Free Education Conference
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Promoting the Wellness Movement
Wednesday, February 6, 11:00 a.m.-11:45 a.m. 
Bill Jones, Atlanta Promotional Products
Sales & Marketing
.10 CEU

Selling into Cross-Cultural Markets
Wednesday, February 6, 1:45 p.m.-2:30 p.m. 
Sales & Marketing
.10 CEU

Selling Successful School Fundraisers
Wednesday, February 6, 2:30 p.m.-3:15 p.m.
Jay Busselle and Craig Mertens, Digital Art SolutionsSales & Marketing
.10 CEU

Turnarounds and Declining Markets 
Wednesday, February 6, 3:30 p.m.-4:15 p.m.
Don Arbuckle, Creative Resources
Sales & Marketing
.10 CEU

Selling “Made in the USA'” Products 
Wednesday, February 6, 4:15 p.m.-5:00 p.m. 
Sales & Marketing
.10 CEU

Bill Jones, Atlanta Promotional Products
Bill Jones, Atlanta Promotional Products, was recognized as one of ASI’s Top 10 Growing Distributors for 2006. With almost 20 years industry experience, Bill has worked with large companies, small companies and now owns his own company. He is a frequent presenter and contributing editor for many industry publications and has won awards for creative design in advertising specialty marketing campaigns. Bill’s selling strategies and case histories are drawn from his experiences as one of the industry’s top sales performers, his varied client base and his ability to grow new business while still getting home for dinner by 5:30 p.m.

Jay Busselle, Digital Art Solutions
Jay Busselle began his graphics career at the age of 14, printing bootleg surf and skateboard T-shirts. After learning valuable lessons about copyright law, Jay landed a job as a cut-and-paste artist for the Yellow Pages and quickly saw the advantages of working for his parents' screen printing and ad specialty company. Jay evolved into a top-producing sales professional and 27 years later, he is (mostly) grown up, and serves as General Manager of Digital Art Solutions, a Phoenix-based software company that makes graphics easy for distributors and suppliers.

Craig Mertens, Digital Art Solutions
Craig Mertens began his career in the imprinted sportswear business as the warehouse boy/janitor in the family screen printing and embroidery business. During college, Craig was known as “The T-Shirt Guy”, after saturating the campus with T-Shirts during his marketing class entrepreneurial project. After graduation, Craig undertook a vigorous sales training program in the imprinted sportswear industry that consisted of a sample bag, a price list and the words “go get'em kid." Craig quickly realized that great graphics were the key to opening new accounts. As an early pioneer of virtual samples, Craig used graphics to separate himself from the competition and build an imprinted sportswear empire. Translating his knowledge of graphic design and sales into software, Craig co-found Digital Art Solutions in 1999. Under Craig’s leadership, Digital Art Solutions has made it possible for countless non-artists to turn artwork into their secret sales weapon.

Don Arbuckle, Creative Resources
Don Arbuckle started his distributorship, Creative Resources, Inc., in 1999 and it has been growing strong for over eight years. While not a true computer “geek,” Don has been using computers since the early 80s, teaching college classes in Fortran, and using artwork programs since before CorelDraw had numbers. Prior to opening his distributorship, Don was an educational consultant and designed, developed and delivered training programs on technical skills as well as personal and executive development. Don sits on ASI's Production Ready Artwork Committee (PRA) and was instrumental in the development and release of electronic standards for our industry.

Wednesday, February 6, 10:15 a.m.-11:45 a.m. 
Rick Farrell, Tangent Knowledge Systems
Sales & Marketing
.15 CEU

Most salespeople are very good at a game no longer being played. Stop selling, presenting, answering objections and closing and instead play the role of a “change agent”. The feature/benefit or relationship style of selling that has served companies so long has proven to be a “great equalizer” that reduces your message to a common denominator. It creates commoditization of the logoed products we sell and makes it difficult to penetrate new accounts at high levels and maintain pricing integrity. In today's market, what truly differentiates one salesperson from another is their ability to be a business resource, strategic advisor, objective partner and business strategist. In this session, you'll learn:

• Why the best presentation is no presentation at all
• How to get a better yield and close more sales at higher margins
• How to establish a selling methodology that will maximize your leverage and help you gain control in the sales process
• How to uncover your clients' company vision/mission, critical success factors and sell like a business strategist
• How to build a sound business case and a ROI analysis for your clients
• How to create a value proposition that applies in today's market and communicate it effectively to new and existing clients

Rick Farrell, Tangent Knowledge Systems
Rick Farrell is President of Tangent Knowledge Systems and has been responsible for sales, and business development for nearly 25 years. His passionate, provocative and interactive style encourages audience participation, learning and improvement while providing practical, usable “time tested” information. Richard has worked with a range of businesses from Fortune 500 companies to start-ups, helping optimize performance by assessing salespeople, sales processes, management structure and implementing strategies to increase the company’s bottom line.

