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Remember, Only Happy Clients Come Back.
Keith Lee
800-426-5708
 
www.AmericanRetailSupply.com



 

American Retail Supply
Retail Tip for the week of March 18, 2013


“How to Get Customers with Facebook”
 
I used to think marketing on Facebook was for social
butterflies and not for me. 
 
Until I met Keith Kranc.
 
He showed me how one of his clients generated over
$23,000 in less than two hours using Facebook alone. 
And they didn’t even have a Facebook page!
 
He showed me how easy it is to target your exact, ideal
customer once you know how to use Facebook the
right way.
 
He also told me that 95% of business owners are
making at least one of the Top 3 mistakes being made
with Facebook today.  (And most people are making all
3 mistakes and are doomed to fail…)
 
So what did I do? 
 
I asked Keith if he would do me a huge favor and hold an
online training session for you, my clients, to show you
exactly how to get new customers and actually profit
from Facebook. 
 
Register for the free webinar here: http://www.dominatewebmedia.com/keith
 
What this webinar training will cover:
•    The 3 Must-Do tactics to profit from Facebook in 2013.
•    Why the changes Facebook has made over the past
       6 months are game changers for business owners and
      how to profit from these changes/enhancements now.
•    How to stop wasting time on Facebook and start 
     getting customers.
•    The biggest difference between Facebook
       and Google and why you need to truly understand
      the difference.
•    How to build your email list with Facebook.
•    How to sell on Facebook and how NOT to sell
       on Facebook.
•    What types of promotions will build your email list 
     and turn those subscribers into customers.
•    Why it is more important than ever to have fans 
     (Not the reason you think) and how to get more fans fast. 
•    And more…
 
This webinar will fill up so if you want to get a “first
mover advantage” and take advantage of all these
new Enhancements Facebook is bringing to business
owners, then register now.
 
Click here to register: http://www.dominatewebmedia.com/keith
 
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We’ll continue with How to Take Care of Upset Customers
with a discussion on where to draw the line on Friday.

American Retail Supply
Marketing Tip of the Week for Novmber 30, 2012

How to Take Care of Upset Clients

It’s that busy time of year we live for in retail and it’s the best time of year to “strut your stuff” and reinforce to your
customers why they shop with you.  But regardless of how good you are you’ll have upset customers so be sure
you retrain your staff in how to take care of upset customers.

Here’s my suggestion for training your staff to take care of upset customers.
                                                                                   
It’s covered in detail in my book, Out-Nordstrom Nordstrom, Creating the World’s Best Customer Service

Train your staff to use the L.E.A.R. System. 

Listen and don't interrupt.  You listen and don’t interrupt
for two reasons:
1. It’s rude to interrupt
2. When people are upset they practice what they are
going to say.  And they practice it from the beginning.  If
you interrupt, they are going to start all over again. 
So... don't interrupt.  Obviously, if the client is getting
loud and unruly you may need to quietly interrupt.  But,
in almost all cases, DON'T INTERRUPT!

Empathize with something like, "I can understand why
you're upset.  I would be upset too." or, "I'm really sorry
that happened to you."

Ask, "What can I do to make you happy?"  It doesn't
get much easier than that.  Often, you won’t actually
ask, “What can I do to make you happy?”  It is often
obvious what needs to be done.  What is important is a
What Can I Do To Make You Happy Attitude.

Resolve - Unless the client's request is absolutely
Ridiculous, DO IT!

But what if the client asks for something ridiculous?
What if what the client wants is totally out of line?
We’ll answer that question in a few days.

American Retail Supply
Marketing Tip of the Week for November 29, 2012

I Was Blessed

One of the most influential people in my life passed on
Wednesday.  I was blessed to be introduced to Zig’s
teachings 34 years ago.  You might remember that I
wrote about Zig Ziglar in one of these tips a couple weeks
ago.  I’m going to take this opportunity to share a similar
message. 

Here I am with Zig Ziglar in Los Angeles about 5 years ago.

Here’s a picture of the top drawer of my desk.
 

Zig Ziglar’s Little Book of Big Quotes and Zig Ziglar’s
Favorite Quotations have been there for more than a decade. 

Here are just a few of the quotations from Zig that have
had a huge impact on my life.

 “You can have everything in life you want, if you will just
help enough other people get what they want.”

“What you get by reaching your destination is not nearly
as important as what you will become by reaching.”

“Positive thinking won’t let you do anything but it will let
you do everything better than negative thinking will.”

“It’s not what happens to you that determines how far you
will go in life; it is how you handle what happens to you.”

I start every work day with an inspirational
quotation and you can too.

If you want to get my Inspirational Thought of the
Day, that is simply an Inspirational Thought of the
Day - nothing else - no sales pitch, just a great thought to
start your day, follow this link and sign up. 

http://www.americanretailsupply.com/Newsletter.aspx

Each weekday morning you’ll get an Inspirational Thought
of the Day.  You can, of course, stop the emails any time
you want.
 
Here are a few, recent, Inspirational Thoughts of the Day.

“The achievements of an organization are the results of
the combined effort of each individual.”
Vincent T Lombardi

"The first one gets the oyster the second gets the shell."
Andrew Carnegie

"Trying to get everyone to like you is a sign of mediocrity."
Colin Powell

“Surround yourself with the good, the clean, the pure, the
powerful, and the positive.”
Zig Ziglar

Start your day right and “Surround yourself with the good, the clean, the pure, the powerful, and the positive” by
getting my Inspirational Thought of the Day each morning.
http://www.americanretailsupply.com/Newsletter.aspx

Happy Thanksgiving
From American Retail Supply

While hopefully we show it with our service all year long,
all of us at American Retail Supply thank you.  We all
know that you give us every pay check we’ll ever get,
and every raise.  You pay our mortgage and you put our
kids through school… heck you even put the turkey on
the table. 

So again from Keith and the entire team at American
Retail Supply,
THANK YOU!

