
work at Illuminating Concepts
is done by phone and follow-up
letters.
"When we're in a new city do-
ing a trade show, Ron does a lot
of the presenting while I go out
on appointments with prospec-
tive clients," he explained. "Be-
fore starting this job, I knew
nothing about lighting. I had a
minor in marketing at Eastern
Michigan University."
Mr. Blitz occasionally takes
on other jobs for both money and
fun, calling himself a workaholic
without a support group. While
he accepts freelance marketing
assignments, he also handles di-
rect sales.
In the evenings and during
some weekends, Mr. Blitz turns
to real estate sales, a job he had
full-time when he was between
marketing positions.
"I work for Advest Realty in
Southfield, but I don't do it as
much as I'd like because of the
time restrictions," he said. "I
enjoy finding homes for people,
and I usually work on one a
month.
"My best friend owns Shif-
man's, a men's clothing store
in Drayton Plains, and I help
him out by doing sales on the
floor, which I also think is a lot
of fun. The pressures are nil: I
don't have to introduce myself
and my company to everyone I
speak to.
"People park in front and

come in looking for items that I
have, so that's a real pleasure for
me. I do it around the holiday
season or when somebody gets
sick or goes on an extended
vacation.
"I like interacting with people,
which is one of the reasons I like
it at Illuminating Concepts. We
work on different projects
simultaneously."

RONNA JACOBS

While Ms. Jacobs was an indus-
trial design major at the Center
for Creative Studies, she signed
up for independent internships
with three organizations —
Beaumont Hospital, General
Motors and Illuminating Con-
cepts.
All three turned into co-ops,
and the third assignment lasted
three years.
"Illuminating Concepts was
my best experience because it
gave me a technical and global
perspective," said Ms. Jacobs,
whose days were divided be-
tween school and work with lit-
tle time left for anything else. "I
always felt it was part of my re-
sponsibilities to try to make the
company grow and prosper.
"I paid for all of my schooling,
and I needed experience to get
the job I wanted so I felt that all
I did was interrelated."
While Ms. Jacobs started out
at Illuminating Concepts by as-
sisting the lighting designers
with whatever projects they
were working on, she also
learned about business etiquette
and customer satisfaction.
• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

C

EOs seem like
they're out of
touch with the
business."

— Ron Harwood

During on-the-job training,
Ms. Jacobs was taught basic
computer skills that related to
lighting design and blueprint
analysis from a lighting per-
spective.
Before long, she helped as-
semble specification sheets for
clients, took inquiry calls and lo-
cated lights for a variety of in-
stallations.
"There always was someone
who could explain how certain
approaches would benefit the
client, and that was a benefit for
me," she said.
"I certainly gained an orien-
tation toward business, and it
was interesting to see how to
make a pitch to a client. It also
was important to learn how to
foresee future business possibil-
ities." LI