Wednesday, February 6, 10:15 a.m.-11:45 a.m.
Jeff Burrows, The Entrepreneurs Success Code™
Distributor Management
.15 CEU

To truly have a successful business and a life, you must align your personal and business goals, and put systems in place that create focus, save time, make money and drive profit. Discover how to reach your full potential, run a high-performance business and still have time to enjoy your life. Thousands of business owners are succeeding at a higher level, because they have learned to eliminate the obstacles, real and perceived, that were keeping them from reaching the top. If you want to run your business with less stress and more profit, The Entrepreneur’s Success Code™ will help you:

• Create a clear business vision
• Communicate with power and purpose
• Eliminate barriers to growth and success
• Develop customized, realistic, and actionable business sales strategies
• Increase productivity and effectiveness of you and your staff
• Motivate others for maximum performance
• Put systems in place to measure ROI and produce results that exceed your goals

Jeff Burrows, The Entrepreneur’s Success Code™
For over 20 years Jeff Burrows has helped people grow themselves and their businesses, without sacrificing their personal lives or their dreams. He is a contributing Trump University faculty member and author of The Entrepreneur’s Success Code™. Jeff has been an entrepreneur all his life, with successful careers in business, radio and television and the investment banking world. Today he owns www.jeffburrows.com and serves as a master coach to business owners and senior level managers. Jeff strategically teaches proven life and business development systems.

Wednesday, February 6, 10:15 a.m.-11:45 a.m.
Jennifer Cox, National Network of Embroidery Professionals
Distributor Management
.15 CEU

If you are picking out decorators from the yellow pages, or using the same decorator for every project, you may not be delivering the best possible products to your customers. Get an overview of the four major decorated apparel disciplines: embroidery, screen printing, sublimation and digital direct-to-garment printing. Explore the pros and cons of each method and learn to select the best decorator for your specific job. Learn what you should pay for specific expertise and how to negotiate the best price for each job. You’ll leave this workshop a more knowledgeable buyer of contract decoration. Increase your business by offering customers higher quality decorated apparel and increase your profits by offering more innovative decoration techniques than your competition!

Jennifer Cox, NNEP
Jennifer Cox is one of the founders of NNEP (National Network of Embroidery Professionals), a professional organization of embroiderers for embroiderers, which provides savings, information and support to embroidery business owners. Jennifer writes and speaks for several industry magazines and groups on issues related to the running of a successful embroidery business. Prior to founding NNEP, Jennifer was a continuing education program coordinator for a major university, then moved over to the family business, Designs on You, Inc., where she handled outside sales, marketing and customer service. During this time, Jennifer and her family realized that there was little industry support for independent embroidery business owners and founded NNEP.

Wednesday, February 6, 10:15 a.m.-11:45 a.m. 
Jason Miller and Lori Bauer, BIC Graphic USA
Professional Development
.15 CEU

Your clients want to know the ad specialties you're selling are safe. Find out how to know if the products you're buying have been imported, if they were imprinted locally or abroad and if all aspects of the final product have been tested and approved for sale in the U.S. Industry professionals will share what they watch for in terms of product safety, what distributors should ask suppliers, how to protect yourself and your company if an issue does arise and lends advice on how to be proactive with your customers during the sales process. Get information about the testing process and what types of product safety/compliance verification you may need. You'll save valuable time and research efforts and position yourself as an informed professional when you attend this timely and informative panel discussion.

Jason Miller, BIC Graphic USA
Jason Miller is a veteran of the promotional products industry with over 15
years of experience. In 2003, he joined the largest world-wide writing
instrument company in promotional products, BIC Graphic. While working for BIC, Jason has held a variety of management positions, leading global
business development and marketing efforts. In Jason’s current position as Global Director, Business Development, he oversees the growth of BIC facilities around the world. His international experience has given him a unique perspective on the future of promotional products and what it takes to succeed in both mature and emerging markets.