Remember, Only Happy Clients Come Back.
Keith Lee
800-426-5708

American Retail Supply
6205 S 231st Street
Kent, WA  98032
800-426-5708

American Retail Supply
4900 Osage Street, Building B #700
Denver, Colorado 80216
800-284-7312

American Retail Supply
1320 Kalani Street #110
Honolulu, HI  96817
888-395-4888

American Retail Supply
2628 Irving Boulevard
Dallas, TX  75207

American Retail Supply
Marketing Tip of the Week for November 16, 2012

Breakfast of Champions

At lunch today I was reading the newsletter I get each
month from my favorite marketing guru Dan Kennedy
and saw this quotation from Zig Ziglar,

“You can get everything in life you want if you will just
help enough other people get what they want.”

Here’s another from Zig, from my memory.  “Surround
yourself with the good, the clean, the pure, the powerful,
and the positive.

Surrounding myself with the good, the clean, the pure,
the powerful, and the positive has been of more value
than I can possibly tell you, and a big part of doing that is
learning from inspirational people.

That’s why I start every work day with an inspirational
quotation and you can too.

If you want to get my Inspirational Thought of the
Day, that is simply an Inspirational Thought of the
Day - nothing else - no sales pitch, just a great thought to
start your day, follow this link and sign up. 

http://www.americanretailsupply.com/Newsletter.aspx

Each weekday morning you’ll get an Inspirational Thought
of the Day – Your Breakfast of Champions.    You can,
of course, stop the emails any time you want.
 
Here are a few, recent, Inspirational Thoughts of the Day.

“The achievements of an organization are the results of
the combined effort of each individual.”
Vincent T Lombardi

"The first one gets the oyster the second gets the shell."
 Andrew Carnegie

"Trying to get everyone to like you is a sign of mediocrity."
 Colin Powell

"If you don't like the road you're walking, start paving
another one.”
Dolly Parton

"Great things are done by a series of small things brought
together."
Vincent van Gogh

"Treat a person as he is, and he will remain as he is.
Treat him as he could be, and he will become what he
should be."
Jimmy Johnson

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Knockdown Ready-to-Assemble Display Cases
are an incredible value. You save a ton of money because
you do-it-yourself. Plus, you save on shipping costs!
Just a few years ago we wouldn’t even sell these
Ready-to-Assemble type of showcases because the
quality was just not good enough. That’s changed.
The quality of the connectors has improved, and
the ease of assembly for these knockdown displays
is so simple that now we are proud to offer these
ready-to-assemble cases.

See Ready-To-Assemble Display Cases Here
Offer Expires, Friday, November 16, 2012.   

Remember, Only Happy Clients Come Back.
God Bless
Keith Lee

American Retail Supply
Marketing Tip of the Week for November 14, 2012

What Works

Thanks to Dan Kennedy for allowing me to share this tip
with you.

I can tell you this - it doesn't matter whether you are a
sales person, a small business owner or corporate
executive - it doesn't matter whether you sell to businesses
or consumers if you switch the emphasis of your marketing
into methods that bring direct response and are results
measurable you will improve the profit of your business.

And I want you to remember this - any media sales person,
any ad agency person, any consultant, anyone in your own
firm who is anti-direct response does not have your best
interest at heart.  The person who opposes having the
results measured accurately already knows that the results
are inadequate.

Not many people know this about me because I'm not
particularly proud of it but, I come from the advertising
business and once owned a small ad agency.  Our clients
included many small companies as well as big firms like
Goodyear, Aerospace and Monsanto.

I've also worked with other ad agencies as a freelance
copyrighter, consultant, and a trainer of account executives
on presentation skills.  Unfortunately the agency business
is very much a smoke screen and slide-of-hand business.
You'll be presented with demographic statistics from a
given media that are just great.  Unfortunately the listeners
or readers all lied when they responded to the survey in
order to look good and feel good.  They inflated their
incomes for example.

Print media loves to snow you with its pass-along figures.
They'll talk 100,000 readerships with 20,000 subscribers.
When you have to write out the payroll checks, pay the
other bills, pay for all the advertising, pay the taxes and
then see what might be left for you, you cannot deposit
pass-along statistics or image in the bank account. You
can only deposit dollars, which come from real results.

Ready To Assemble Display Cases
Buy 4 Get the 5th Free

Buy 4 display cases and get the 5th of equal or less value
for free.  Choose from any of the displays at this link.

Knockdown Ready-to-Assemble Display Cases
are an incredible value. You save a ton of money
because you do-it-yourself. Plus, you save on shipping
costs!  Just a few years ago we wouldn’t even sell these
Ready-to-Assemble type of showcases because the
quality was just not good enough. That’s changed.
The quality of the connectors has improved, and the
ease of assembly for these knockdown displays is so
simple that now we are proud to offer these
ready-to-assemble cases.

See Ready-To-Assemble Display Cases Here
Offer Expires, Friday, November 16, 2012.   

Remember, Only Happy Clients Come Back.
God Bless
Keith Lee

American Retail Supply
Marketing Tip of the Week for November 6, 2012

Stay Out of the Headlines

Did you see that Barnes and Noble made national
headline news the other day?
 
Barnes & Noble Warns of Credit Card, Debit Theft at
63 of Its Bookstores

While you may not need to worry about making national
headline news, you don’t want to make that kind of news
in your home town either. 

The sad part of this story is that it was entirely avoidable. 
New credit card processing options eliminate the ability
to steal credit card information using these tactics and
the new processing costs you the same as your current
credit card processing.   

Find out how you can prevent this from happening to YOU!
Follow this link to watch our 43 minute video presentation
Credit Card Processing
The GOOD, The BAD, and The Ugly
http://youtu.be/5YcyfHTydnc


Ready To Assemble Display Cases
Buy 4 Get the 5th Free
Buy 4 display cases and get the 5th of equal or less value
for free. Choose from any of the displays at this link.

Knockdown Ready-to-Assemble Display Cases
are an incredible value. You save a ton of money because
you do-it-yourself. Plus, you save on shipping costs!
Just a few years ago we wouldn’t even sell these
Ready-to-Assemble type of showcases because the
quality was just not good enough. That’s changed.
The quality of the connectors has improved, and the ease
of assembly for these knockdown displays is so simple
that now we are proud to offer these ready-to-assemble
cases.

