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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.
Tuesday
July 21, 2009 New Email Marketing Tool for DistributorsFiled under: Education, Industry Initiatives, Member Benefits, News About ASI, Using Ad Specialties Today we’re launching a new, easy-to-use email marketing tool that allows distributors to quickly create and send email marketing messages and promotions to customers with the click of a button. The latest ASI distributor benefit was unveiled on our first day of ASI Show Chicago. Read all about it in the press release, by clicking here. ASI chose RatePoint, Inc., a leading provider of user-friendly, Web-based communication tools, to provide the program to ASI distributor members. RatePoint is providing the program at a substantial savings, exclusively for ASI distributor members. I’m especially pleased with this powerful marketing tool because it costs about the same as the price of lunch, and you can choose from over 100 ready-made templates or can create a custom template. The new program includes:
Additional features include customer feedback tools that allow your clients to easily provide testimonials and feedback that distributors can use to promote their Website and LogoMall site, and at no extra charge. The new email marketing tool is available immediately, with a 30-day free trial for distributors with no further obligation. This latest distributor member benefit joins more than 12 other member savings programs from ASI, including discounts on UPS® shipping, group health insurance options, office supplies at OfficeMax®, credit card processing and digital artwork services. To check it out, visit asicentral.com/ratepoint. For more information, contact Dale Denham, senior vice president, at dale.denham@asicentral.com. I’d love to know what you think. Post a comment on the blog or email me here.
Monday
July 20, 2009 ASI Enhances ASI ContentBridge PlatformFiled under: Industry Initiatives, Member Benefits, News About ASI, Using Ad Specialties When someone like Dave Regan, vice president of sales at Counselor Top 40 Distributor The Vernon Company (asi/351700), gives a product a thumbs up, you can bet it’s worth a look. Dave recently told us that ASI’s newly-enhanced ASI ContentBridge platform, which allows distributors to build customized websites and use all of ASI’s product data and education content to stream into their own systems, has helped Vernon boost their online presence and improve operations. Jack Nadel International (asi/279600), also a Top 40 distributor, recommended the service’s versatility. Craig Nadel, president, calls ASI ContentBridge “great for our company.” See their full comments and learn what the buzz is about in the press release – click here. ASI ContentBridge is now more powerful, faster and easier. It makes order management a snap – because ASI does all the hard work using our enhanced data stream – and you can also showcase more products and make changes in near real-time. The service offers the same quality data that powers ESP Online and LogoMall websites and includes information such as pricing, set-up fees, product images and supplier ratings. Also – a real benefit for suppliers – when suppliers update their product and pricing information with ASI, it’s automatically forwarded to distributors with ASI ContentBridge to feed their websites and business systems. In turn, the latest product data reaches distributors and end-buyers faster. The bottom line is that larger distributors using ASI ContentBridge are growing their business and improving their customer service with fewer errors. For more information, visit asicontentbridge.com, or contact Dan O’Halloran, senior vice president of distributor services, at dohalloran@asicentral.com. Tell me how ASI ContentBridge is helping your business and post now, or email me here.
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 15, 2009 Remembering Lenore GoldbergFiled under: Community, Members There are many wonderful people in this industry, but Lenore Goldberg was a very special one. This week, I join her family, friends and colleagues in mourning her passing. I met Lenore nearly four years ago, during a continuing series of discussions between SAAGNY and ASI. She was president of SAAGNY, and we quickly established a trusting relationship that meant a lot to me and, I think, to her. While we didn’t always see eye to eye, we never hesitated to pick up the phone and call each other to air our concerns, listen to other viewpoints and then resolve whatever was in the mix at the moment. When I last saw her, Lenore and I discussed life and how it sometimes seems so short — I had just lost my father — and we hugged and shared how pleased we had been to have met. Lenore, of Premiums Plus Inc. (asi/299013), located in Fort Lee, N.J., served SAAGNY in basically every role after she was elected to the board in 2000. She was director, secretary, treasurer, vice president, president-elect and president. In the formal announcement of her passing, Jonathan Riegel, president of SAAGNY, said that “Lenore set the standard for leadership and we will continue to strive to maintain that level of integrity and fair-mindedness.” I couldn’t have said it better. She was warm, straightforward, competitive and caring. In a world that sometimes seems to have too many fakes and too much fiction, Lenore was a striking example of fresh honesty wrapped inside a real charmer. She’s the kind of person you’d have as a neighbor, if you were really lucky. Lenore was a strong supporter of The SAAGNY Foundation and its many charitable events and programs and served as a Foundation Trustee. An avid golfer, Lenore was especially proud of her three holes-in-one and was the recipient of several outstanding golfer awards. The SAAGNY Foundation will be naming their annual golf outing in her memory. Donations in Lenore’s name may be made by mail to: The Melanoma Research Foundation, 170 Township Line Road, Building B, Hillsborough, NJ 08844. Acknowledgement to be sent to: Stanley Goldberg, 4 Horizon Road, St. G2, Fort Lee, NJ 07024, or through www.melanoma.org.
Tuesday
July 14, 2009 Counselor Survey Shows Higher Employee MoraleFiled under: Community, Research What is your company doing to boost morale? Counselor magazine’s second annual In fact, employees at industry firms gave such high marks to their companies this year, Counselor expanded its list from 50 top companies to 60. Our editor-in-chief, Melinda Ligos, says that while many firms have had layoffs, remaining employees feel valued and are confident in their company’s leadership. For the full list of 60 companies, read the press release here. The companies highlighted are coming up with innovative strategies for motivating their employees, such as more generous 401(k) packages and benefit plans and creative and engaging programs. One company even created a “fun time committee” that regularly plans unique corporate outings, like golf contests and local concerts. Final rankings among the top companies, including the number-one firm, will be announced in the September issue of Counselor, where you can learn what ideas leading industry employers are putting into motion to increase staff retention, satisfaction, productivity, creativity and sales performance. Let me know how your company is trying to boost morale – post a comment on the blog or email me here. |
Best Places to Work survey indicates higher morale at industry firms. Interesting, considering the difficult economic times.