Garage door industry magazine for garage door dealers, garage door manufacturers, garage door distributors, garage door installers, loading docks, garage door operators and openers, gates, and tools for the door industry.
Issue link: https://idoi.epubxp.com/i/117695
DEALERSCORNER By Todd Thomas, IDEA Managing Director How to Get the Most from the Seeing friends, networking, enjoying the social activities and scheduling a working vacation are all good reasons that many door dealers attend the IDAExpo���. But, they should be viewed more as pleasant parts of an annual opportunity to invest in one���s own company, supplemental to the business side of the event. Simply stated, if you aren���t generating more business and enhancing your company���s pro���tability following the IDAExpo���, you aren���t doing it right! In addition to networking, gol���ng, bike riding, motivating, dining and dancing, there are two main components to the IDAExpo��� that are all about your business. The ���rst is education. IDA devotes two full days each year for IDEAproduced seminars aimed at making a difference in the dayto-day lives of door dealers and their employees. The second is the showcasing of products, also given two days, for attendees to discover new opportunities in the market. Let���s ���rst get two common myths about the IDAExpo��� out of the way: Myth #1 ��� The seminars are the same each year. Reality ��� No, they���re not! A small number of topics are repeated from year-to-year, but not many, and only when they remain timely in the industry. Most of the sessions are new, even if some of the presenters are the same. When seminars are repeated, it is to accommodate dealers who attend every other year, typically based on geographical location, and for those who attend International Door Operator Industry��� 30 International Door & & Operator Industry��� each year, but often have to choose which seminars they can attend, and may want to learn from one they missed the previous year. Each year, IDEA evaluates the market and seeks to determine what matters most to door dealers, at that time, and then produces seminars aimed at helping dealers address those challenges. This changes each year, and a closer look at the workshop descriptions will clearly reveal this reality. Additionally, sessions such as the Annual Economic Forecast presented by John Zoller and David Bowen, are new each year, based on data gathered during the course of the year, even if the title remains the same. Myth #2 ��� There is nothing new on the exhibit hall ���oor. Reality ��� Oh, yes there is! The vast majority of industry manufacturers and suppliers who invest signi���cant resources to display their products at the IDAExpo��� do so to display products and services that are in demand and which can bring new sales opportunities to their customers, both existing and new. Very few exhibitors display the same products, without variation, from yearto-year. Even those whose displays don���t show apparent remarkable change have new products to share with dealers. Whether you are a frequent or infrequent IDAExpo��� attendee, you can turn the IDAExpo��� into a pro���t-driven event for your business, by following some basic steps. ��� Plan ahead. Review the IDAExpo��� schedule and identify the educational sessions that matter most to your business. The schedule is aimed at ensuring there is something Continued on page 32 Para la versi��n en Espa��ol, visitare www.doors.org