Worth the extra day in Vegas? You bet!

 

Sometimes you just have to go out on a limb! Either you get a GREAT view from up there, or you crash down to the ground. I was a bit hesitant to offer a full day of education following RetailNOW, but with the encouragement of my education and certification committee I did it. Truth be told, I would have been happy if 15 people registered for the classes, but to my surprise (and elation) we had a total of 35 people for the “Management Focus” Sales and Service classes. Bob Bauer of BMC led the Service class and shared his wisdom and experience on topics such as pit grids, rates and fee schedules, tracking service percentages, and how to evaluate employees. Participants walked away with a jump drive full of interactive spreadsheets and charts to tweak for their businesses when they returned home.

In the sales class, instructor Alan Wright of Postec faced a diverse group of managers from various viewpoints in the reseller and vendor community. Wright shared his QWST model (Qualities of a Winning Sales Team) and while it quickly became apparent that sales organizations vary greatly, the traits for a quality sales team are universal. Some of the most beneficial take-aways surfaced through discussions including staffing for today’s environment by employing a hybrid workforce of secondary income/part-time workers, creative compensation options, and successful use of CRM tools. After a full day of class, we were all tired but energized to return to our jobs with valuable tips, tricks, and peers off whom we could bounce ideas.

Would you like to get in on the sales or service management ‘conversation’? Visit www.POShuddle.com

E-Learning E-xcitement

While I know this post is going to sound like a sales pitch or infomercial, I can’t help but share my excitement. Something I’ve been working on for a long time is finally coming together. RSPA now has available access to educational content 24/7/365 right from your workstation! For the last several months I’ve been implementing an e-learning portal we’re calling RSPA’s Center for Industry Education. (www.GoRSPA.org/Education) At the Center you can search an extensive course catalog which includes over 3,000 business related courses. The topics range from sales and marketing skills to learning how to program in Java! There are courses for project management, customer service skills, even cash flow and budgeting. ‘Prep’ courses for industry certification exams can also be found in our course catalog. Members receive special discounted pricing and can purchase licenses singly or in bundled groups of 5, 10 and 20 courses. Soon you’ll be able to access our growing library of webinar recordings and register for onsite classes.

 RSPA Certified e-xtends

I’m even more excited to share that our “RSPA Certified” program will be moving into the next phase – offering credentials for individuals. The RSPA Certification and Education committee has been instrumental in helping me craft a training curriculum for two certificate programs: RSPA Sales Specialist and RSPA Support Specialist.  Individuals who complete these certificate programs will not only be validating their skills, but bringing increased value to the business they work for.

Education should be a lifelong pursuit and now with round-the-clock access to RSPA’s Center for Industry Education, you can develop your professional skills on your schedule.

Splash Dance

I do my best thinking in the water, whether it’s in the shower or swimming laps. The Ultra Swim competition was in Charlotte the other week. Olympians Michael Phelps and Ricky Berens were here along with many aspiring Olympic caliber athletes. As I watched the swimmers train early one morning from my lane in the pool, it got me thinking about a session from this year’s Inspire conference. Howard Hyden, one of our featured speakers said, “When we watch awesome performers in our personal life, such as the Olympians, we intuitively know that these athletes could not be competing at this level were it not for a serious commitment to training.”

“Serious commitment to training”… How many of us think of our jobs like an athlete thinks about his next race? Do we have a ‘serious commitment to training’ to allow us to compete at a high level? Are we happy just to glide along with the current or are we making white water, pushing harder?

Professional development is an investment that not only grows that individual, but brings increased value to the company, to the team. Sure there are expenses associated with sending someone to a conference or training, but the new found ideas or tools that you bring back reenergize and refocus the rest of the staff upon return. Great ROI in my opinion!

As education manager at RSPA I am challenged to offer the right education at the right price point for members. With the economy’s slow recovery, businesses are still watching every dime. Training budgets are thin if not gone, so it’s hard to justify the expenses associated with attending onsite education. Still, training is one of the tools in your arsenal that can actually bring more value and perhaps more revenue back into the business.

Following RetailNOW on Thursday, July 29, RSPA has scheduled two classes that are directed at sales and service managers for only $149. If you’re already at RetailNOW you should consider staying for these professional development classes. We’ve got some seasoned instructors who will share what works and what doesn’t. Best of all, you’ll return to your business energized with ideas to make things run smoother.

