|
Tuesday
August 18, 2009 General Colin L. Powell, USA (Ret.) Speaking at Orlando ShowFiled under: ASI Shows, Industry Initiatives, News About ASI We’re all fighting to advance our businesses during tumultuous times, which is why I’m so pleased General Colin Powell – a dedicated soldier and accomplished statesman – is joining us in Orlando for a must-see event certain to propel us stronger and smarter into 2010 and beyond. General Powell electrified a packed house with an incredibly moving Throughout his distinguished career, General Powell looked well beyond single battles to strategies that changed the playing field altogether. That’s exactly what we all need to do now: determine where we want to go and then make it happen by changing business models, leading sales and pushing growth. During his exclusive presentation – “Leadership: Inspiration for Extraordinary Times” – General Powell will discuss how each of us can emulate the leadership skills needed to remain focused, take responsibility, work toward improving processes within our organizations and motivate our employees in challenging times. Strategies for practicing true leadership and taking charge during times of great change will be covered and discussed. General Powell is, in my mind, one of the most admired leadership experts in America. He’s been a leader most of his life and has received numerous military, civilian and foreign state awards, including an honorary knighthood bestowed by H.M. Queen Elizabeth II of Great Britain. He’s also the best-selling author of My American Journey and remains active as founder of the Colin Powell Policy Center at the City College of New York (his alma mater). Seating for this extraordinary event will be limited and ASI members should register for ASI Orlando at www.asishow.com by September 30 to be guaranteed a seat. The ASI Show Orlando is the industry’s first national show of the year and largest event on the East Coast, is taking place on Sunday, January 3, through Tuesday, January 5, 2010. The schedule will feature a full day of ASI Education (January 3), followed by two exhibit days (January 4-5). General Powell’s keynote will be on Tuesday morning. General Powell’s topic will be timely, as distributors, suppliers and decorators aim to kick-off the New Year in a positive way. Let me know what you think of this announcement or the upcoming shows. Post a comment now or email me here.
Monday
August 17, 2009 ASI Presents Second Virtual Trade ShowFiled under: ASI Shows, Industry Initiatives, News About ASI Back by popular demand – the ASI Virtual Trade We heard your feedback following our inaugural show in May – which many attendees thought was very productive, educational and beneficial – and we’re hosting our second free online virtual trade show this Wednesday, August 19. The all-day event will feature more than 20 top suppliers, including Fields Manufacturing Inc. (asi/54100), Tri-Mountain Inc. (asi/92125) and Maple Ridge Farms Inc. (asi/68680). Distributors can participate in ASI Education sessions online, and distributors, suppliers and decorators can network and sell in real-time through interactive multimedia booths. Our first show in May attracted over 2,000 participants and averaged 1,300 visitors per booth. Attendees told us that the virtual experience was “awesome,” “easy to navigate” and “outstanding and innovative.” Margit Fawbush, marketing manager for Norwood Promotional Products, Inc. (asi/63110), said Norwood saw a big bump in norwood.com web traffic as a result of the links from their booth and described the show as “an excellent experience.” So we hustled to provide another smart opportunity for distributors, suppliers and decorators to connect, sell and build market share. This week’s show will have 11 new suppliers that weren’t at the first one. More information about the areas of the show are in the press release: click here. Registration for distributors for free. And when distributors register, they receive a free download of ASI’s new Distributor Success System – worth $299 – with tips and proven strategies to spur business. Attendees also have a chance to win over $17,000 in cash and prizes, just by visiting and interacting with suppliers in the Exhibit Hall. To register, click here. For more information, or to become an exhibitor, contact Dan Dienna, advertising director for catalogs and electronics, at ddienna@asicentral.com. I’d love to hear about your experiences with the virtual show, so post a comment now or email me here.
Tuesday
August 4, 2009 Awards From Suppliers – A Closer LookFiled under: ASI Shows, Industry Initiatives, Members Any time we present awards at an industry event like the recent black-tie Counselor Awards at ASI Show Chicago, we spend a lot of time working with the supplier designing the awards – since the pieces are treasured by recipients for a long time to come. This year we had the pleasure of working with the pros at Crystal D (asi/47759), whose slogan is “We exist to turn emotions into memories.” Chuck Dahlgren, president, and Angela Wurst, marketing coordinator, stood by their motto throughout the process of selecting the right awards to reflect the industry’s best and brightest talent. I believe we don’t highlight our own industry’s unique products enough, so here’s an up-close photo of the Person of the Year award. Also, a photo with me and Bonni Shevin-Sandy, president of Dard Products (asi/48500), holding her International Person of the Year award.
