"No great performance ever came from holding back."

-- Don Greene, performance coach

by Jami Petersen

This week is the last installment of Dennis' three-part series on sales training. He shares tips on where to train your sales staff and once again emphasizes why training is so important.

If you missed any part of this series, visit our newsletter archives.

We would love to hear how this series may have helped you. Feel free to email me your thoughts on these articles and topics you would like to see addressed in future issues. 

Jami Petersen
newsletters@a-z.com

Wooky Entertainment

Target New Consumers:

Teenagers with the Paris Hilton Creativity Collection. This new line is for teens from 10 years old and older who are interested by scrapbooking. Following the latest trends and fashion, the Paris Hilton Creativity Collection is adapted for teen girls of 2010!

Visit us online: http://pariscreativity.com/
For more information : info@wookyentertainment.com

Press Releases

News you can use about the latest media coverage of hot trends, noteworthy events and dynamic industry leaders. Learn more about the current headlines in arts and crafts by clicking on the title of each article segment.
 

Introducing BasicGrey's New Digital Line Vagabond! Vagabond is the fusion of old-fashioned craft with paisley prints, hippie weaves, tweeds and woven plaids, dominate this tailored palette, giving your projects a fashionable flavor all on its own.

Tsukineko Announces StazOn Metallic Colors. The long-awaited StazOn Metallic ink has arrived – with a bonus! Having the same unique properties as StazOn and StazOn Opaque inks, StazOn Metallic is designed especially for non-porous surfaces. Plastic, metal, polymer clay and acetate are just a few examples of StazOn Metallic’s diverse uses. StazOn Metallic is perfect for personalizing and accenting home décor items.

The Daylight Company Makes Life Easy With New Line of 'Easy-Twist' Lamps That Put Precise, Natural Light Exactly Where You Need It. The Daylight Company, the world’s leading maker of high quality specialty and magnifying lamps, is making life easier for a wide range of people with three novel 'Easy-Twist' lamps that allow users to aim glare-free natural light exactly where it’s needed.

The Memory Tradeshow

The Memory Tradeshow is the premiere market for scrapbooking and related products, family history and digital imaging.

It is the most important gathering of this industry regionally, and it’s attracting executives from all sectors: manufacturers, retailers, distributors, suppliers, sales reps, designers and press. The show’s goal is to provide the highest ROI show within the industry with a greater focus on the business of the memory industry, education and best business practices.

Learn more and save >>

by Dennis A. Conforto, A-Z Media Group, Inc.

The question "where to do sales training" is not as simple as one would think. The answer is varied but let me give you some thoughts, insights and suggestions on this issue:

Have the appropriate room setting. It is important that most of your training be done in a classroom environment, which will demonstrate your commitment to the training and provide a neutral area where your students can focus on your objectives. Post sales goals and progress charts on the classroom wall during trainings, to be removed when customers are using the room.

Note: This is why it is so important to have your crop room set up for multiple uses. Get the most out of the space you pay for by accommodating crops, community events, family history technology, and sales training sessions.

Ensure your training is effective. Use your classroom space from time to time to present a pop quiz for your employees. Some of the quiz questions may be related to overcoming objections, product knowledge, manufacturers, pricing, policy, product usage, and techniques.

Maintain a Training Manual. In addition to the room and the training you provide, you will want to keep a company sales training manual. This is a booklet that includes all of your training points. Document every lesson you give so that you can repeat it later. Also, make the manual accessible for your staff to peruse often.

Hold occasional off-site events. Occasionally, you should plan off-site meetings that you can use for long range planning and/or awards dinners for outstanding performance. Recognition events are vital to your staff and to the long term well-being of your company. Recognition becomes part of your corporate culture, and your corporate culture affects both your sales and profits. The better your culture, the better your profits and sales will be.

Why Train?
The "why" of sales training is based on this simple business principle: The more you know about your business, the more successful you are going to be. Ultimately, knowing more about your business than your competitors know about theirs will set you apart from them.

Click here to read the entire article>>>

If you would like to comment directly to Dennis about this article or have him address a subject matter in future articles feel free to email him directly at dconforto@a-z.com.

Sakura

Gelly Roll White is now available in 2 packs!


Consumers love the smooth, opaque ink of Gelly Roll white for writing on dark paper and adding accents to illustrations and crafts. Now this popular, proven seller from Sakura of America is available in a convenient two pack. Contact your local wholesaler for details.


www.sakuraofamerica.com

Award-winning artist and author shares videos, techniques, projects, and tips every day in March

Artist, author, and blogger, Kathy Cano-Murillo, the Crafty Chica®, celebrates National Craft Month and the release of her debut novel, Waking Up in the Land of Glitter, by presenting 30 Days of Glitter, a month-long web series of inspiration, videos, essays, tips and techniques all themed around everyone’s favorite sparkly craft supply: glitter!

Cano-Murillo’s newly released novel, Waking Up in the Land of Glitter ($13.99, Grand Central Publishing), centers on a drama-filled craft group that must use 350 pounds of glitter to make centerpieces for the upcoming CraftOlympics. With her own glitter product line at her fingertips, and a longtime advocate of using it in her art and crafts, Cano-Murillo has shared scores of techniques on her web site, CraftyChica.com.

Her goal for this project is to turn book readers into crafters, and vice versa.

“I’ve always thought of glitter as a metaphor for life, as well as for crafts - and I want people to know that there is a type of sparkle for every personality,” said Cano-Murillo. “March is National Craft Month and with the book release, I thought it would be fun to motivate people to give glitter a try.”

The series launches March 1st, the same day as her book release and the start of National Craft Month, and will run daily on CraftyChica.com.

Kathy Cano-Murillo is a lifelong writer and artist. Her crafts have been carried by hundreds of retailers including Bloomingdales, Target, and Hallmark. A former journalist, she has authored seven craft books and produces CraftyChica.com, a site to inspire women to brighten their lives with clever craft ideas. She has been profiled in The New York Times, USA Today and NPR, and now has a Crafty Chica product line with iLoveToCreate. Kathy lives in Phoenix, AZ, with her husband, two kids and five Chihuahuas.

About iLoveToCreate
iLoveToCreate™, a Duncan Enterprises Company, is a privately-held, family-owned Fresno, California based company that has been a leader in the ceramic arts and crafts industries since 1946. As a manufacturing, marketing, sourcing and distribution organization, iLoveToCreate™ maintains a solid reputation for excellence in product development, quality, education and health & safety. Not one to rest on its reputation, iLoveToCreate™ always strives to explore new avenues of creativity for its core brands, Duncan® Ceramic Arts, Tulip® Fashion Art, Aleene's® Crafting Adhesives, Crafty Chica®, ilovetocreate.com™ and OA™ Object Art.