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Wednesday
July 15, 2009 Serious About Education with New ASI Distributor Success SystemFiled under: Education, Industry Initiatives, Member Benefits, News About ASI ASI is serious about education, as is evident from the $1.3 million we invest each year Our new learn-as-you-go series includes an introductory DVD and ten 30-minute lessons on CDs, along with a workbook and motivational flash cards. The best part is you can use it when you want, where you want – at home, in the car, on a PDA or through a smart phone. The program is part of ASI’s generous ASI member benefits program, and is shipped free to new ASI distributor members. Distributors attending three education classes during the New Distributor Success Track at the ASI Show in Chicago on Tuesday, July 21, will receive a complimentary copy. It’s also available electronically to all ASI members, by clicking here. You’ll recognize some of the faces in the series, as it’s led by ASI executives, and supplemented with interviews from successful distributors, top suppliers and industry experts. Let me know what you think of the series and post a comment now. See you in Chicago!
Wednesday
July 8, 2009 New Features for ESP Online – Better Catalog Search and P.O. ToolFiled under: Member Benefits, Members, News About ASI
New features include: • Catalog Searching – Distributors can search for items found in the latest editions of Spectrum, Select and Gift Book catalogs on the ESP home page. • Improved Decorator Search – Distributors can search for decorators based on embellishment type and by distance-radius from any local zip code. • Enhanced Client Projects Center – Distributors’ clients are now accessible by name through an A-to-Z clickable list, and client projects can now quickly be searched by type of item. • Updated Purchase Order Tool – ASI’s industry standard purchase order now automatically fills in the net cost, based on the quantity being ordered, reducing errors. • Safety Notices – Active consumer product safety warnings are now displayed in the “additional information” area. For more in the press release, click here. In addition, many of ESP Online’s 32,000 users continue to participate in the exclusive ASI Supplier Ratings System, allowing distributors to rate their experience with a supplier among six categories using a five-star scale. Users can also view how many distributors have rated a supplier, similar to Amazon.com. If that weren’t enough, you won’t find higher quality images anywhere else in the industry. Almost all of them have white backgrounds and they’re all high resolution, and you can also change images and showcase them to clients as virtual samples. And, don’t forget, in the PromoCafe, ESP users can chat with other members of the ESP Online community instantly. There are multiple chat rooms for discussing a variety of topics and users can also send instant messages and can create buddy lists to maintain frequent contacts. For a free demo, visit www.asicentral.com/esp, and post a comment on the blog now about your experience using ESP to grow your business. Also, for videos of ad specialties for your clients, visit my YouTube channel here.
Wednesday
July 1, 2009 How Can I Enhance my Print Catalog Online to Grow Sales?Filed under: Guest Blog, Industry Initiatives, Member Benefits When it comes to catalogs, suppliers want to know how many to print and Distributors continue to use print catalogs and find them effective for generating sales and getting the word out about the products they offer. There’s no doubt that catalogs work. And now there’s a way for suppliers to enhance exposure digitally for their print catalogs – through ASI’s Digital Express service. The new service acts as a 1-2-3 marketing punch to boost exposure through ASI’s Email Express and through ASICentral.com’s catalog library. It works like this: ASI takes a print catalog and creates an online flip Suppliers should also make the online Digital Express catalog a big part of their website by putting it front-and-center on the home page. Companies invest a lot of time and effort to make a catalog great, so why not highlight it all year long on your homepage? The Digital Express service also provides an interactive searchable format, enabling distributors to search for the exact item they’re looking for. I’ve also suggested to every supplier who has signed up for Digital Express so far to include the link to their online catalog in the signature line of their emails. That way, every single time they send an email to a distributor, their online catalog is right in front of their potential client. Digital Express really is a unique service that helps suppliers increase leads and helps distributors find items for their clients faster, and at a time when you need it more than ever. For more information on the Digital Express program, or any other digital product, please do not hesitate to give me a call at 1-800-546-1295 or email me here. I’m more than happy to help you out in any way. Click here for examples of the digital catalogs (use your ASICentral.com email and password). – Dan Dienna is ASI‘s advertising director for catalogs and electronics.