Crystal D offers more than 1,000 awards and plaques, along with eight imprint methods, so the decision-making process was thorough and allowed us to customize our awards to intricately represent the caliber of individuals and firms receiving them. In addition to Crystal D, other Counselor Awards sponsors this year were Anvil (asi/36350), Mars Direct (asi/68888) and The Corvest Family – Toppers (asi/91530), Adva-Lite (asi/32145) and It’s All Greek To Me (asi/62960). To see photos from the awards ceremony – including winners holding the Top 40 awards – click here.
Friday
July 24, 2009 4 More Hot Products – VideoFiled under: ASI Shows On the final day of the ASI Show Chicago I found four more products that your clients will love.
Click here to watch the video, and other products we featured during the first day of the show.
Thursday
July 23, 2009 Chicago Attendance Strong, Education Day up 7%Filed under: ASI Shows The ASI Show in Chicago just ended and the numbers are in: we attracted nearly 4,300 distributors, with Education Day attracting nearly 900 distributors, up 7% from a year ago. From the 50 free education sessions to the two well-attended keynotes, attendees found their time at the show very productive. Learn what they had to say, along with important highlights, in the press release: click here.
Thursday
July 23, 2009 Chicago Hot Products VideoFiled under: ASI Shows, Industry Initiatives, News About ASI The ASI Show in Chicago ends later today and I can’t tell you how much I enjoyed doing business in the Windy City, which has really come into its own as one of the most vibrant and sophisticated cities in the world to have a great time and have industry events. One of my favorite things to do at any show is check out the hottest new products and here in Chicago cleverness was abound. Click here to watch my video with a few of my picks, including:
Also, when the business day ended yesterday, we continued meeting and greeting on a truly spectacular evening cruise around Lake Michigan on the Spirit of Chicago, sponsored by SnugZ USA, asi/88060. It’s on to the final few hours and if you’re here, hopefully we’ll see each other on the floor. I’d love to hear about your experiences in Chicago, so post a comment now or email me here.
Wednesday
July 22, 2009 Counselor Awards Honors Distributor SalespeopleFiled under: ASI Shows, Members, News About ASI Every year I stand on stage at a fabulous venue during an ASI Show and look out on a black-tie crowd ready for our annual Counselor Awards and I feel exactly the same way: thrilled. The awards recognize the best and the brightest in our industry – the outstanding individuals and companies really making their mark.Which is why in choosing the highly-anticipated Person of the Year award we made an extraordinary decision in a nod to a more challenging year: rather than select just one individual, why not honor a group of individuals that’s having the biggest impact in these times? Those people are our distributor salespeople and our 2009 Person of the Year is “The Distributor Salesperson” – every blockbuster distributor rep at every distributorship in our industry. Distributor salespeople are making the most significant impact on the market by approaching business in a unique way in these challenging economic times and we highlighted these ten qualities at the ceremony that successful reps exemplify in their work everyday: tenacious, sincere, charismatic, passionate, resilient, empathetic, consultative, creative, organized and loyal. The other big winners of the 2009 Counselor Awards are:
We also revealed the Top 40 Distributors and Top 40 Suppliers rankings – the largest companies in the industry based upon 2008 revenue. And the Counselor Product Design Awards winners were recognized for their innovations in cutting-edge product design and functionality. To see more photos from the awards event, visit asicentral.com/counselorawards. To view the complete Top 40 Distributors and Top 40 Suppliers rankings, visit www.stateoftheindustry.com. |
and motivating speech at a 2007 show that pulled the entire crowd to its feet. I can’t wait to see how he inspires us in Orlando during such a critical time in our history. The former Chairman of Joint Chiefs of Staff and Secretary of State will be our keynote speaker Tuesday, January 5, 2010, at The ASI Show.
Show. 