Lori Bauer, BIC Graphic USA
Lori Bauer is a nine year industry veteran. In 1998, she joined BIC Graphic. Over the course of her career in marketing with BIC, she has played an integral role in the growth of writing instruments and the company’s diversification into new product categories. In her current position as Marketing Manager, she is responsible for leading BIC’s new product development of both domestically produced and sourced products, as well as the overall marketing strategy for the company.

Wednesday, February 6, 10:15 a.m.-11:45 a.m.
Jay Busselle and Craig Mertens, Digital Art Solutions
Technology
.15 CEU

Learn basic CorelDRAW skills to successfully create and transfer logo artwork to your clients and suppliers. You’ll learn how to produce custom designs and mock-ups, how to work with corporate logos and how to use CD-ROM clip art. Determine at which point you’ll outsource production/logo clean up and when you can turn this skill into one of your most powerful sales and marketing tools. New, industry-specific features in CorelDRAW will be introduced together with time saving shortcuts. Plus, you’ll explore how adding visual value to your client’s logo will add to your bottom line. Note: Comprehensive electronic art instruction provided in CorelDRAW for Windows.

Jay Busselle, Digital Art Solutions
Jay Busselle began his graphics career at the age of 14, printing bootleg surf and skateboard T-shirts. After learning valuable lessons about copyright law, Jay landed a job as a cut-and-paste artist for the Yellow Pages and quickly saw the advantages of working for his parents' screen printing and ad specialty company. Jay evolved into a top-producing sales professional and 27 years later, he is (mostly) grown up, and serves as General Manager of Digital Art Solutions, a Phoenix-based software company that makes graphics easy for distributors and suppliers.

Craig Mertens, Digital Art Solutions
Craig Mertens began his career in the imprinted sportswear business as the warehouse boy/janitor in the family screen printing and embroidery business. During college, Craig was known as “The T-Shirt Guy”, after saturating the campus with T-Shirts during his marketing class entrepreneurial project. After graduation, Craig undertook a vigorous sales training program in the imprinted sportswear industry that consisted of a sample bag, a price list and the words “go get'em kid." Craig quickly realized that great graphics were the key to opening new accounts. As an early pioneer of virtual samples, Craig used graphics to separate himself from the competition and build an imprinted sportswear empire. Translating his knowledge of graphic design and sales into software, Craig co-found Digital Art Solutions in 1999. Under Craig’s leadership, Digital Art Solutions has made it possible for countless non-artists to turn artwork into their secret sales weapon.

Wednesday, February 6, 1:45 p.m.-3:15 p.m.
Bobby Lehew, ROBYN
Advanced Sales
.15 CEU

Blogging, Social Media, PR and the new Web World: Come learn how small businesses can get heard in a big way. Discover tools that will help you harness the power of the Conversation Age and raise the online visibility of your company. Learn how to move from consultative salesperson to trusted advisor by using the web to demonstrate your experience. This is a general overview of the tools and resources you can use to build your marketing potential. We’ll explore:

• Why new media matters
• Blogging ? get published/get noticed
• MySpace, Facebook and Twitter ? the social networking phenomena
• White papers ? catching big clients in simple ways
• PR: do-it-yourself PR and the online tools that make it possible
• How to integrate your marketing communications and increase your user interaction

Bobby Lehew, ROBYN
Bobby Lehew, CAS, is Director of Operations for ROBYN, a fulfillment company that creates and distributes branded products and collateral printed materials through private-label company stores. A passionate believer in the effectiveness of well-placed promotional marketing and the strategic significance of well-managed brand assets, Bobby cut his teeth in the industry packing boxes for a corporate catalog program fifteen years ago and now oversees the multimillion dollar distributorship. With an exceptional staff, ROBYN has doubled their sales since 2002 due to a direct emphasis on company stores.

Wednesday, February 6, 1:45 p.m.-3:15 p.m.
Lisa Leitch, Teneo Results
Sales & Marketing
.15 CEU

Price increases occur every year. Forecasters predict above average fuel costs, increased product safety assurance costs and other market forces will drive prices for ad specialties higher than average in 2008. Are you prepared? Do you have a plan to effectively communicate with clients about price increases in advance of purchase? How do you plan to keep your margins high during across-the-board price increases? It’s done every day by creative, solution-focused distributors who think proactively in terms of their customers’ planning, marketing, positioning and branding needs. Learn how successful distributors proactively communicate annual price increases and propose ideas that turn every order into a great order with add-on concepts their customers would have never conceived. Best of all, you’ll discover how your ideas can generate greater results for your customers who will then refer your services throughout their company and industry.

