Don, a former and dedicated Chair of CCN passed away on May 9. His obituary can be found 

at http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/philly/obituary.aspx?pid=179954916. Those of us who knew him benefited from his friendship and knowledge and will miss him and his lively discussions and insights. We extend our condolences and sympathy to his family.

• CECON Division of Becht Engineering

  Position Description

  Position: Client & Market Manager

  Date: 3/1/2016

  A. Position Scope

  The Client and Market Manager’s prime responsibilities are: 1) broker contracts between CECON DIVISION

  potential science and engineering clients and the independent consultants in CECON DIVISION’s network in

  support of Becht Engineering Contract section, 2) implement and manage active consulting projects, 3) take

  technical and market ownership of defined applications and market sectors, and 4) provide professional

  coverage to the CECON DIVISION business, clients, consultants and marketing programs.

• B. Detailed Responsibilities

  1. Actively manage client leads as assigned by the CECON Group Manager of The CECON DIVISION of

  Becht Engineering or On-Boarding Coordinator. Activities include, but are not limited to, discussion with

  clients about the scope and nature of their projects, negotiating and finalizing client contracts, and

  managing client or consultant issues.

  2. Provide sales forecasts, and manage job leads and projects utilizing the job management system, and

  manage client relationships.

  3. Develop a market and technical focus for CECON DIVISION in specified markets and applications as

  agreed upon between the Client & Market Manager and the CECON Group Manager of the CECON

  DIVISION of Becht Engineering, utilizing current consultants in the CECON DIVISION network and

  supplementing consultants as defined by management. Drive CECON DIVISION’s branding in these

  markets, attend market sector conferences, and solicit new business via phone, email programs and

  personal visits (as approved by the CECON Group Manager of the CECON Division of Becht Engineering).

  4. Basic professional office coverage to include, but not limited to, office and phone coverage, recruiting and

  registering new consultants, providing support for CECON DIVISION administrative tasks such as reviewing

  consultant resumes, and attending CECON DIVISION Staff meetings.

  5. Implement and manage active consulting projects staffed by a team of CECON DIVISION consultants on an

  as-needed basis

• C. Position Requirements

  1. A technical college degree and plus 10 years of experience in science, engineering, or a technical business.

  Technical and/ or market experience in a defined area.

  2. Interpersonal and telephone skills with the ability to handle and close sales leads, elicit client needs, and

  talk to different people outside of CECON DIVISION.

  3. The ability to discuss technical consulting services, negotiate, execute, and manage contracts, manage

  client relationships, and manage technical projects.

  4. Skilled using MS Office and a computer to access, use, and update databases and to electronically

  communicate with associates, consultants, and clients.

  5. Work may be conducted from the CECON DIVISION office or remotely; however, on average for part-time

  personnel, a minimum of two days per week should be spent in the office.

  6. The ability to read, write, type, use the telephone, stoop to kneel to retrieve items, lift office supplies,

  push/pull doors, and climb stairs
  
  

• D. Compensation and Reporting Relationship

  1. Compensation shall consist of a base monthly salary and a commission based on project gross margins.

  2. Must work cooperatively with the CECON Staff and the network of consultants.

  3. Reports to the CECON Group Manager of the CECON Division of Becht Engineering.

  
  

Remember that business.usa.gov is a very useful resource for those with an entreprenurial spirit  and hosts many free seminars at locations across the country.

This week is National Entrepreneurship week

See results of the survey of CCN members from August 2014.  

best regards,  Keith Wing   08162014.CCN.MemberSurvey.pptx 

The following is a repeat of the email blast we sent out several weeks ago.

The new Chemical Consultants Network (CCN) website is built upon and hosted by the member management system Wild Apricot (WA; almost 7000 other organization members) and will help us grow CCN and serve members better.  We have worked to transfer information from the old website to this new one, and customized features for consultants. 

New features include

·         Easy, intuitive navigation.  Just explore and click.

·         Login with secure individual ID/password (temp will be sent by email) to premium member-only area. 

·         But public view allows potential clients to find the right consultants.

·         Once you log in, individual premium members can now edit/modify their own profile pages, including photos, contact updates, external webpages and more information about services

·         External searches for consultants via Google or other search engines, using the same URL's you had previously, or your new WA URL.   New members henceforth will just have the new WA URL.  Google ranks CCN highly for searches for chemical consultants, and this will continue.

·         Internal searches for consultant expertise by category and geography

·         Areas for posting presentations, including past meetings

·         Event announcements, including upcoming CCN meetings.  We can more easily collaborate with other chemically related groups, and extend our communication reach

·         Blog areas, covering topics of interest to premium members interested in growing a chemically-based knowledge community of microbusinesses.  This can include sharing ideas, organizing and now a weekly job board for chemists, biochemists and chemical engineers

·         A resources section that provides advice to premium members, such as tips on starting/maintaining a consulting business.

·         Facile online payment for either meetings or website dues, either through Paypal or using a separate non-Paypal associated credit card

·         Other premium member services which we'll develop during 2014

·         Administrative advantages

·         Finally, we have a complete, portable database of paid premium CCN members including all contact and expertise information .  Easier to communicate with and update all members

·         Easier posting of relevant material

·         Automated reminders of upcoming events and payments and payment acknowledgements

·         All online payments integrated with the member database, making it easier to track your payments

·         Automated software upgrades and backup of all data, ensuring data loss prevention

·         Overall, we can divert more energy to serving ongoing members, as well as reaching out to new members.  Also, ensures integrity of member transactions with CCN.