Pltfirros • Publishers • . A ge" / .414 4 AdA 4 ADVERTISERS! Get your message out in a quick, efficient manner with great rates and same day service on HOT projects! Affordable Assembly Services Reach us at: tees. He left the board last year. "It seemed he wanted to do more," says Barbara Nurenberg, head of JVS, "but his business was just starting to take off and he felt he couldn't give us the necessary time. But we look forward to working with him again in the future." Linkner grew up at ease in the corn- puter age. When he was 11, he created a bulletin board, a primitive web site, on his parents' television set with an Atari 800. From there, it was an easy step to designing the real thing. After switching his major from music to business administration at the University of Florida, he opened his first small business, Gator Computer Systems. He built computers for stu- dents out of components he bought through magazine catalogues. 'After I came back home to Michigan," he says, "I set up a similar operation that also included service and training. I learned two important things from that. When it came to computers, hardware was getting ugly and service was where the real money was. "That gave me the information I needed to launch my first real company, Global Link New Media, to design busi- ness Web sites." It was 1994 and hardly anyone had ever heard of a Web site. Linkner regard- ed that as little more than a nuisance. "I have found that it isn't what you say, but the way that you say it. I put on a con- vincing case for the value of this product because ... and I keep emphasizing this ... I was passionate about it. Most people are uncomfortable with new technolo- gies. So you've got to offer them an anal- ogy to something they know. "This was before Power Points. I just used typewritten pages. But I gave them hard figures. How the people who embraced radio and television when they first came along ended up big win- ners. How personal computer sales were taking off. "I gave them a demonstration that a Web site could put them in touch with their customers 24-7. "This is the wave of the future and you need to ride it." Ah-Ha Moments His first client was the Oakland County Bar Association. Through it, he man- aged to sign up individual law firms and then some of their clients in automotive supply. Eventually, Linkner worked his way to Volvo, and the ah-ha moment that led to ePrize. "Volvo was introducing an entry level sedan," he says. "It wanted to cut through the static on the Internet with some kind of promotion, and just off the top of my head I suggested a sweep- stakes with a new S80 as the grand prize. I thought it might be a nice deal, but I was absolutely stunned at what I found. "I knew that the chance to win some- thing for nothing is one of the most compelling human motivators, a core emotion. But hundreds of thousands of people flocked to this Web site and I never expected numbers like that. "It worked for both sides because there was a fair exchange of value. It wasn't 'something for nothing.' People raised their hands and identified them- selves as registered customers. They gave permission to Volvo to start a relation- ship. 'A company puts a 30-second ad on TV and doesn't know who is watching or how effectively it's getting through. Here, Volvo could reach right out to the consumer, get rid of the middle man, drive a five-minute Web experience and get the data it needed in a rapid time frame." Linkner started asking other clients if they would be interested in this sort of promotion. That led him to ah-ha num- ber two. "I found they were reluctant to com- mit that much of their advertising budg- et to a single promotion," he says. "You're talking a minimum $50,000 prize to get noticed, plus all the other costs. But I'm a great believer in study- ing businesses in totally unrelated fields and taking lessons from their best prac- tices. "What we were doing was so new there were no models. We were invent- ing the industry. But we could still benchmark from the way other. "Our problem was this: How do you manage to sell a fairly expensive product as a one-time purchase? So I began to think of vacation homes, condomini- ums. They do it through selling time- shares, spreading the cost around to sev- eral buyers. That was the second ah-ha moment. "I could syndicate the sweepstakes costs by running connected contests on two company Web sites at once. That way, we had two satisfied clients and they could offer a juicy prize without having to write a juicy check" The rest has been a matter of nearly 100 percent growth for each of the last four years. Planning Ahead "The only drawback to what they do is that you have to own a computer to par- ticipate, and a surprising number of older folks still don't," says Michael EYE ON THE PRIZE on page 35 A-Z 8166-352-7388 • Literature • Letters • Kits • Ad Material • Inserts • Parts • Pick-n-Packs of All Kinds Pick Up and Delivery Available (all SE MI, 24/7 in Southfield) MAILCORP USA 999340 Joe Menem Computer Services Your Independent Technology Partner •Network design & installation •Software design & programming •Server . setup & administration •Hardware troubleshooting & repair Over 24 years of experience making computers do the right thing. Small !Business ...Call 248-755-1257... Home Office 915510 l st C a ll Computer Solutions 4=MOn-Site Repairs Upgrades Training 248-515-5702 No 4 GREAT RATES Certified I References 926830 0 PUTER CONFUSION? • Computer Repairs — Upgrades — Replacements • Infections Treated — Antivirus CounterSpy • Cable/DSL Internet Connection Sharing • EBAY, Yahoo, Stocks and AOL • Computer Purchase Consulting • Training and Installation • Wireless and Wired Networking Help iPod and iTunes Support The Computer Person, LLC • 248-655-9010 support@thecomputerperson.net 927330 Olit AC t011UlpiiitaftVIL WW 1% 110t Customized. Plans... Maximized Value. KE i MUTES INSURANCE AGENCY, INC Individual & Employer/Group Plans Charles H. Keys, CSA* President Certified Senior Advisor Long Term Care Specialist 39555 Orchard Hill Place, Ste 430 Novi, MI 48375 office: (248) 347-7032 fax: (248) 347-7035 info@kbia-inc.com www.kbia-inc.com Life • Health • Dental Vision • Long Term Care Cafeteria Plans Disability • Annuities 959640 * * * * * STAIRWAY LIFTS* * * * * THE CAREFREE WAY TO CLIMB STAIRS When you're disabled, or just not able to move around as freely as you once could, stairs can be a real problem. But there is a simple answer. The powered stairway lift. Easily installed to fit curved or straight stairs. They give you back the ability to move around your own home. Folds back-gets in nobody's way. CALL OR STOP BY FOR A FREE DEMONSTRATION ACTON RENTAL & SALES LARRY ARONOFF I love my Stairway Lift! It takes me up and down the stairs with the push of a but- ton. Call for details! (313) 891-6500 (248) 540-5550 'N 6/16 2005 33