See Ready-To-Assemble Display Cases Here
Offer Expires, Friday, November 9, 2012.

Remember, Only Happy Clients Come Back.
God Bless

Keith Lee
 

American Retail Supply
Marketing Tip of the Week for November 2, 2012

You Will Be Tough

Side note – Follow this link to see our complimentary webinar,
Credit Card Processing – The GOOD, The BAD, and The Ugly

We’re continuing with  Dan Kennedy’s 10 Moneymaking
Rules.  Here are the first 9 rules.  
 
Rule #1: There will be an Offer or Offers
Rule #2: There will always be a Reason to Respond
Rule #3: There will be Clear Instructions on How to Respond
Rule #4: There will be Tracking and Measurement
Rule #5: Whatever Brand-Building Occurs Will Be a
            Happy By-Product, Not Bought
Rule #6: There Will Be Follow-Up
Rule#7: There will be Strong Sales Copy
Rules #8 - In general, it will look like 'Mail-Order
Advertising.
Rule #9 - Results Rule

Rule #10 – You will be a Tough-Minded Disciplinarian
You will have a strategic plan and the discipline so follow
through.



American Retail Supply
Marketing Tip of the Week for October 31, 2012

World Champions

Congratulations to our wonderful longtime client
and 2012 World Series Champions, the San
Francisco Giants!

American Retail Supply
Marketing Tip of the Week for October 30, 2012

#9 Results Rule

Side note – Follow this link to see our complimentary webinar,
Credit Card Processing – The GOOD, The BAD, and The Ugly

We’re continuing with  Dan Kennedy’s 10 Moneymaking
Rules.  Here are the first 8 rules.  
 
Rule #1: There will be an Offer or Offers
Rule #2: There will always be a Reason to Respond
Rule #3: There will be Clear Instructions on How to Respond
Rule #4: There will be Tracking and Measurement
Rule #5: Whatever Brand-Building Occurs Will Be a
  Happy By-Product, Not Bought
Rule #6: There Will Be Follow-Up
Rule#7: There will be Strong Sales Copy
Rules #8 - In general, it will look like 'Mail-Order
Advertising.

Rule #9 - Results Rule
Results Rule, period.  No one's opinions, not even yours,
matter to you anymore!  Opinion and guesswork gone,
"Scientific Advertising" - measuring results are the standard.

American Retail Supply
Marketing Tip of the Week for October 26, 2012

Rule #8

Side note – Follow this link to see our complimentary webinar,
Credit Card Processing – The GOOD, The BAD, and The Ugly

We’re continuing with  Dan Kennedy’s 10 Moneymaking
Rules.  Here are the first 7 rules. 
 
Rule #1: There will be an Offer or Offers
Rule #2: There will always be a Reason to Respond
Rule #3: There will be Clear Instructions on How to Respond
Rule #4: There will be Tracking and Measurement
Rule #5: Whatever Brand-Building Occurs Will Be a
  Happy By-Product, Not Bought
Rule #6: There Will Be Follow-Up
Rule#7: There will be Strong Sales Copy

Rules #8 - In general, it will look like 'Mail-Order Advertising.'
Legendary ad man David Ogilvy told his own ad agency's
people that "in truth, only the mail-order people really know
what they are doing.  The core of GKIC Style Marketing is
borrowed from and built on what has worked since 1900
and works today in DIRECT marketing - applied to EVERY
kind of business, profession, or sales career.

American Retail Supply
Marketing Tip of the Week for October 24, 2012

There Will Be Strong Sales Copy

Side note – Follow this link to see our complimentary webinar,
Credit Card Processing – The GOOD, The BAD, and The Ugly

We’re continuing with Dan Kennedy’s 10 Moneymaking
Rules.  Here are the first 6 rules. 
 
Rule #1: There will be an Offer or Offers
Rule #2: There will always be a Reason to Respond
Rule #3: There will be Clear Instructions on How to Respond
Rule #4: There will be Tracking and Measurement
Rule #5: Whatever Brand-Building Occurs Will Be a
 Happy By-Product, Not Bought
Rule #6: There Will Be Follow-Up

Rule#7: There will be Strong Sales Copy
My friend and speaking colleague Zig Ziglar says there
are, sadly, a lot more `professional visitors' than there
are professional salespeople!  You are going to "Beef Up"
the selling power of every ad, web site, e-mail, letter,
flyer, postcard, etc.

American Retail Supply
Marketing Tip of the Week for October 20, 2012

There Will Be Follow Up

A couple weeks ago I was sharing with Dan Kennedy’s 10 Moneymaking Rules.  We had gotten through #5 before I detoured to tell you about our Complimentary Credit Card Processing Webinar. 

Here are the first 5 rules and then I’ll continue with rule #6.
 
Rule #1: There will be an Offer or Offers
Rule #2: There will always be a Reason to Respond
Rule #3: There will be Clear Instructions on How to Respond
Rule #4: There will be Tracking and Measurement.
Rule #5: Whatever Brand-Building Occurs Will Be a 
             Happy By-Product, Not Bought

Rule #6 - There Will Be Follow-Up
Bluntly, most businesses are "sloppy" about capture of leads' and prospects' information and about effective, multi-step, multi-media follow-up, so there is a treasure trove of untapped sales and profit opportunity.  You must focus on uncovering and mining ALL the income potential in your business; plugging the holes in your bucket; putting an iron cage around your customers and getting more revenue from every customer.

American Retail Supply
Marketing Tip of the Week for October 18, 2012

It’s Ready

The recording of our complimentary webinar,

Credit Card Processing
The GOOD, The BAD, and The UGLY is up and ready for you to watch. 

Be sure that you don’t make the headlines when your store is found to be the source of a credit card scam
that you didn’t even know about.
. 
Follow this link to watch the presentation http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5YcyfHTydnc&feature=youtu.be

Maurice and I will be rerecording the webinar and posting it on YouTube.  We’ll also include the answers to the questions we received from the attendees.  We’ll then send you a link so you can get this valuable information.



