Thursday, April 10
Selling for the Non-Sales Person
	David Blaise, Top Secrets of Promotional Products Sales Thursday, 10:30 a.m.-11:30 a.m. Sales & Marketing .10 CEU Did you know that many of the most successful salespeople in the world do not even consider themselves salespeople? Perhaps you’re one of them and don’t even know it! If you love helping clients get what they want, but hate the idea of a “typical” sales approach, this session is for you. True consultative selling is not about coercion, it’s about providing solutions. Learn how your natural approach and personal concern can help more clients and close more sales than you ever dreamed possible. David Blaise, Top Secrets of Promotional Products Sales What do the promotional products industry’s first audio podcast, video podcast and theme song have in common? They were all created by entrepreneur, author and business consultant David Blaise. David is a direct marketing and advertising expert with nearly 20 years experience in the advertising specialty industry. He is the author of Top Secrets of Promotional Products Sales, Sledgehammer Marketing, Getting Started and co-author of the industry best-seller The Power of Promotional Products.
Selling in Your Slippers: Making Sales (and Money) Without Leaving Your Office
	Bill Jones, Atlanta Promotional Products Thursday, 10:30 a.m.-11:30 a.m. Sales & Marketing .10 CEU Selling promotional products in the Internet age is a whole new ballgame. Give up on pounding the pavement and learn how to make sales by pounding on your computer keyboard. Discover effective techniques for getting new clients, making more sales and Increasing your income without leaving the comfort of your office. Learn how to create effective sales presentations that sell themselves even when you are 1,000 miles away and “selling in your slippers.” The internet hasn’t eliminated the need for distributors — it has made us able to be even more effective resources for our clients. Get your share of the $20 billion promotional products business regardless of your local market. And don’t worry — you don’t have to be a computer geek to be an Internet sales superstar! Bill Jones, Atlanta Promotional Products Bill Jones, Atlanta Promotional Products, was recognized as one of ASI’s Top 10 Fastest-Growing Distributors in 2006. With 20 years industry experience, Bill has worked with large companies, small companies and now owns his own company. He is contributing editor for 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 a top sales performer, his varied client base and his ability to grow new business while still getting home for dinner by 5:30 p.m.
Get Clients Now!
	Rosalie Marcus, PromoBizCoach.com Thursday, 12:00 p.m.-1:00 p.m. New Distributor .10 CEU In a world where customers are bombarded with 4,000+ marketing messages each day, how can you make your services stand out from the crowd? How can you reach the marketing-weary public and attract new clients? From the book of the same name, this inspirational program features a 28-day marketing program that shows you how to locate, land and keep new clients in greater numbers than you ever dreamed possible. Rosalie Marcus, PromoBizCoach.com Rosalie Marcus, The Promo Biz Coach™, shortens the learning curve for people in the promotional products industry, teaching them how to get more sales, more clients and more income FAST! Rosalie is the creator of The Fast Track to Promotional Products Sales Success: How to Make More Money in Promotional Products Sales and the facilitator of the Women’s Selling Advantage Success Circle. A successful distributor herself, Rosalie is passionate about inspiring promotional products distributor professionals to grow their sales faster and farther than they ever thought possible!
Mixing Powerful Graphics with Marketing Messages to WOW Your Customers!
	Craig Mertens, Digital Art Solutions Thursday, 12:00 p.m.-1:00 p.m. Sales & Marketing .10 CEU Discover how to combine powerful graphics with key marketing messages to dramatically increase your sales and profits. Learn to communicate themes, concepts and ideas graphically so your clients say WOW and your bottom line grows! Set your company apart from the competition by adding visual value to your clients existing logos and event marketing. Discover how the wildly successful graphic design pros define a purposeful marketing message and tie it to powerful graphics to win large corporate clients. Craig Mertens, Digital Art Solutions Craig began his career in the imprinted sportswear business as a warehouse boy/janitor in his family’s screen printing/embroidery business and later as “The T-Shirt Guy” in college. Like many others, Craig’s industry sales training program consisted of a sample bag, a price list and the words “go get’em kid.” As an early pioneer of virtual samples, Craig used graphics to separate himself from the competition and soon translated his graphic design skills into a software design business, Digital Art Solutions, that helps distributors and other non-artists turn artwork into their secret sales weapon.
Top Secrets of Powerful Prospecting
	David Blaise, Top Secrets of Promotional Products Sales Thursday, 1:30 p.m.-2:30 p.m. Sales & Marketing .10 CEU While many salespeople are excellent at making presentations, success in promotional products sales requires an ability to drive a steady stream of qualified prospects to your door. Learn the most effective methods of lining up the prospects that are most likely to buy from you. If your livelihood depends on getting in front of new prospects, this hour-long session will pay major dividends for years to come. David Blaise, Top Secrets of Promotional Products Sales What do the promotional products industry’s first audio podcast, video podcast and theme song have in common? They were all created by entrepreneur, author and business consultant David Blaise. David is a direct marketing and advertising expert with nearly 20 years experience in the advertising specialty industry. He is the author of Top Secrets of Promotional Products Sales, Sledgehammer Marketing, Getting Started and co-author of the industry best-seller The Power of Promotional Products.
