Regret. The single most powerful killer of dreams. Regret will keep us living in the past and sabotage our future. Regret is a thief that robs us of our today's' – the only thing we are assured of making the most of. It has been said that the #1 regret among our senior citizens is not related to what could have been avoided in life (the mistakes that were made) but rather what was never achieved - the regret of not knowing what could have been. In order to overcome the regrets of the past (whether in business or life) and avoid coming to the end of life disappointed, we must take risks. The security of tomorrow is guaranteed to no man. We must be willing to look on the inside of ourselves and ask if we are truly willing to settle for second best. Someone may be thinking, "This is too deep for me. Business is great, it's never been better. I am happy." Are you really? There is nothing more in life for you? Perhaps your dream should be enlarged… unless you are ready to die. Our greatness in life will be determined not by ourselves, but by others.  It is in fact determined by what we contribute to this life. All the money we make, all the houses we build, all the vacations we take, all the good things we do, will mean nothing if we do not impact the lives of others in a positive way. The best way to see our own dreams fulfilled is to help fulfill someone else’s.

Dare to Dream
Our potential is only limited by our willingness to recognize it within ourselves. Our achievements in life will only be limited by our willingness to develop that potential. If we are to soar to new heights in business, then we must have a fresh vision for what we are doing. Let us not be shortsighted. The literal definition of an idiot is someone who does the same thing the same way and expects a different result. To be stupid is to lack knowledge, that we can change. We have to be able to look at things with a different perspective. If you want something you’ve never had before, then you have to do something you’ve never done before: we must take risks in order to achieve. Sometimes disappointment and regret will cause us not to dream big or to give up on a dream we once had. Where have you given up? What is not happening in your business that you once thought could? Does the disappointment of your unrealized dream really mean more to you than the dream itself? I’m reminded of an old Eagle’s song…. something about "get over it." Look. The only reason we don’t have everything we want in life is because of us. Not the economy, our employees, our spouse or anyone and anything else. That is the bottom line. We have the power to change, the power to take a risk, the power to succeed.

Turn Your Set Backs Into Stepping Stones
Vision, or the blueprint: the plan of our goals, comes from a dream. If we can not dream big, we will never achieve anything. Settling for second best is not what life is all about. When Michael Jordon was cut from his junior high basketball team, he did not allow his disappointment to keep him away from his dream of being in the NBA. Instead, he allowed his dream to bring about vision: he worked harder, longer, with more accuracy on a continual basis. He was willing to pay the price for success through the investment of practice. He continued to envision himself in his dream and his dream brought him to his destiny. Today, Jordan is not only known as the greatest basketball player that ever lived, but his philosophies are taught to business professionals seeking success. What dreams do you have? What dreams have you given up on? Are you happy with the state of your business? Stop making excuses for why things are the way they are and dare to take a risk and change. Only we hold the key to our future. Take control, live your life without regret.

Symptoms:
If you're exposure blanket is worn on the edges, loose or starting to tear, you are probably having trouble getting a consistent washout with your photo resist film. You  may have even said to yourself, "This vellum worked just fine last week..." and spent some time checking your toner coverage or even trying a new vellum with a new sheet of film. You probably ended up with another sheet of un-even washed photo resist film and more frustration. Upon inspecting both sheets of mask, you may have noticed the areas where the film did no wash were slightly different from the first, proving that it could not be a vellum problem. At this point, most people call us thinking it's a film problem.

When a Letralite™ blanket is loose, it can not hold the photo resist film and your film tool (vellum, etc) against the clear cylinder tightly. Light is then able to seep between areas where there is no a tight contact between the two. It usually never happens in the same spot twice and is more prevalent when exposing larger sheets of resist.

Solution:
Replace the black blanket.
Your blanket should have no more than a 1/2" - 1" worth of tension to clip to the cylinder.

Hint:
A good practice is to leave one side of the blanket unclipped when no in use to avoid loss of tension. It's also a good idea to check the clear cylinder to see if it is badly scratched and obstructs light. You might not get accurate exposures, particularly in areas where the scratches are the worst. Another thing to look for is discoloration of the cylinder - it could be defusing critical light for good exposure.

Replacement Parts:

Blanket: A loose blanket will produce an inconsistent washout. Your blanket should have no more than 1/2" - 1" worth of tension to clip to the cylinder. Replace if edges are worn or loose.
Cylinder: Finding similar stubborn spots when washing out different sheets of film? It could be the result of a scratched cylinder. Recommend replacement every 2 years or  when cylinder gains a yellow hue...definitely replace if scratched!
Bulb: The standard life of a bulb for this unit is approximately 700 hours. It is typical for the bulb to have blackened edges after time. The blackened edges do not emit any less UV light, nor will it effect the exposure. The peak UV output for the Letralite™ is 365 nanometers. The lamp may start to flicker before burning out.
Timer: If the timer is getting stuck and you're constantly over-exposing the film, replace the timer.
Starter: If the light is not coming on after 3-6 seconds and seems to flicker for more then 10-15 seconds, replace your starter.
Ballast: If the bulb has been changed and is not flickering or if the unit does not come on after 30-45 seconds,  you may need to replace the ballast.

Disassembling  the Letralite™ Exposure Unit:

Disassemble the Letralite™ unit by unplugging and removing the end caps and bulb. Remove the two (2) screws from right and left sides of the unit. Remove the two (2) end identification stickers and  find four (4) small screws. Remove only one (1) screw for the top and the corresponding screw on the bottom. Do the same to the other side and you will be able to separate the Letralite™ into two halves.