American Retail Supply
Marketing Tip of the Week for October 11, 2012

Today

Join us today for our complimentary webinar.

30 Minute Complimentary Webinar- Today
Credit Card Processing
The GOOD, The BAD, and The UGLY

TODAY - Thursday October 11, 2012
Time - 1:00pm Pacific time, 4pm Eastern, 3pm Central,
2pm Mountain, 12noon Alaskan, 10am Hawaiian

Register at
https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/674552138

Ugly Credit Card Processing
Far too many independent retailers still have
Ugly Credit Card Processing, and Ugly Credit
Card processing can put you Out-of-Business. 

If your credit card processing is Ugly you could find
yourself Out-of-Business two ways.
1. You are required, by law, to protect your
    customer's confidential information including
    credit card numbers.  If you don't, the fines,
    penalties, judgments, and legal fees could put
    you Out-of-Business.
2. If you are not PCI Compliant, your credit card
    processor could blackball you from processing
    credit cards and that could have a lethal effect
    on your business.
   
Bad Credit Card Process
There are two kinds of “Bad” Credit Card Processing.  One waste your time and doesn’t give you the information you need to run your business and keep your business secure.  While to a lesser degree than in Ugly Credit Card Processing, the second type of Bad Credit Card Processing leaves you with the same type of risks to you business as Bad Credit Card Processing. 

Good Credit Card Processing
When you use The Good Credit Card Processing the credit card processing company provides you with a card swipe pin pad that encrypts the card from the moment it is swiped.  Your current system likely does not do this.

Most POS based systems read the card and sends it to the POS system for encryption before sending it to the credit card company.  Here’s the problem the bad guys have learned how to steal the credit card information as it gets encrypted in your system and that means your back on the hook for the fines, penalties and judgments associated with not protecting you customer’s
credit card information

In addition to being fast, safe and giving you
the reports and information you need to run your
store(s), Good Credit Card Processing can:
• Provide Next Day Funding
• Provide No Fee Gift Card Transactions
• Provide Stand-in Authorization – This is really cool.  This allows you to keep processing if there’s an outage within the authorization network.
• Provide live, real person, support 24/7
• Provide Proactive Troubleshooting – Again very cool.  This system alerts you and your credit card processor of processing irregularities and can stop an issue before it becomes a problem.

Join our Technology Division manager, Maurice
Gordon, and me October 11 at 1:00pm Pacific time today,
Thursday, October 11, for our complimentary
online seminar, "Credit Card Processing - The
Good, The Bad, and the Ugly.”

Register Here:
https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/674552138

American Retail Supply
Marketing Tip of the Week for October 9, 2012

Good Credit Card Processing

Follow this link to see our September Newsletter

The GOOD GUYS WIN!

On Friday we discussed what used to be darned good credit card processing, until the BAD BUY GUYS got better at stealing from you, but there is good news…

With NEW Good Credit Card Processing the credit card processing company provides you with a card swipe pin pad that encrypts the card from the moment it is swiped.  The encrypted card information is sent to the credit
card processor and only an accept or decline is returned to you.  With the exception of the last four digits, neither you, nor your POS system, ever "sees" the card number so you have nothing to lose to a crook and no PCI Compliance issues.

In addition, the NEW GOOD Credit Card processing automatically settles your batches and notifies you if there’s a problem.  Plus you get all the
reports you need to manage your store efficiently.

We’ll discuss some of the reports that help you run your store on our complimentary 30 minute webinar this Thursday, October 11, 2012.  

Register here:
https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/674552138

Do you know which you have Good, Bad, Or Ugly Credit
Card Processing?  Find our this Thursday.

30 Minute Webinar
Credit Card Processing
The GOOD, The BAD, and The UGLY

Date - Thursday October 11, 2012

Time - 1:00pm Pacific time, 4pm Eastern, 3pm Central,
2pm Mountain, 12noon Alaskan, 10am Hawaiian

Register at
https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/674552138

American Retail Supply
Marketing Tip of the Week for October 8, 2012

Stop Thief!

Follow this link to see our September Newsletter

Here's the second type of BAD Credit Card Processing

If you have a POS system you likely have this second type of BAD Credit Card Processing.

Until recently this type of Credit Card Processing was as good as you could get.  The problem is, the bad guys (credit card thieves) have gotten so good at what they do that this type of BAD Credit Card Processing is less and less secure and that means your business is in jeopardy.

We'll discuss this in detail on our 30 minute complimentary webinar on Thursday, October 11. Register here: https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/674552138

In addition, the new GOOD Credit Card Processing
doesn't cost you any more than this BAD Unsecure
Credit Card Processing.  I'll discuss GOOD Credit
Card Processing on Tuesday.

30 Minute Webinar
Credit Card Processing
The GOOD, The BAD, and The UGLY

Date - Thursday October 11, 2012

Time - 1:00pm Pacific time, 4pm Eastern, 3pm Central,
2pm Mountain, 12noon Alaskan, 10am Hawaiian

Register at
https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/674552138

American Retail Supply
Marketing Tip of the Week for October 2, 2012

Bad Credit Card Processing

Follow this link to see our September Newsletter

You may have recently received a hardcopy of the newsletter in the link above.  The url inviting you to the complimentary 30 minute webinar, Credit Card Process, The GOOD, the BAD and the Ugly Was incorrect in the newsletter you may have received in the mail.  It’s is correct in the link above. 

You can also follow this link to register for the complimentary webinar:
https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/674552138

In the article above I said the second kind of credit card processing we would discuss during our complimentary webinar should be called “OK” credit card processing.  I was wrong, I should have stayed with the movie analogy,
the second type of processing is not OK, it’s BAD.

There are two types of BAD credit card processing.  We’ll discuss the first of those today and the second type of BAD Credit Card Processing on Friday 

Bad Credit Card Processing

1. This is credit card processing in which you get a
terminal from the processor, swipe the card, enter
the amount of the transaction and then get an
approval or decline.