Blogging: How a Blog Can Move You from Consultative Salesperson to Trusted Advisor
	Bobby Lehew, ROBYN Thursday, 1:30 p.m.-2:30 p.m. Advanced Sales & Marketing .10 CEU In the past few years the blogosphere has exploded with radical changes and vast opportunity. Learn how to harness the power of the Conversation Age by utilizing your business blog to draw traffic to your company’s web site and increase your online presence. Topics that will be discussed include: An overview of the blogging tools available to set-up and maintain your blog Dos and don’ts of business blogging Increasing traffic organically to your company web site using your blog Maximizing your readership by utilizing RSS readers and newsreaders Suggestions for capitalizing on your role as a promotional consultant through your blog Social networking, Web 2.0 and its impact on the promotional industry Bobby Lehew, ROBYN Bobby Lehew 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 15 years ago in the industry packing boxes for a corporate catalog program. Now he oversees a multi-million dollar distributorship. With an exceptional staff, ROBYN has doubled its sales since 2002 due to a direct emphasis on company stores.
Tap into the Diversity Market: Benefits of Becoming WBE (Woman-Owned Business Enterprise) Certified
	Rosalie Marcus, PromoBizCoach.com Thursday, 3:00 p.m.-4:00 p.m. Sales & Marketing .10 CEU Each year, corporations and government agencies allocate billions of dollars to certified minority- and women-owned businesses. Here’s how you can tap into this lucrative market. In this informative workshop, you’ll learn the qualifications to become certified and determine whether you’re a good candidate for certification. Find out why corporations seek certified vendors and the key certifying organizations. Discover the big mistakes women make when applying for certification and how to avoid them. And, finally, realize how you can get your piece of the pie, even if you’re not currently certified! Rosalie Marcus, PromoBizCoach.com Rosalie Marcus, The Promo Biz Coach™, shortens the learning curve for people in the promotional products industry, teaching them how to get more sales, more clients and more income FAST! Rosalie is the creator of The Fast Track to Promotional Products Sales Success: How to Make More Money in Promotional Products Sales and the facilitator of the Women’s Selling Advantage Success Circle. A successful distributor herself, Rosalie is passionate about inspiring promotional products distributor professionals to grow their sales faster and farther than they ever thought possible!
Earning 40% + Margins – How to Overcome Price Increases and Maintain Your Margins
	Lisa Leitch, Teneo Results Thursday, 3:00 p.m.-4:00 p.m. Sales & Marketing .10 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.
Friday, April 11
Super Clinic: "10 Easy Ways to Boost Your ESP Online Visibility"
	Liz Kennedy and Sharon Pullins, ASI Friday, 1:00 p.m.-2:00 p.m. This interactive workshop will provide you with quick tips to maximize your products exposure to distributors searching ESP Online™. You will have an opportunity to see first hand the difference a few simple adjustments in your products keywords, images, descriptions, and pricing can make in your marketing effectiveness. Remember, one of the most important parts of gaining new business is making sure distributors can find your product. Liz Kennedy, ASI Liz Kennedy, Manager of ASI's Product Center, is responsible for Product Training, Technical Support and Infoline. Well versed in both Supplier and Distibutor industry practices, Liz has led several seminars at previous ASI Shows. Liz is also a member of the ESP Online Development Task force. Sharon Pullins, ASI Sharon is the Data & Process Manager for the ESPonline Information Team. Additionally she oversees the quality assurance process ensuring the accuracy of information used by all of ASI’s 30000+ distributor ESP users. She has been with ASI for over 10 years working in the EIT department. Sharon possesses extensive knowledge of the data and is an integral part of education suppliers on their product presentation on ESPonline. She has a degree in Business Administration.
How to Build Your Industry Credit Score
	Jonathan Schwartz, ASI Friday, 10:30 a.m.-11:30 a.m. Sales & Marketing .10 CEU Whether you are a new distributor in this industry or an industry veteran, understanding how suppliers are utilizing ASI’s CreditConnect information that is reported on your business is vital knowledge. By building and retaining your credit, you help your business with faster turnaround time on orders, increase your cash flow and avoid the need of credit applications and forms. In this session, we will walk you through how a supplier views your industry credit history and how a supplier uses this information to make immediate decisions. We’ll share tips on how you can keep up with your credit, build your credit score and solidify it.