Lisa Leitch, Teneo Results
People who know Lisa Leitch describe her as a “fireball.” Contributing to a wealth of marketing, promotions and sales hands-on experience, Lisa delivers results. As a national advertising manager, Lisa understands the client and buyer’s perspective. As a multi-million dollar salesperson and VP of sales for one of the largest Canadian promotional distributors, selling to IBM, Hershey, Daimler Chrysler and YTV, she knows the promotional industry. And as a strategist, speaker and trainer, it is Lisa’s goal to help you “master” the sales game.

Wednesday, February 6, 1:45 p.m.-3:15 p.m.
Ira Neaman, Vantage Apparel
Sales & Marketing
.15 CEU

Create your own competitive advantage when you learn how to build a distinctive, varied and high quality apparel program. Armed with this capability, your profits will soar and your pipeline will fill with new customers who want a skilled apparel program designer with the latest decorating techniques and the latest style and graphic designs. Participants will:

• Gain an understanding of the textiles market and learn how to keep up with evolving technology and imprinting techniques available today
• Learn which components every apparel program needs to offer and how to keep a program fresh, functional and fashionable
• Get tips and techniques for making your custom designs and imprints exclusive and difficult to imitate
• Discover new decorating processes, how to use mixed media, special inks and embroidery techniques to create unique images
• Learn innovative strategies to increase sales with complimentary or add-on products
• Realize how to make the most money on apparel sales and how to re-generate sales year after year

Ira Neaman, Vantage Apparel
Ira Neaman founded Vantage Apparel, a Counselor Top 40 supplier of decorated wearables, in 1977. For more than 30 years, he has served as President of Vantage. Ira has been an active member in the advertising specialty industry, serving on committees including Leadership Advisory, Strategic Planning, Marketing and Research. In 2003 Neaman was named the Counselor Magazine Person of the Year and in 2007 included on Counselor’s Power 50. Ira shares his expertise in all areas of manufacturing, decoration and apparel trends as a regular speaker for the industry’s continuing education program.

Wednesday, February 6, 1:45 p.m.-3:15 p.m.
Brandon Mackay and Charley Johnson, SnugZ USA
Professional Development
.15 CEU

New distributors will realize increased effectiveness with clients and advertising specialty suppliers when they understand industry priorities and basic rules for success. Learn what is expected of a distributor, supplier and client and how keeping your sense of humor and communicating effectively leads to success. Minimize common mistakes, reduce stress and maximize profitability when you learn the recommended procedures for order processing, order tracking, product research, proposal writing and effective communication in business.

Charley Johnson, SnugZ USA ,
Charley Johnson is Vice President of Marketing for SnugZ USA. He has been instrumental in maintaining the high customer service goals and objectives at SnugZ USA, who was named the 2006 ASI Supplier of the Year.

Brandon Mackay, SnugZ USA
Brandon Mackay, CEO, started his career in 1994 in the shipping department. Through his forward thinking and ability to build systems, he has been promoted to the top leadership position at SnugZ USA, one of the most well known and respected suppliers in the industry.

Wednesday, February 6, 1:45 p.m.-3:15 p.m.
Don Arbuckle, Creative Resources
Technology
.15 CEU

Should I buy a Mac or can I use my PC to create artwork that suppliers can use? Is Adobe Illustrator better than CorelDRAW? In which format do ad specialty suppliers want to receive my artwork? What type of separations will my decorator need for screen printing? How do I scan images and touch them up for printing on products? How do I take bad artwork and make it better? Confused by all the choices in computer graphics? If these questions and others have you stumped, this class will clear the air. You’ll learn:

• Which computer graphic programs are best for ad specialty distributors and what hardware you need
  to run them
• Graphic and electronic artwork terminology and types of file formats
• Which file formats ad specialty suppliers want your artwork
• How to label artwork files when you send them to suppliers

Don Arbuckle, Creative Resources
Don Arbuckle started his distributorship, Creative Resources, Inc., in 1999 and it has been growing strong for over eight years. While not a true computer “geek,” Don has been using computers since the early 80s, teaching college classes in Fortran, and using artwork programs since before CorelDraw had numbers. Prior to opening his distributorship, Don was an educational consultant and designed, developed and delivered training programs on technical skills as well as personal and executive development. Don sits on ASI's Production Ready Artwork Committee (PRA) and was instrumental in the development and release of electronic standards for our industry.