Tuesday
June 9, 2009 Do you know Word – Really?Filed under: Education, Guest Blog, Industry Initiatives, Member Benefits Now is the time to make sure your company is positioned to take advantage of the Examining and streamlining processes, raising efficiency, and putting in checks and balances, at a time when business is a little slower, is a prudent decision. And, you can be certain that the tools and systems you have in place provide more functionality and can offer more information than you are already using now. I wrote this in Microsoft Word before posting it, but I don’t know all of Word’s other features. I’m constantly using only a small percentage of its capabilities, because I’ve yet to see the value of taking time to learn more. This is true not only for Word, but any software program, including our industry-specific ProfitMaker program for instance (which ASI Computer Systems provides for distributors and suppliers to use for entering orders, tracking inventory and producing business reports). So if you’re a ProfitMaker user, here are recent improvements you might not have used yet that can really help you out: More resources than ever
ESP Online Search
New Activity Manager
Reports
ASI Services directly integrated
Direct Supplier Website Integration
If you’re not a ProfitMaker user, visit www.asicomp.com to learn more about how it can streamline your operations and provide you with more time for selling. Look around your office and think about what programs and resources you already have that can contribute more to your operations, and ultimately, your profitability. – Dave Wirth is president and chief operating officer of ASI Computer Systems. Email him here.
Thursday
May 21, 2009 Virtual Trade Show Draws 2,000+ Distributors; Next in AugustFiled under: ASI Shows, Industry Initiatives, Member Benefits, Members, News About ASI At a time when other shows are down, ASI is delivering. Our first industry virtual trade show took full advantage of the latest technologies and attracted over 2,000 distributors. Demand from suppliers was so great we’ve added a second virtual trade show, scheduled for Wednesday, August 19. For those who could not attend this week’s show, it will be available on demand at www.asicentral.com/vts, beginning Tuesday, May 26. Read the press release here. No one else in the industry is doing more for distributors, suppliers and decorators. By offering a cutting-edge virtual trade show, ASI proved it’s able to respond effectively to the times with the resources you need now.
Above and below: ASI staff interacting with attendees in the show’s online chat rooms.
In addition to networking and selling, our online event also featured leading education sessions for distributors. Sessions included sales tips, research from ASI’s advertising specialties impressions study, information from the Counselor State of the Industry report, and a live broadcast of the ASI Internet Radio Show that attracted over 200 live listeners. Reactions from attendees were positive:
The next event in August will build on these great features we offered this week:
Registration for the next ASI Virtual Trade Show is free for distributors – more information coming soon – and suppliers can exhibit. To exhibit, contact Dan Dienna, advertising director for catalogs and electronics, at ddienna@asicentral.com.
Thursday
May 14, 2009 Facts and Photos From Toronto’s RoadshowFiled under: ASI Shows, Community, Industry Initiatives, Member Benefits, Members, News About ASI I attended an Advantages Roadshow in the world-class city of Toronto, along with our “True North” hosts, Fred and Leslie Oesen, and wanted to share some photos and information from the trip. Canada is one of the largest trading partners overall with the U.S. and promotional products sales are about $3.5 billion there. We’re committed to the Canadian marketplace and provide Canadian versions of LogoMall websites for distributors and ESP Online – featuring Canadian suppliers – and our best-in-class Advantages Roadshows now reach nine cities in Canada. I’m also looking forward to seeing our Canadian suppliers and distributors at the ASI Show in Chicago, where we host a special Canadian reception that’s typically packed. When you share a border that’s 5,522 miles long, shows on both sides are paving a lot of two-way streets leading to better business. Let me know if you have any stories or experiences from the beautiful Northern Lights country by posting a comment now or email me here.
Monday
May 11, 2009 Cut Costs on Credit Card ProcessingFiled under: Education, Guest Blog, Industry Initiatives, Member Benefits Do you know what you are paying in credit card processing fees for your customer orders? I can tell you most distributors, suppliers and decorators significantly underestimate the rate they are paying associated with accepting credit cards. Your monthly merchant account statement will have a rate posted on the front page. However, hidden additional fees are typically on the back pages. Hidden fees can be confusing and may not even be posted as a percentage. When you add the posted rate and the hidden fees, the effective rate can very easily double and even triple. The ASI Merchant Account Program, provided by Access Group, can help you understand your current costs by providing a FREE, no-obligation savings comparison that will identify your current rate and all of the additional hidden fees. The program typically saves members on average 30%, and can be as much as 50%. Take a minute now to complete the savings comparison form. Also, see how the ASI member program stacks up against other programs and how it provides you with the most value – click here for an analysis. Especially in times like these, I encourage you to take a serious look at this ASI member benefit and see how much you might be able to save automatically on something you’re probably doing everyday in the course of your business. For more member benefits from ASI, click here. – Cathy Martino is affiliate relations manager for ASI. Email her here. |
turnaround from this challenging economic period. Every organization can find areas where improvements are possible and needed. 