Selling to the Healthcare Industry
	Bill Jones, Atlanta Promotional Products Friday, 10:30 a.m.-11:30 a.m. Sales & Marketing .10 CEU Healthcare is one of the fastest-growing segments of the U.S. economy. With the first of the “Baby Boomers” reaching their 60s this year, the healthcare industry is positioned for significant growth over the next 25+ years. Understand how this diverse market is structured and how to approach each segment with market savvy and proven promotional strategies. Learn how to find new customers, pinpoint their needs and customize your offers to fit their needs. Discover proven strategies for getting appointments with buyers and innovative ideas for securing their business. Expand your knowledge of the lucrative, multi-faceted healthcare market and watch your sales soar! Bill Jones, Atlanta Promotional Products Bill Jones, Atlanta Promotional Products, was recognized as one of ASI’s Top 10 Fastest-Growing Distributors in 2006. With 20 years industry experience, Bill has worked with large companies, small companies and now owns his own company. He is contributing editor for 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 a top sales performer, his varied client base and his ability to grow new business while still getting home for dinner by 5:30 p.m.
Interviewing a Client
	Cliff Quicksell, Jr., Cliff Quicksell & Associates Friday, 12:00 p.m.-1:00 p.m. Sales & Marketing .10 CEU Walking in and dropping off a catalog no longer works. Clients can buy imprinted products off the Internet or through the mail without the assistance of a distributor. To earn the sale in today’s market you must uncover your clients’ needs, diagnose their problems and prescribe creative solutions. Asking the right questions and getting to the root cause of clients’ needs helps build rapport and credibility and establishes you as an advisor, not just a salesperson. This session is designed for EVERY advertising and marketing professional who wants to grow their business by providing marketing ideas and business solutions. Cliff Quicksell, Jr., Cliff Quicksell & Associates Cliff Quicksell, Jr. has designed and sold more award winning promotional marketing campaigns than any other distributor in the promotional products industry. He has been a distributor, a supplier and a trainer in our industry for more than 22 years all the while sharing his secrets to success in creative marketing. His vast industry experience and research into what clients really want from distributors have helped him build a thriving training and consulting business in our industry.
What Do I Do with All These Catalogs and Samples?
	Bill Jones, Atlanta Promotional Products Friday, 12:00 p.m.-1:00 p.m. New Distributor .10 CEU As a new distributor, you are inundated with catalogs and samples. Learn how to keep them organized for easy access and how to use them to make more money. New distributors will get great ideas for keeping these valuable sales tools orderly and useful! Bill Jones, Atlanta Promotional Products Bill Jones, Atlanta Promotional Products, was recognized as one of ASI’s Top 10 Fastest-Growing Distributors in 2006. With 20 years industry experience, Bill has worked with large companies, small companies and now owns his own company. He is contributing editor for 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 a top sales performer, his varied client base and his ability to grow new business while still getting home for dinner by 5:30 p.m.
Presenting Like a Pro
	Cliff Quicksell, Jr., Cliff Quicksell & Associates Friday, 1:30 p.m.-2:30 p.m. Sales & Marketing .10 CEU This Power Session will empower you to make concise, on-target presentations that have your clients sitting on the edge of their seats. Discover how the pros captivate the senses and evoke emotions that convince and motivate customers to buy — without a hard sales pitch. When you know how to effectively present marketing concepts and ideas to clients, you’ll establish yourself as the one to call for marketing advice and generate endless referrals. Don’t miss this opportunity to learn how to Present Like a Pro! Cliff Quicksell, Jr., Cliff Quicksell & Associates Cliff Quicksell, Jr. has designed and sold more award winning promotional marketing campaigns than any other distributor in the promotional products industry. He has been a distributor, a supplier and a trainer in our industry for more than 22 years all the while sharing his secrets to success in creative marketing. His vast industry experience and research into what clients really want from distributors have helped him build a thriving training and consulting business in our industry.
Email Marketing: 10 Steps Necessary to Creating Successful Marketing Campaigns
	Don Mennig, ASI Friday, 1:30 p.m.-2:30 p.m. Advanced Sales & Marketing .10 CEU Done correctly, email marketing can be one of the most cost-effective methods for generating leads and sales while building your brand. Attend this high-energy class and learn exactly what you need to do to successfully start marketing your services via email to prospects and clients including: Technology essentials List building and management techniiques Creating emails that work Testing to maximize results Integrating with your Web site Determining ROI Don Mennig, ASI Don Mennig, is a 15 year marketing communications veteran and the Executive Director of Marketing at ASI. Before joining ASI, Don ran his own advertising agency and directed the marketing functions for several high technology firms. He has produced branding and advertising campaigns for companies such as Agilent, McDonalds and Unisys and has helped over 50 small businesses gain traction and find success in both B2B and B2C endeavors.

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