Over the past six years or so, wage and hour lawsuits have become, if not commonplace, extremely prevalent. This trend, fueled by a large number of workers displaced following the financial crisis and stoked by successful settlements and court rulings over the past several years, is unlikely to end anytime soon.

Marketing can be a complicated process, and postcard marketing is no different. It takes a lot of trial and error to get the hang of it. Luckily for you, I have 20 years of firsthand trial and error marketing experience. That means I can tell you the proven ways to get results, so you can avoid the pitfalls most marketers go through.

Hiring is an expensive, time-consuming process — employers want to make sure they get it right the first time. For many employers, background checks represent a key tool in ensuring the people they hire are trustworthy and have the skills, experience, and education they claim to possess.

Almost on a daily basis, news reports detail the marketplace factors that can affect businesses large and small. No matter what potentially game-changing information is coming out of Washington, D.C., though, there are winning strategies that not only endure but should be part of every workplace’s culture.

On Jan. 25, 2013, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit (D.C. Circuit) ruled that President Obama had unconstitutionally appointed three board members to the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). Thus, the NLRB has lacked its required quorum of three members for the past year, calling all of its decisions into question.

As I finished up my last sales appointment of the day I looked at the time. Had it really been three hours and 45 minutes since I arrived at this house? The good news was the time put in with this customer paid off. It ended in a $25,600 closed sale.

When Abercrombie & Fitch’s Michigan stores ran into problems with properly completing I-9 forms, it turned out to be a seven-figure mistake. The $1,047,110 fine was imposed even though the clothing retailer fully cooperated with investigators and there was no proof it knowingly hired illegal workers.

Are some of your best marketing and selling tools on the shelf collecting dust? Is this the right time for you to go back and use the selling tools that made you money years ago? Tools like personally contacting your customers. In person.

Lawsuits are expensive and inconvenient, but employee litigation can be even more painful for companies, executives, and managers. Fortunately, employers can minimize many employee lawsuits and their fallout through arbitration agreements, where a neutral arbitrator hears the facts of the dispute and makes a binding ruling.

Underwriters Laboratories (UL) has released the 2012 findings of its annual global study, The Product Mindset, which examines manufacturer and consumer perceptions about how products are made, sold, bought and consumed. This year's findings show high expectations about quality and safety.