This is bad for a number of reasons.

1. This is the main reason I call this BAD Credit
Card Processing.  You don’t get any information
to help you run your business.  This is the
equivalent to going back to a cash register rather
than a POS system.  We’ll discuss the type
of information you don’t get with this type of
credit card during our complimentary webinar on
October 11.

2. It’s slow.  This entire process is antiquated and
slows down your check out process.

3. It is easily subject to error.  It is very easy for the
clerk to enter the wrong sale amount.

30 Minute webinar

Credit Card Processing
The GOOD, The BAD, and The UGLY

Date - Thursday October 11, 2012

Time - 1:00pm Pacific time, 4pm Eastern, 3pm Central,
2pm Mountain, 12noon Alaskan, 10am Hawaiian

Register at:
https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/674552138

Yes - www2 is correct

American Retail Supply
Marketing Tip of the Week for September 26, 2012

Brand Building
 
Follow this link to see our September Newsletter.

You may have recently received a hardcopy of the newsletter in the link above.  The url inviting you to the complimentary webinar, Credit Card Process, The GOOD, the BAD and the Ugly was incorrect in that hardcopy of the newsletter.  It is corrected in the newsletter above.
 
You can also follow this link to register for the
complimentary webinar:

https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/674552138

 
I have been sharing with you Dan Kennedy’s
10 Moneymaking Marketing Rules.  We’ve covered rules 1-4.

Rule #1: There will be an Offer or Offers
Rule #2: There will always be a Reason to Respond
Rule #3: There will be Clear Instructions on How to Respond
Rule #4: There will be Tracking and Measurement.

Here is Rule #5

Whatever Brand-Building occurs will be a happy by-product, not bought.

If big, dumb companies want to pour millions into brand identity and unaccountable image advertising, let `em, but don't follow them!  You are in the money-making business. Do Direct Response Advertising that uses these 10 Rules, and get brand-building as a side effect.

American Retail Supply
Marketing Tip of the Week for September 21, 2012

Track and Measure

I have been sharing with you Dan Kennedy’s 10
Moneymaking Marketing Rules for Marketing.  We’ve
covered rule 1,2, and 3...

Rule #1: There will be an Offer or Offers.
Rule #2: There will always be a Reason to Respond
Rule #3: There will be Clear Instructions on How to Respond

Rule #4 is the primary reason I was attracted to Dan
Kennedy Marketing 20 years ago.  I was tired of spending
money on marketing and not knowing if it worked or not. 

Rule #4: There will be Tracking and Measurement.
P.T. Barnum is oft-quoted as saying "I know half the
advertising for my circuses is wasted - if I only knew
which half."  The same quote is often attributed to retail
pioneer John Wannamaker.  Matters not who said it, YOU
need to know what works, eliminate ALL the fat and waste
from your advertising.  Insist on return on investment.

American Retail Supply
Marketing Tip of the Week for September 18, 2012

Clear Instructions

I have been sharing with you Dan Kennedy’s first of 10 Moneymaking Marketing Rules for Marketing.  We’ve covered rule #1 and #2.

Rule #1: There will be an Offer or Offers.
Rule #2: There will always be a Reason To Respond

Here is Rule #3
There will be Clear Instructions on How To Respond

A common mistake is leaving what you want the prospective customer, client or patient to do next vague. You will be clear, direct and emphatic. (This entire STRUCTURING OF OFFER AND RESPONSE INSTRUCTIONS modus operandi is one of the differentiations between ordinary advertising and Direct-Response Advertising.)

Notice the “clear instructions” in the Funeral Home
yellow pages ads below.

Funeral Home offer 1
For a FREE 'Pre-Need Planning Kit' and Audio CD: "19
Financial And Estate Planning Tips for Responsible
Family Leaders" call our free recorded message at
000-000-0000 anytime or visit PeaceofMind.com.
Your Kit will be sent by mail, no cost, no obligation,
from Grandhome's Funeral Home - serving Bay Village
since 1942.  Respond by May 31 and receive a $20
Gift Certificate from Petiti's Flower Shops and Garden
Centers as a thank-you for your interest.

Funeral Home offer 2
Tour our new Lakeside Eternal Rest Gardens at
Grandhome's, get answers to any questions you have
about pre-need planning anytime by appointment
(000-000-0000) or this coming Saturday, June 7th's
COMMUNITY OPEN HOUSE from 12:00 Noon to
4:00 PM.  Free Thank You Gifts at the Open House
from The Golden Compass Restaurant, Petiti's Flower
Shops & Garden Centers, and Main Street Bookshop.
OR For a FREE 'Pre-Need Planning Kit' and Audio CD:
"19 Financial And Estate Planning Tips for Responsible
Family Leaders" call our free recorded message at
000-000-0000 anytime or visit PeaceofMind.com.
Your Kit will be sent by mail, no cost, no obligation from
Grandhome's Funeral Home - serving Bay Village since
1942.  Respond by June 10 and receive a $20 Gift
Certificate from Petiti's Flower Shops and Garden
Centers as a thank-you for your interest.

Cool Stuff
The pictures I took here don’t do justice to these great looking, economical, gift card holders used by our long time client, Bob Ward. 

Here’s what the card looks like on the rack.
 

Here's what the back of the card looks like.

This is what the gift card recipient gets. 

Here’s what the gift card recipient sees when she opens the gift card.
  

I didn’t have a sample of Bob Ward’s gift card here so you’ll see I put a card from our wonderful client Scraps for Pets in Las Vegas.

For more information give us a call at 800-426-5708.


American Retail Supply
Marketing Tip of the Week for September 14, 2012

Respond Now
 
I shared with you Dan Kennedy’s first of 10 Moneymaking Marketing Rules
on Tuesday.  Rule #1: There will be an Offer or Offers.

Here’s Dan’s second rule.

Rule #2: There will always be a Reason To Respond Now.
You must create a sense-of-urgency so people respond rather than set aside, delay, procrastinate, or forget.  GKIC marketing teaches you how to create Multiple-Response-Reasons.