Wednesday, February 6, 1:45 p.m.-3:15 p.m.
John Griffith, ASI
ASI Product Training
.15 CEU

Discover how ESP Online and LogoMall web site can make your company more successful by increasing your sales, saving time and improving overall efficiency. During this session, Glenn will show you:

• Why ESP Online and LogoMall is the industry’s #1 business management package for client development, product research and marketing
• How to take advantage of ESP Online’s exclusive features, like virtual samples, mobile client project access and editable PDF presentations
• How to leverage ASI’s LogoMall web site platform, with its world-class new shopping engine, to help your customers and prospects find products faster, provide them with more relevant results and, most importantly, increase the number of leads from your web site!

Wednesday, February 6, 1:45 p.m.-3:15 p.m.
Mary Kilburn, DinoMar and Christine Lovell, ASI
Supplier
.15 CEU

Suppliers new to the promotional products industry will gain valuable advice from these two industry veterans. Learn how to:

• Understand the promotional products network
• Define your opportunity
• Create the “advertising value” for your line
• Develop a positive industry personal
• Implement proven marketing strategies to leverage
  the network
• Determine who your real customers are and how to reach them effectively
• Utilize the power of ASI

Mary Kilburn, DinoMar and Christine Lovell, ASI
Mary Kilburn and Chris Lovell bring more than 45 years combined experience to new suppliers looking to quickly and successfully enter the promotional products market. Helping well-known industry firms become industry icons is also a specialty of these marketing specialists. As DinoMar’s principal consultant, Mary brings 30 years of experience developing sales and marketing plans, market evaluations and strategies, representative programs, catalog and material design in promotional products and peripheral industries. As Sr. VP of Sales at ASI, Chris has countless case histories and can discuss many supplier success stories. Chris and Mary’s classes are where to begin if you’re looking to enter with a bang, quickly increase sales and profits or brand and position your firm for long-term success.

Wednesday, February 6, 1:45 p.m.-5:00 p.m.
Wayne Williams, ASI Computer Systems
ASI Product Training
.30 CEU

ALL ASI Members! Join us for an exciting afternoon of discussions on how to grow your business. Topics will include goal setting, customer and vendor relations, people politics and more. Wayne has been in approximately 600 ASI members’ offices over the past 10 years. He would like to share some of the ideas that work and some that may not. This seminar is designed for owners and managers. You do NOT need to have the ProfitMaker software to attend.

Wayne Williams, ASI Computer Systems, Inc.
Wayne Williams, ASI Computer Systems, Inc., has taught ProfitMaker, ProfitPro and ProfitMaker Plus software for 13 years. Currently he is Senior Instructor/Program Facilitator specializing in advanced training and also assists in solving business management issues for ASICS customers.

Wednesday, February 6, 3:30 p.m.-5:00 p.m.
Ted Davies, The Promotion Coach
Advanced Sales
.15 CEU

Do you know the 12 steps to getting the final sale? In this session, you’ll:

• Discover the steps successful distributors use to develop demand for their services
• Learn how to use voice mail with a powerful message that gets your call returned
• Acquire new techniques to convince prospects to see you 
• Leave with the next nine crucial steps to finalizing the sale

During this interactive workshop, you’ll learn from actual case studies how to make a $100,000 sale using this proven 12-step advertising promotions sales process!

Ted Davies, The Promotion Coach
Ted Davies has sold enough to be in the top 1% of industry salespeople for the last 27 years. He has developed more than 1,000 promotions, including many for Fortune 1000 customers. His advertising sales promotion career began right out of college as a sales representative with Sales Marketing, Inc., (SMI) a Top 100 promotion agency. He then became National Sales Manager for SMI with offices in Philadelphia, Akron, Dallas, San Francisco, Seattle and St. Paul, while still maintaining a multi-million dollar book of business each year. In 1998, he founded Paradigm Partners, Inc. and in 2006 launched a new division of Paradigm called The Promotion Coach. As The Promotion Coach, Ted has developed the industries best training business planning and sales skills development program called The First Million Coaching Program and The Top 25 Idea Selling Program called the Master Sales Club.

