"SMARTBuying/SMARTSelling: Using Current Trends to Pick Hot Sellers and Increase Demand!"
Susan Savoie, Teacher Heaven

Do teachers ask about the newest buzzword and all you can give them is the "deer in the headlights" look? Don't have the time or budget to visit NSTA, NCTM, IRA and NAEYC national conferences? Join us for a discussion of the current trends in teaching AND specific examples of products that fill your customer"s needs. At this workshop sponsored by the Retail Store Council, we will discuss what"s hot in all parts of the nation to help you determine what to focus on when combing the aisles of Ed Expo. We will also have a hands-on demonstration of how supplemental products that incorporate interactive whiteboard technology can sell in your store. Audience participation is encouraged and prizes will be awarded. You WON'T leave empty handed!

Combat Medic For Retailers: The Secrets Of Marketing Cheaper and Smarter Than Your Competition
Bob Phibbs, The Retail Doctor

Right Click and "Save As..." to Download Handout #1 (.pdf)
Right Click and "Save As..." to Download Retail Roundup Flier 2009 (.pdf)

Foot traffic is down. Things you used to use to draw customers like Yellow Pages ads, direct mail postcards with a 20% off coupon, newspaper ads with "this weekend only", and fliers for events just don't do it anymore. That's because marketing has changed from a shotgun approach to a very targeted niche. The good news is that has made marketing easier - if you know the secrets.

This session puts in layman's terms how the Internet really works, and how multiple sites build loyal customers and increase sales. 95% of which is free. The first tier of the new marketing is to capture customers at the moment of desire. When someone is looking to buy the products we carry - we need to be there with a dynamic homepage and using Google Local. It is not offering yet another discount.

The second tier is intent, someone may be interested in our product but they don't have a burning need for it right now. These customers can be influenced by their friends. And that is with YouTube, Facebook and even Twitter. The old shotgun approach is third and that"s why it is unable to drive sales anymore.

In this session you will learn:

• Why if you don't have your own web page, you must.
• What the Internet runs on – its not code - it's a type of word.
• The secret tool one of the search companies gives you to save thousands in wasted effort.
• The three common errors in every home page.
• The power of Google Local and the insights that it can provide.
• Gone are the days to tell someone about your business, we need to show them with YouTube and it's easy.
• The novelty of Twitter, and how it could be used but the key downfalls of it.
• The need to create a Facebook fan page and why it is word-of-mouth marketing on steroids.
• How all of this is trackable and overflowing with statistics to easily learn about your customers.

Taking Control of Your Financial Health
Jason Bader, Managing Partner, The Distribution Team

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Finding the Balance: Stock Levels and Customer Demand
Jason Bader, Managing Partner, The Distribution Team

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The last year has been a challenging experience for everyone in the distribution business. Many of us have been quick to reduce costs and drive cash back into organization. Unfortunately, this meant an unhealthy reduction in inventory. If we reduce too far, we will not be able to meet the demands of our customers. By analyzing product movement and return on investment, buyers can become much more adept at meeting the financial needs of the company while respecting the needs of the customer. This session is all about finding the balance. Participants will learn how to:

• Analyze product movement in the organization
• Learn how to reduce inventory without the consequences
• Provide exceptional customer service through stocking levels
• Use return on investment tools to discover financial opportunities
• Communicate financial expectations to our suppliers

BONUS!! The Distribution Team Mini Consulting Sessions — FREE to Registered Dealers!

Jason Bader of the Distribution Team will be available for individual 20-minute consulting sessions on Thursday morning, March 18. This is an opportunity to bring forward your most pressing business challenge and get some quick advice. Jason was a distributor for over 20 years and has spent the last 6 years helping distribution companies overcome operational management challenges. Time slots will be scheduled on a first-come, first-served basis and sign up will be at Jason's Financial Fitness Boot Camp on Wednesday, March 17. There is no additional cost for this service and we expect the day to fill up quickly. Don't let this opportunity pass you by!

Websites Secrets Techies Don't Tell You: The Inside Scoop On Electronic Marketing For Your Small Business
Bob Negen, WhizBang Training

After listening to too many horror stories about websites that cost too much and did too little we decided to take matters into our own hands and create a workshop to show your audience exactly what they need to know and what they need do to harness the power of the internet and e-mail technology and use it to grow their businesses. This is NOT a technology workshop. This is a marketing workshop designed to give practical, to-the-point tips and techniques to make technology an important, effective part of any marketing mix.

In this dynamic workshop small business expert Bob Negen will show you exactly how to make simple technology a terrific business building tool. You will learn how to...

• Become a trusted resource to all of their customers, and how to turn this trust into long term, highly profitable relationships.
• Use e-mail marketing to dramatically increase customer loyalty
• Create e-mails that get their customers to take action
• Keep people on a site longer, visiting more pages and spending more money
• How to build a customer data base that they can sell to again and again…and again.

Retail Idea Swap: An Interactive Peer-to-Peer Discussion
(Attendance is limited to dealers only.)

What’s keeping you up at night? How are other dealers addressing problems you are facing in your business? Join your fellow retailers to share challenges and solutions in an informal manner. Each participant will be asked to write down and share at least one challenge and one great idea with their group. A moderator from the NSSEA Retail Store Council or table-nominated leader will help facilitate the discussion so that everyone can benefit from the discussion and walk away with some proven ideas to implement at their store.

Ed Expo: Your Place for Face to Face Product Training — New for 2010!

• Learn Effective Ways to Sell
• Increase Sales
• Renew Your Confidence in Product Knowledge
• Reward Your Team
• Inspire Loyalty

New this year for Ed Expo is a key education component: Manufacturer-Sponsored Training Sessions. These unique training opportunities will be held Thursday and Friday mornings, in 25-minute time slots, before exhibits open. In these hands-on, interactive sessions, dealers will be educated on the unique selling features and benefits that can be used to sell product to customers. There is no additional fee to attend these sessions, but plan to bring enough staff—store managers, retail trainers and key “front line” staff—to cover multiple supplier presentations. This is a great opportunity to get your staff face to face with the suppliers who can answer all their questions and ultimately help you sell more product.

CPSIA: What Your Business Still Needs to Know
Eric L. Stone, Partner, K&L Gates

Right Click and "Save As..." to Download Handouts (.pdf)

Now that all the new requirements of the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA) have taken effect, where does that leave the educational products marketplace? We have new lead contents limits, lead in paint thresholds and of course the threat of increased civil penalties. Do you have all your bases covered? Come to this session to learn the latest on what you need to be sure your company is selling products in compliance with the law from attorney Eric Stone, a former director of the Legal Division of the Office of Compliance and Field Operations at the Consumer Product Safety Commission. He will share recent CPSIA developments and help you understand its effect on the products you manufacture and sell.