Notice the “quick response reasons” in the Funeral Home
yellow pages ads below.

Funeral Home offer 1

For a FREE 'Pre-Need Planning Kit' and Audio CD: "19
Financial And Estate Planning Tips for Responsible
Family Leaders" call our free recorded message at
000-000-0000 anytime or visit www. PeaceofMind.com.
Your Kit will be sent by mail, no cost, no obligation,
from Grandhome's Funeral Home - serving Bay Village
since 1942.  Respond by May 31 and receive a $20
Gift Certificate from Petiti's Flower Shops and Garden
Centers as a thank-you for your interest.

Funeral Home offer 2

Tour our new Lakeside Eternal Rest Gardens at
Grandhome's, get answers to any questions you have
about pre-need planning anytime by appointment
(000-000-0000) or this coming Saturday, June 7th's
COMMUNITY OPEN HOUSE from 12:00 Noon to
4:00 PM.  Free Thank You Gifts at the Open House
from The Golden Compass Restaurant, Petiti's Flower
Shops & Garden Centers, and Main Street Bookshop.
OR For a FREE 'Pre-Need Planning Kit' and Audio CD:
"19 Financial And Estate Planning Tips for Responsible
Family Leaders" call our free recorded message at
000-000-0000 anytime or visit www. PeaceofMind.com.
Your Kit will be sent by mail, no cost, no obligation from
Grandhome's Funeral Home - serving Bay Village since
1942.  Respond by June 10 and receive a $20 Gift
Certificate from Petiti's Flower Shops and Garden
Centers as a thank-you for your interest.

Another Cool Bag
Check this out!  Again, I wish I had a better picture showing it being used as a bag, but this is COOL STUFF!This is a 16”x6”x12”x6” white matte laminated non-woven polypropylene bag with 4 color process printing on 100% of the bags.

This is a 16”x6”x12”x6” white matte laminated non-woven
polypropylene bag with 4 color process printing on 100%
of the bags.

For more information give us a call at 800-426-5708.

American Retail Supply
Marketing Tip of the Week for September 7, 2012

Set Sail
 
Dan Kennedy, my marketing mentor, recently shared this quotation from Sidney Bremer, an associate of Napoleon Hill, “Your ship cannot come in unless you have first sent ships out.”

This is a great quote for marketing.  Notice Sidney did not say, “Your ship cannot come in unless you have first sent a ship out,” he said you need to send ships out, and my guess is he meant lots of ships.

This is true of marketing.  You need to try lots of stuff.  From this, “LOTS of stuff” you’ll find the stuff that doesn’t work, and you don’t do it anymore.  And you’ll find the stuff that does work, and you expand on it and grow your business. 

We’ll continue with ideas for lots of marketing stuff you should be trying in your business over the next few weeks.

American Retail Supply
Marketing Tip of the Week for September 3, 2012

Yes there is an "I" in Team
 
Here's another complimentary webinar from our friends at the Friedman Group.  Harry's webinars are always full of great content.

This webinar 45 minute webinar is this tomorrow, Wednesday, September 5 at 11am Pacific time, Eastern 2pm, Central 1pm, Mountain 12noon, Alaskan 10am, Hawaiian 9am

You can register here:
http://www.thefriedmangroup.com/email/teamwork-myth/

Yes there is an "I" in Team:
Exposing the TRUTH Behind the Teamwork Myth
 
In some cases the concept of teamwork is a worthy goal.  But when it's used to cover up a lack of accountability and hard work, things can go really wrong.  You've heard it a million times and maybe you've uttered the words
"play like a team" and "we need more teamwork" yourself. Yet these great words have never been responsible for the development of great teams.

Hall of Fame football coach Vince Lombardi became a legend for his winning teams.  But it was the work done with his team Monday through Friday that brought him so many victories on Sunday.  Understanding how teams really become great and exposing the misunderstandings surrounding teamwork is the subject of international retail authority Harry J. Friedman's timely webinar.
You'll learn…

• How using the expression "Teamwork" has caused many companies to fail.
• What's really behind successful teams.
• Why management continues to miss the point .
• Why no-guts-no-glory is still true.
• The 5 factors in building a DREAM TEAM.

Register for this no-charge webinar here.
http://www.thefriedmangroup.com/email/teamwork-myth/

The registration form will ask,
"Who informed you about this webinar?"
Please enter "ARS"



American Retail Supply
Marketing Tip of the Week for August 21, 2012
Disney Marketing - Part 3
 
We’ll complete our discussion of the advantages you CAN get with direct mail like Disney uses with today’s tip from Dan Kennedy’s.  As the previous two tips, this tip is an excerpt from Dan’s book No B.S.Grassroots Marketing - Guide to Growing Sales and Profits of Local Small Businesses.   

The Two Biggest Advantages You CAN Get with Direct Mail

The second related advantage you can give yourself with direct mail is: being paid attention to rather than being ignored.  When you select and single out a small enough number of high-value, high-probability prospects, and show up like no one else via packages like I've just described, you make it almost impossible for your prospective customer or client to ignore you or, in B2B settings, for a gatekeeper to easily discard your missive. You can also essentially ethically bribe the recipient into giving your message more time and consideration than he otherwise would when the package he receives is especially clever and/or contains a gift of some kind he likes and keeps. 

 
American Retail Supply
Marketing Tip of the Week for August 7, 2012

My Friend Needs a Kidney
 
A dear friend needs a Kidney – SOON

JP Theriot has polycystic kidney disorder (PKD) and needs a donor ASAP.  Please call Paige at UW Medical Center (206-598-3873) to inquire.  Chances are nearly zero for you to be a match, but at least you can say you tried.

Please pass this on to your friends and 'like' this page:

http://www.facebook.com/KidneyForJP#!/KidneyForJP/info

Please pray for JP and his family.

God Bless,

Keith Lee

800-426-5708

www.AmericanRetailSupply.com

 
American Retail Supply
6205 S 231st Street
Kent, WA 98032
800-426-5708

American Retail Supply
4900 Osage Street, #700
Denver, Colorado 80221
800-284-7312

American Retail Supply
1320 Kalani Street #110
Honolulu, HI 96817
888-395-4888

To remove your name from this list click here.

