Q&As

My pointed observation from reviewing hundreds of self-penned sales letters from small business owners is this: A majority of these otherwise by and large hard-working and conscientious people don’t put nearly enough time and effort into the job.

MerchantCircle has launched Web IdentityManager, a software package designed to help local business owners manage their online reputation by aggregating company listings, reviews and online ratings from local search sites.

The Federal Trade Commission will not begin taking action against telemarketers running afoul of call abandonment provisions in the Telemarketing Sales Rule (TSR) starting Jan. 2.

Valassis Communications Inc. will acquire Advo Inc. for $33 per share, or roughly $1.2 billion in cash. As part of the purchase agreement, both companies have agreed to dismiss all pending litigation.

InfoUSA, which acquired Opinion Research Corp. for $134.3 million in August, will reorganized the company’s operations into two groups.

SonoSite, Inc., a distributor of hand-carried ultrasound technology based in Seattle, has retained MarketBridge, to bolster SonoSite’s physician office channel sales.

Publishers Clearing House has restarted its Prize Patrol sweepstakes that surprises an unsuspecting winner at his or her home.

Microsoft has stopped a British man from selling lists of e-mail addresses, which it alleges were used for spamming, according to reports.

Sharper Image Corp. has requested an extension until March 1 to come into compliance with listing requirements for the Nasdaq Stock Exchange.

This week