Competition is tough out there. Are you training to compete at a high level?

2010 Census

As  I am sitting down to write this article, I was thinking about the theme of customer service. I completed my 2010 federal Census this week and it got me thinking about how a few minutes of my time providing some innocuous data really helps our country make decisions. If I stretched a bit, I might even say my contribution to the census helps provide better ‘customer service.’ Data has always been important to me. Don’t get me wrong I still rely a lot on ‘gut’ instinct, but if given the choice, I go with data!

Here at RSPA we have a lot of data on our members that we use for communications and marketing. The staff is constantly generating ideas for broadening our reach to penetrate our member community more effectively. We’ve successfully employed social media tools to accomplish this, but there’s so much more we want to do. Trouble is we need more data to make informed decisions.

So here’s the question. Did you know that you can add as many employees to our membership without any additional cost to you? If RSPA had data that included all our members’ sales representatives, I could direct sales education to the folks who need it the most. The same goes for support personnel. A couple of ideas we have been kicking around include starting an industry-wide professional women’s group. What about those who are recently out of college in their first careers who need to learn more about our industry and develop professional leadership or sales skills? It’s challenging to ‘find’ those folks!

While our association has been around for 60 years, it has evolved and changed tremendously in the last 5 years. Our need to target and focus our membership community grows even more important. RSPA’s mission is to help our member businesses grow and prosper. In order to be effective we need to know more about you.

So, when you receive a survey from RSPA in the near future, take just a few minutes and respond to the questions we ask. We need accurate data to make informed decisions about how YOUR association can help you.

It’s RSPA Census time — take a few minutes to share your information.

Inspire-d Again!

I just returned from Cancun “inspired.” My own worries about whether I could ‘raise the bar’ from last year’s outstanding educational line-up have now vanished. When I received this letter from one of our members I felt I had to share it. 

“In days prior to our departure I had felt a great deal of anxiety about this meeting. I really did not know what to expect or if I would even fit in.  I can tell you that my anxiety was completely unfounded.  We arrived at the welcome party were we were greeted by RSPA representatives. Over the next 3 days I proceeded to meet and network with some of the most open and honest people that I would ever want to meet.  I had the great opportunity to have meals with our guest speakers, Brian Offenberger and Howard Hyden.  I was able to introduce myself, hang around and talk to board members. I found that I was not alone and that my pains and dreams are theirs also.  I found that it does not matter the size of your business, but your commitment to that business and the industry as a whole. This was the most important conference that I have ever gone to.  I look forward to the challenges that lay ahead with the new knowledge and friendships that I have made over the last few days.” 

 RSPA successfully delivered ‘awesome’ educational content and provided networking opportunities that are priceless. It made me realize once again why RSPA is around and how our events and education sessions bring value to the members who take advantage of all we have to offer.

INSPIRE – It’s almost here!

Each morning I’m greeted at my office door with an inviting INSPIRE ‘Save the Date’ magnet. What used to be just a far off thought of education, networking and warm weather is now upon us. I’ve worked hard to line-up some great education opportunities for you.

Before I share some tidbits about the great educational content, I want to let you know that in a continuing effort to go green at RSPA, all education materials will be provided on a jump stick. Plan to bring your laptop to the sessions and have all the materials available for note taking. Won’t that be great? No more bulky notebook to squeeze into your luggage. Once you get back to your office, you can share the files more easily.

Now on to education. In today’s blog, I’m going to focus on Day 1 of education. During the summer, discussion about social networking heated up. What is it? Do I really need it? Many of us are experimenting with building communities to (hopefully) generate revenue using Twitter, Facebook, and Linkedin groups, while still managing our businesses. Whew, it’s confusing and time consuming.

Our opening session on Monday will be all about social networking. First up will be Brian Offenberger, CEO of Right On – No Bull Marketing, and the radio personality behind the internet radio show called RSSRay on wsRadio.com. Brian will take a broad approach to help us make sense of the social buzz. Brian has packaged an e-book called “11 Marketing Mistakes” and a learning guide that will provide you with guidelines for your marketing campaigns.  

Christy Thompson, Strategic Marketing Director for ScanSource is next in the line-up following Brian’s lead. She spent countless hours conducting research before launching into social media. You will hear the results of her research and how she’s seeing social media used successfully in our retail technology market. You’re guaranteed to go home with great content.  