American Retail Supply
Marketing Tip of the Week for August 7, 2012

Ends Wednesday
 
The Christmas Packaging in this newsletter needs to be ordered by Wednesday, August 8.

Click Here to See the August Newsletter.

Your Christmas packaging will be billed and shipped on October 15.  This "Gang Run" program assures you get the packaging you want for the all-important Christmas season and keeps prices down.  Use these items for your in-store packaging and resell them for your customers to use in their home wrapping.

See “Newsletter Readers Only” Christmas Packaging Special below.

Only for Marketing Tip Newsletter Readers

Break a Bracket Pricing on Christmas Items in This Month’s Newsletter

Say "newsletter" when you place your order and you'll get the 4 case price when you order 1 case, 10 case price when you order 5 cases, etc.  Yes, you can combine products for the quantity price breaks!

These orders must be received by August 8.

Call 800-426-5708 with questions or to order.

You can see more Christmas Packaging Here www.AmericanRetailSupply.com/16155/Christmas-Packaging.html

American Retail Supply
Marketing Tip of the Week for August 3, 2012

Reward Complainers
 
On Friday, I sent you a tip from Bob Negen at Whizbang! Training about customer complaints.  As I’ve mentioned before, you should register to get Bob’s weekly tips by following this link, Click on this link to get Bob’s Whizbang! Tip of the Week

Here’s what I say about the same subject in my book, Out-Nordstrom Nordstrom, Creating the World’s Best Customer Service.

REWARD CUSTOMERS WHO COMPLAIN

Don’t look at complaints as problems.  Look at complaints as opportunities.  Complaints are opportunities to improve your business, and create better customer relationships. 

Sure, no one really likes getting complaints, but I’ve learned I love complaints!

It’s important to understand that the customer, who complains, cares enough to complain.  If they didn’t care, they would simply say, ‘I’m not going to deal with this.  I’m going somewhere else.’  I love people who complain.  They give us the opportunity to make it right for them and over the last 30 years of business I can tell you, without question, when you WOW a customer with the manner in which you handle his complaint you’ll create a customer who is even more loyal.

Be sure to make it perfectly clear to your customers what they should expect.  If you’re reading this book you’re likely doing so because you want your customers to expect the absolute best customer service.  You need to make sure your customers understand that’s what they should expect.  If they understand what is expected, and they believe you, and they like your business, they will complain and that’s what you want.

You should have a system in which everything, other than major problems, is taken care of by your front line.  It should be easy, quick and effortless as far as the customer is concerned. 

If it’s a bigger complaint, or it comes to you specifically, you need to make sure that either you, or someone with a high level of authority in your business, responds to the person who complains using the L.E.A.R. principle
(see secret #43).

Your biggest reward to the customer who complains is to take care of their problem quickly and easily.  WOW them with you system to take care of problems.  You can also reward them with a small gift or going beyond what
they would expect in taking care of the issue.

Silk Ties – I got this idea from Bill Glazer.  Bill used to own men’s wear stores.  If a customer had a problem Bill’s people were trained to fix the issue and then ask the client to pick out a free silk tie as a thank you for telling them about the problem.  The ties didn’t cost Bill much but they had a high perceived value from the customer’s standpoint.  Do you have a silk tie you can use in your business?

American Retail Supply
Marketing Tip of the Week for July 27, 2012

It’s a Gift
 
Here’s another tip from Bob Negen at Whizbang! Training.  You should register to get Bob’s weekly tips.  Just Click on this link to get Bob’s Whizbang! Tip of the Week.

Dealing with customer complaints is part of doing business.  Handle them correctly and you’ll look like a hero.  Mess it up and there is a good chance that customer is out the door and on the phone (or worse, on the Internet) squawking to everyone they know about what a terrible business you run.

In his book, ‘How To Win Customers And Keep Them For Life’, Michael LeBoeuf cites some powerful statistics…

         •  96% of people who experience a problem with a 
             small ticket item or service, do not complain.

         •  This means that for every person who complains, 
             24 feel the same but do not say anything.

         •  91% of those people who do not complain, do not 
            do business with that company again.

When someone complains, they are giving you a
wonderful gift.  They are giving you an opportunity
to make whatever is wrong, right.

Here are four steps to help turn almost any customer
complaint into a positive experience...

Step One:  Say, “Thank you.”

By thanking them for bringing the problem to your attention you are signaling your willingness to listen. You’re also diffusing a lot of the anxious energy people bring when they come with a complaint.  They’re probably prepared for a confrontation and a genuine, “Thank you so much for bringing this to my attention!” takes a lot of the wind out of that sail.

Even if you disagree with your customer, you can still be grateful that they told you about the problem.

Remember, their complaint is a gift, treat it as one.

Step Two:  Ask lots of questions and LISTEN.
 
Their lips may be saying, “The color is wrong,” when they are really saying, “It makes me look fat.”  Don’t make judgments, don’t jump to conclusions, just keep the conversation going until you feel confident you’ve uncovered the real reason for the complaint.

I know, I know... some people are hard to read, they tell you lies, or they are just being a pain in the back side.

Do your best to understand their real problem.

Step Three:  Be empathetic.

Acknowledge how they feel.  Apologize if it’s appropriate.  People can tell if you are trying to understand, or just pretending to understand.

Be on your customer’s side, even if you think they are the cause of the problem.

If you get into an argument with your customer, you lose.  You might win the argument, but you’ll lose the customer.

Step Four:  Solve the problem! 

A simple and sincere, “What would you like me to do?” is the best way I know to handle it.  Experience has shown me that if you give your customers the power to pick a solution they will almost always be reasonable.

Of course, there may be an occasional knucklehead who will make a crazy request, but deal with these situations on an individual basis.

As a rule, give your customers the benefit of the doubt; they’re not taking advantage of you, they are giving you a gift!

One final statistic...