Wednesday, February 6, 3:30 p.m.-5:00 p.m.
Melinda Ligos, ASI Magazines and Andrew Cohen, Counselor
Sales & Marketing
.15 CEU

Each year, the fastest-growing distributor companies are identified and honored by ASI. We’ve invited several of these company owners to share their secrets for fast growth and insights for managing that growth profitably. Counselor editors interview these wildly successful entrepreneurs delving into their fascinating backgrounds and business approaches, their drive to succeed and secret sales strategies. Don’t miss this exciting and revealing probe into what success looks like for an ad specialty distributor in today’s competitive market.

Melinda Ligos, ASI Publications
Melinda Ligos is Editor-in-Chief of ASI Magazines. Before joining ASI, she spent more than 13 years at Nielsen Media in New York overseeing a group of business-focused magazines that included Sales & Marketing Management. Under her leadership, Sales & Marketing Management was awarded the honor of “Magazine of the Year” from the American Society of Business Publication Editors (ASBPE). She also has been a frequent contributor to the business section of The New York Times, and her work was featured in the 2001 edition of The Best Business Stories of the Year.
Andrew Cohen, Counselor magazine Andy Cohen is editor of Counselor magazine. He previously was editor of Incentive & Potentials magazines at The Nielsen Company in New York. While working for Nielsen, Andy's work received four Jesse H. Neal Awards, the highest honor in business journalism. This year, under Andrew’s leadership, Counselor magazine received its first ever Neal Award for its Family Business Spotlight series, an ASBPE Award for Best Department and two Folio Magazine Awards for Best Feature Article.

Wednesday, February 6, 3:30 p.m.-5:00 p.m.
Don Sanders, SellPromoProducts.com
Sales & Marketing
.15 CEU

Discover how successful distributors achieve extraordinary profits from the sale of advertising specialty products and campaigns. This seminar focuses on the five selling strategies that million-dollar producers use to consistently earn higher margins: personal visits, follow up, effective prospecting, setting limits on customers and showing appreciation to everyone. After attending this class, anyone who consistently uses these principles will become a high-volume producer with off-the-charts margins.

Don Sanders, SellPromoProducts.com
Don Sanders began selling ad specialties with one catalog in 1981. Since then, he has sold more than $10 million dollars worth of customized products and advertising campaigns at an average profit margin of 43%. Along the way, he has appeared in industry publications more than 150 times. He is a contributor to Counselor and Advantages magazines and co-authored three books — the most recent being How to Sell Promotional Products. Don has won multiple awards for his creative use of custom advertising products and campaigns. Additionally, he co-produced a documentary film entered in the 2001 Academy Awards. Don is the founder of SellPromoProducts.com, a free sales training site available to ad specialty distributors and suppliers.

Wednesday, February 6, 3:30 p.m.-5:00 p.m.
Pablo Pizzichini, ASI
Sales & Marketing
.15 CEU

Adding advertising specialties to the products you already sell is how many distributors enter our industry. In this course, you’ll learn how advertising specialties fit into the marketing mix, how clients use them and why. Gain an understanding of the vast array of products available, who buys what kind of products and how to sell into your clients’ needs. There are many complexities involved in selling advertising specialties, and you’ll save yourself time and money if you understand the roles and responsibilities of distributors and suppliers and how both work together to create end-buyer/user satisfaction.

Wednesday, February 6, 3:30 p.m.-5:00 p.m.
Lisa Leitch, Teneo Results
Sales & Marketing
.15 CEU

Get hot, new selling ideas for more than 50 innovative products featured in the Advantages New Product Showcase! Brainstorm selling ideas for new products with other distributors and compete to see who comes up with the most creative and lucrative ideas. Winners, determined by the group, walk away with prizes donated from industry suppliers. You’ll leave this exciting and interactive workshop armed with hundreds of new selling ideas, plus you’ll discover:

• How to accelerate your sales by showing new products to clients and prospects
• How to utilize the brainstorming process to create marketing solutions for your clients
• The latest industry stats on the top selling products including who buys them and why
• The hottest new ad specialties to show your clients in 2008

Lisa Leitch, Teneo Results
People who know Lisa Leitch describe her as a “fireball.” Contributing to a wealth of marketing, promotions and sales hands-on experience, Lisa delivers results. As a national advertising manager, Lisa understands the client and buyer’s perspective. As a multi-million dollar salesperson and VP of sales for one of the largest Canadian promotional distributors, selling to IBM, Hershey, Daimler Chrysler and YTV, she knows the promotional industry. And as a strategist, speaker and trainer, it is Lisa’s goal to help you “master” the sales game.