We’ll finish the morning with Laurel Kent, Wealth Management Advisor, who’ll give us her take on how the economy is doing and where it’s headed.

A full day and great beginning to INSPIRE‘s ”Education with a View.”

Here’s tweeting to you!

Sara Petrus and I recently had an opportunity to attend the ASAE annual meeting and expo in Toronto, Canada. ASAE is the association for associations; I had no idea such a thing even existed. It was incredible to see the variety and breadth of the organizations represented at this conference. We were surrounded by 4,800 people who do what we do. What was best about going to this event was being a participant – rather than an organizer. Having just recovered from RetailNOW, Sara and I were able to view this annual meeting and expo from your perspective – as attendees. We came back energized with ideas to test and things to tweak for next year’s RetailNOW.

One nugget I walked away with was the prevalence of social media. Nearly half of the education sessions revolved around social media; those sessions that didn’t begin with social media, ended up circling back to that same concept! It was eye opening to see how organizations are creatively using social sites to engage their constituents and build smaller communities focused on similar interests. It’s not the push marketing we used to do; it’s the content and empowerment that brings the community together. “People won’t do something unless you excite or disturb them” is one of the phrases now posted on my office door. I learned that with regard to social media and networking, we all need to “start small and start NOW.”

Twitter

Twitter is a social networking site that allows people to “follow” each other’s activities or spread information rapidly. Messages or tweets can be sent from the twitter website or by SMS/texting from your phone. Pictures can be tweeted as well as links to other web resources. (And I’m sure there are more features I haven’t learned about yet!)  Twitter’s services are FREE. At RetailNOW this year, we started using Twitter and gained a good following. We tweeted bits about the keynote, education sessions, attendance, award winners, etc. We started small and hope to continue to build on this concept in the future. At the Toronto conference, I learned about Twitter hashtags (new to me) which are simply an easy way to group like tweets; almost like a sorting criteria. For instance, let’s say you participated in an online session about PCI and wanted to make a comment or ask a question. Let’s also assume that the hashtag #RSPA-ED has been created and shared with all the participants on that session. Assuming you have a twitter account, you could tweet your ideas, comments or impressions. Here’s what it may look like.

#RSPA-ED Great content today. Want more info on end-to-end encryption.

Using another twitter facility, I or any other tweeter, could search for #RSPA-ED and see everyone’s comments that used that hashtag #RSPA-ED. Here’s a great scenario. Let’s say we are at a reseller forum where someone is sharing challenges he is experiencing with his business.  Again, let’s say the hashtag #RSPA-forum has been created. While the presenter is talking, audience members could be “tweeting” their ideas of how he might solve his problem or overcome the dilemma. When the speaker is finished, he can look up all the tweets that used the #RSPA-forum hashtag. Perhaps someone from the audience might have tweeted a solution – or at least provided some empathy!

When Brad Holaway took the gavel at RetailNOW he shared his goals for the coming year: to engage, lead and collaborate. With regard to Social Media tools, I can think of no better way of engaging our membership. You can look forward to education offerings on social media and flex your participate through RSPA’s already established sites: Facebook ( xxXX), Twitter (follow InsideRSPA) and our Linked-In group (Retail Solutions Providers Association). 

Here’s tweeting to you!

Year One

Check Out the POS Equipment
My one year anniversary at RSPA is coming up so I’ve been thinking about how I’ve morphed from a regular geek to a retail technology geek. A year ago I was clueless about POS equipment and the nuances of PCI. Now, I don’t think twice about ‘checking out’ what brand of POS equipment and credit card machinery my local retail outlet uses – from my hair salon to my grocery store to COSTCO. Oh and did I mention that my whole family is required to check the paper credit card receipts to make sure the card number is masked? My husband who’s in the food service industry even reported back to me recently that a small restaurant he visited didn’t mask the credit card number. Instead of just saying, that’s not right and brushing it off, I took that merchant’s name and address and found the closest RSPA member to pass that lead onto.

I had my first ah-ha moment a few months before RetailNOW while reading an article in one of the trade publications. I actually knew the person that was referenced in the article! I recognized pictures and could say who it was. It was hard to believe that day had arrived. During my first few months I listened in awe as staff casually dropped names into a conversation about this member and that company – without a second thought. Now I could do it with the best of them!