Are your customers demanding more from you, yet looking for ways to pay less? Are you facing a host of new competitors, some of whom you're not even familiar with? Are your customers noticeably more sophisticated in making purchases from you then ever before?

Buyer and Seller Shake-up
If your answer is yes to such questions, you're not alone. The new reality is that buyers - both individual consumers and business-to-business purchasers alike can have it all: high quality, excellent service and a competitive price. A shake-up has been altering the relationship between buyers and sellers. In industry after industry, buyers have become more demanding and less loyal. They are turning up their noses at sellers' dictates previously taken for granted; questioning everything from price to terms to warranties; substituting private label, "no load," or clone products for brand names; negotiating harder for the absolute best price.

What are the New Rules?
But what are the new rules? How does a salesperson turn the customer's quest for greater value into an opportunity rather then a stumbling block? The only rules that matter are those that will impact yourself and you firm. Let's look at four overarching implications that apply to most businesses.

Implication 1
Excellent Quality is No Longer Enough
Quality is expected by today's consumer like never before. The tolerance for a product or service not working immediately and working all the time is quickly approaching zero. And yet, as important as it is, quality alone has not helped companies to thrive and, in a few cases, even to survive. The point is, if you or your products are not meeting the need of your customers, quality alone won't pull you through.

Implication 2
Low Prices Alone are Not Enough
Despite the clamor for lower prices, merely lowering your prices won't necessarily bring in many more customers. The "low price leader" is always vulnerable to somebody else some where offering the product for a few pennies less. Moreover, the value revolution does not mean that customers focus solely on the price tag alone. In today's environment, where every player is matching everyone's lowest prices ("our low prices are guaranteed"), it's become more of a necessity merely to stay in the game, but not necessarily a viable differentiator over the linger term. There has to be something more, some other point of differentiation to get customers to consistently and loyally choose you. As complexity increases, customer will rely on people more than ever. Value-added services that make the customer feel special, that meet and anticipates the customer's needs become important.

Implication 3
Excellent Service is Not Enough
The reality is that excellent service is harder to deliver on a consistent basis than even product quality, which can be standardized and objectively measured. But service, while valued, is more difficult to measure and make tangible, so the customer tends to take it for granted. Excellent service is in the eyes of the beholder.

Implication 4
Excellent Customer Satisfaction is Not Enough
At first glance, customer satisfaction and value might seem to be the same thing. If you are satisfying your customers, they are getting good value, case closed. But according to research by Bain and Company, on average 65-85% of customers who abandon a business report that they were "satisfied" or "very satisfied" with their former supplier. The new reality of the value revolution is more complicated than that.

What is Enough?
So, what is enough? What is enough is what we call your winning formula, the right combination of quality, service, and price your customers what to meet their unique and individual needs. Tow questions can help guide your response to this:

Question 1
How Does Your Customer Experience Value?
Sometimes what customers value isn't so obvious. Sometime is doesn't show up in perfunctory test test or in yes/no answers. What the customer values about your business may be consciously unknown to your customers. What the customer values about your business may be realized only when it gets taken away.

Question 2
What are You Willing to Do to Deliver Better Value?
Your customer is constantly (if quietly) asking, "who's got the better value? Who's bringing better value to the table now? Not yesterday. Today!" So future focused salesperson continuers to look at the overall value equation through the eyes of the dispassionate, self-centered customer.

Role of Customer Service
Customer service is the surest way to build and sustain competitive advantage. Studies conducted by Forum, a Boston based consultancy specializing in customer service, show that keeping a customer costs one-fifth as much as acquiring a new one. In addition, customers are four times more likely quit buying from a company because of poor service then because they found a cheaper supplier elsewhere.

Role of Price
As important as price has become, price alone is rarely the only factor in buying decisions. Instead, the key factor in any buying decisions. Instead, the key factor in any buying decision is the perceived value to be gained by the buyer. Perceived value is the reason why companies with the highest-price products and service in many industries often have the lion's share of the market. This is not to say that price can be ignored; far from it. The best way to get a higher price is to add more tangible value via special service, higher measurable quality, or a perception of the salesperson giving service excellence.

What Salespeople Can Do
The fact is, most salespeople don't think about their value proposition untie trouble hits. A new competitor suddenly appears. Sales taper off. Margins get squeezed. The status quo, which is to say the current value proposition, is no longer attracting customers. By then it may be too late. The best time to think about value is before you have to., before your back is up against the wall, before your feet are to the fire. When a value innovator mover to reinvent value in a particular industry, other player in that industry are presented with a critical decision. Either  they in turn re-think and re-invent their won way of doing business by way of response, or they play a game of watching customer loyalty erode over time.

Reprinted with permission from The Selling Advantage Vol.10, Issue 229. Adapted from Customer Service for the New Millennium, by Robert B. Tucker (Carrier Press, Franklin Lakes, NJ). Mr. Tucker is president of The Innovation Resource, a research and executive development firm base in Santa Barbara, California. He is also a business futurist, author and seminar leader to national companies.

The Selling Advantage is published semi-monthly by Progressive Business Publications, 370 Technology Drive, Malvern, PA 19355. For more information about The Selling Advantage, please call 1-800-220-5000.