Wednesday, February 6, 3:30 p.m.-5:00 p.m.
Jeff Burrows, The Entreprenuers Success Code™
Distributor Management
.15 CEU

To truly have a successful business and a life, you must align your personal and business goals, and put systems in place that create focus, save time, make money and drive profit. Discover how to reach your full potential, run a high-performance business and still have time to enjoy your life. Thousands of business owners are succeeding at a higher level, because they have learned to eliminate the obstacles, real and perceived, that were keeping them from reaching the top. If you want to run your business with less stress and more profit, The Entrepreneur’s Success Code™ will help you:

• Create a clear business vision
• Communicate with power and purpose
• Eliminate barriers to growth and success
• Develop customized, realistic, and actionable business sales strategies
• Increase productivity and effectiveness of you and your staff
• Motivate others for maximum performance
• Put systems in place to measure ROI and produce results that exceed your goals

Jeff Burrows, The Entrepreneur’s Success Code™
For over 20 years Jeff Burrows has helped people grow themselves and their businesses, without sacrificing their personal lives or their dreams. He is a contributing Trump University faculty member and author of The Entrepreneur’s Success Code™. Jeff has been an entrepreneur all his life, with successful careers in business, radio and television and the investment banking world. Today he owns www.jeffburrows.com and serves as a master coach to business owners and senior level managers. Jeff strategically teaches proven life and business development systems.

Wednesday, February 6, 3:30 p.m.-5:00 p.m.
Jay Busselle and Craig Mertens, Digital Art Solutions
Distributor Management
.15 CEU

Adding decoration services, personalization and/or customization is a logical way to grow your ad specialty business. Learn how to get started offering embroidery, screen printing, heat transfer or direct-to-garment printing. Explore what equipment, software and accessories you will need and what they will cost. Develop a realistic business plan, determine start-up costs, pricing strategies and understand how to assess profitability and return on investment. Additionally, you’ll learn how to identify emerging markets and advertise and market your new offerings.

Jay Busselle, Digital Art Solutions
Jay Busselle began his graphics career at the age of 14, printing bootleg surf and skateboard T-shirts. After learning valuable lessons about copyright law, Jay landed a job as a cut-and-paste artist for the Yellow Pages and quickly saw the advantages of working for his parents' screen printing and ad specialty company. Jay evolved into a top-producing sales professional and 27 years later, he is (mostly) grown up, and serves as General Manager of Digital Art Solutions, a Phoenix-based software company that makes graphics easy for distributors and suppliers.

Craig Mertens, Digital Art Solutions
Craig Mertens began his career in the imprinted sportswear business as the warehouse boy/janitor in the family screen printing and embroidery business. During college, Craig was known as “The T-Shirt Guy”, after saturating the campus with T-Shirts during his marketing class entrepreneurial project. After graduation, Craig undertook a vigorous sales training program in the imprinted sportswear industry that consisted of a sample bag, a price list and the words “go get'em kid." Craig quickly realized that great graphics were the key to opening new accounts. As an early pioneer of virtual samples, Craig used graphics to separate himself from the competition and build an imprinted sportswear empire. Translating his knowledge of graphic design and sales into software, Craig co-found Digital Art Solutions in 1999. Under Craig’s leadership, Digital Art Solutions has made it possible for countless non-artists to turn artwork into their secret sales weapon.

Wednesday, February 6, 3:30 p.m.-5:00 p.m.
Mary Kilburn, DinoMar and Christine Lovell, ASI
Supplier
.15 CEU

Suppliers who are new to the promotional products industry, or are just looking for new ideas will learn how to maximize exposure for your line, gain top-of-mind status with distributors, leverage the power of the ASI Distributor Network to increase market share and quickly attract new sales to your company. Win more distributor loyalty and stop losing clients to the competition by distinguishing yourself from other suppliers and creating a positive “persona” to the industry. Define the niche markets you serve best and discover how to target them most effectively when you capitalize on distributor and end-user buying trends. Leave with an integrated marketing plan to catapult your success in the industry. You will…

• Gain an understanding of the value of the distribution channel
• Understand the audiences where your marketing can be targeted
• Learn about all of the options available to you for leveraged marketing
• Understand the vast opportunities provided by ASI 
• Define strategies that suit your size, product line, service options and budget
• Learn how to develop YOUR marketing plan
• Find insights into measuring and assessing your marketing