Working with my Education & Certification committee has been a blast. I’m most proud of our launching the RSPA Certification program at RetailNOW. Our next challenge will be to expand the program with the first of many add-on modules focusing on PCI. During the past year we initiated other changes – like scheduling two webinars a month and capturing them for on-demand viewing. We coordinated some successful on-site training for selling skills and negotiations. The folks on the Education & Certification committee continue to bring their dedication and knowledge which helps me look good!

I survived!
I have never been so tired and so exhilarated at the same! Yes, I’m talking about RetailNOW. In my eyes, it was a big success. We all worked really hard to make it a worthwhile event for you. This year I had a major learning curve to overcome; next year I’ll be ready with some fresh ideas for education. Speaking of learning curves, I have some new skills for my resume….programming a cash register, using a credit card machine and packing a shipping pallet!

Cool Education in a Hot Location
As INSPIRE2010 approaches, I recall how nervous I was about last year’s event. Now I anticipate seeing members from last year, making new acquaintances, and catching up with business contacts who have become friends. Yes, I’m looking forward to seeing my snorkel buddy too!

It’s been a memorable year and I look forward to the start of year 2!

education and social networking

 

Sara Petrus and I recently had an opportunity to attend the ASAE annual meeting and expo in Toronto, Canada. ASAE is the association for associations; I had no idea such a thing even existed. It was incredible to see the variety and breadth of the organizations represented at this conference. We were surrounded by 4,800 people who do what we do. The best part about going to this event was being a participant – rather than an organizer. Having just recovered from RetailNOW, Sara and I were able to view this annual meeting and expo from your perspective – as attendees. We came back energized with ideas to test and things to tweak for next year’s RetailNOW.

One nugget I walked away with was the prevalence of social media. Nearly half of the education sessions revolved around social media; those sessions that didn’t begin with social media, ended up circling back to that same concept! It was eye opening to see how organizations are creatively using social sites to engage their constituents and build smaller communities focused on similar interests. It’s not the push marketing we used to do; it’s the content and empowerment that brings the community together. “People won’t do something unless you excite or disturb them” is one of the phrases now posted on my office door. I learned that with regard to social media and networking, we all need to “start small and start NOW.”

Twitter
Twitter is a social networking site that allows people to “follow” each other’s activities or spread information rapidly. Messages or tweets can be sent from the twitter website or by SMS/texting from your phone. Pictures can be tweeted as well as links to other web resources. (And I’m sure there are more features I haven’t learned about yet!) Twitter’s services are FREE. At RetailNOW this year, we started using Twitter and gained a good following. We tweeted bits about the keynote, education sessions, attendance, award winners, etc. We started small and hope to continue to build on this concept in the future. At the Toronto conference, I learned about Twitter hashtags (new to me) which are simply an easy way to group like tweets; almost like a sorting criteria. For instance, let’s say you participated in an online session about PCI and wanted to make a comment or ask a question. Let’s also assume that the hashtag #RSPA-ED has been created and shared with all the participants on that session. Assuming you have a twitter account, you could tweet your ideas, comments or impressions. Here’s what it may look like.

#RSPA-ED Great content today. Want more info on end-to-end encryption.

Using another twitter facility, I or any other tweeter, could search for #RSPA-ED and see everyone’s comments that used that hashtag #RSPA-ED. Here’s a great scenario. Let’s say we are at a reseller forum where someone is sharing challenges he is experiencing with his business. Again, let’s say the hashtag #RSPA-forum has been created. While the presenter is talking, audience members could be “tweeting” their ideas of how he might solve his problem or overcome the dilemma. When the speaker is finished, he can look up all the tweets that used the #RSPA-forum hashtag. Perhaps someone from the audience might have tweeted a solution – or at least provided some empathy!

When Brad Holaway took the gavel at RetailNOW he shared his goals for the coming year: to engage, lead and collaborate. With regard to Social Media tools, I can think of no better way of engaging our membership. You can look forward to education offerings on social media and flex your participate through RSPA’s already established sites: an RSPA Fan Page on Facebook, Twitter (@InsideRSPA) and our Linked-In group (RSPA – Retail Solutions Providers Association).

Here’s tweeting to you!

Lauren