“A customer that has their problems satisfactorily solved will provide 3 times the revenue of a customer that has never had a problem.”

WOW!!!

Important Note: Empower your staff to make things right.  They may occasionally make a mistake, but the benefits of amazing service will far outweigh the occasional overcompensation that comes from inexperience.

From Keith

If you’re a consistent reader of these tips, my newsletter, or have read my book Out-Nordstrom Nordstrom, Creating the World’s Best Customer Service you see why I love Bob’s tips.  He could have written this chapter in my book.

I’ll expand with a few more ideas on this subject in the next couple of Marketing Tips.

American Retail Supply
Marketing Tip of the Week for July 24, 2012

Merchant Cross Promotions
 
Here’s a response I received to Friday’s tip from Ron Halls at Paper Scissors on the Rock on Lopez Island, WA 

In their book NO B.S. Grassroots Marketing – Guide to Growing Sales and Profit of Local Small Businesses, Slutsky and Dan Kennedy call this Merchant Cross Promotion. 

After you read Ron’s input please send me the Merchant Cross Promotions you’ve used so I can share them. 

These tips all get added to our web site and when you send your idea I’ll be sure to include your web site or Facebook link when I use it.  That will give you a nice relevant link to your site.  We’ll talk about relative links to your site and the advantage of them in a few weeks.   

We did something similar this winter, our slow time in the San Juan Islands of Washington.  For every $20 a person would spend in Paper Scissors on the Rock, they would receive a $1.00 off coupon for my partner's espresso cafe, Caffe La Boheme.  It was a nice way to say thanks to my loyal customers and drive some business to the cafe which is slow in February and March.

It started as a Leap Year special – “Leap Into the New Year” with a $1.00 off any drink at Caffe La Boheme.  It was so successful we carried it into April.  The Caffe had approximately 60 coupons turned in every month. Some were used by regular customers to the cafe, others were new.  Some wouldn't use the coupon - just supported the cafe at full cost.

The great thing about this type of marketing is the low cost, the 'hands on' interaction, and the ability to say "Thank You" to those who support our businesses.

We will be doing it again this coming winter.

Thanks for the tips!

From Keith
Ron hit this right on the nose with his analysis of low cost, the 'hands on' interaction, and the ability to say "Thank You" to those who support our businesses.

Thank you Ron!

 
Wouldn’t a little trip to Lopez Island be nice?  Be sure to stop at Paper Scissors on the Rock and Caffe La Boheme.

American Retail Supply
Marketing Tip of the Week for July 20, 2012

Business Card Handshake
 
Here’s an excerpt from Jeff Slutsky’s and Dan Kennedy’s book NO B.S. Grassroots Marketing – Guide to Growing Sales and Profit of Local Small Businesses. 

During an 11-week period, the manager of a convenience store passed out 200 of her business cards to people she did not recognize as being her customers.  She made a goal of handing out at least 10 a day, and as she set about this, on the back of her business card she would write, "free regular soft drink or coffee" and sign it.  Then she would tell the prospective customer, "When you come into our store, the drink's on me!" Of the 200 she passed out, 51 came back; that's over a 25% return.  Obviously, most of those who came in and redeemed that card bought other things.  Plus, many of those customers came back for more visits.
 
The unique thing about a business-card handshake promotion is that it has a strong redemption rate and a strong conversion rate.  The reason is that it allows you to develop a personal relationship with potential customers.  There's a nice ego boost when a customer knows the manager or owner of a business.  It makes them feel special.  Take advantage of this.
 
And don't create special "free cards" for this purpose.  To really make the person feel special, you use your business card.  Handwrite the offer on the back and sign it.  That will have a much greater impact for you. We often suggest to our clients that they pass out from 10 to 15 per week.  But it's not just handing them out.  It's that 15-second greeting that goes along with it.  Here's one that worked really well for a popular Tex-Mex franchise:
 
        "My name is the General Manger at the (offer your 
        location).  (Shake hands.) Have you ever been there 
        before? Do you like burritos? Well, you're going to 
        like ours. Why don't you come on in and be my guest. 
        (Take out a business card and write offer on back.) 
        Have a free entree on me. Hope to see you."
 
You can get Jeff and Dan’s book online.  If I knew a brick and mortar client who had it I would send you there, but I don’t know any who stock the book.

American Retail Supply
Marketing Tip of the Week For July 17, 2012

Nugget of Gold
 
I got this Nugget of Gold while reading Dan Kennedy’s article in my No B.S. Marketing Letter this month.

Since I sell Business-to-Business I don’t see how I’ll be able to use this but I bet you can.

New U.S. Postal Option useful to many local businesses.

Get info at www.usps.com/everydoordirectmail. 

This gets the postage down as low as 14.5 cents.  There is no addressing.  It gets delivered to every house in a defined neighborhood.  Formats allowed include oversize 6”x9” postcards, 8-1/2” x 11” broadsheets, and trifold pieces.

This means you can mail 1,000 promotional pieces for $140 in postage.

American Retail Supply
Marketing Tip of the Week for July 13, 2012

Suggest Sell
 

Here’s an excerpt from Jeff Slutsky’s and Dan Kennedy’s book NO B.S. Grassroots Marketing – Guide to Growing Sales and Profit of Local Small Businesses. 

Suggest-Sell Promotions

Suggest sell is a simple and inexpensive marketing technique used at the time of a purchase to increase sales and profitability.  It may be as simple as getting your counter people to say, "You want fries with that?" But in the real world it often takes a little more initiative to get your people to suggest that one extra item that is so critical to adding those extra dollars to your bottom line.  With the right approach, you'll discover that it is relatively easy to add 10% to 20% more to an existing sale or get an existing customer to buy just one more item.

An ice cream manufacturer in Canada wanted to promote its product more aggressively through a convenience store chain.  They offered to provide to the chain a contest enticing their employees to suggest-sell the ice cream bars at the cash register during a purchase. It was suggested that the ice cream company use a mystery shopper approach where each store would be visited several times during the month. If the employee would suggest sell an ice cream bar to the mystery shopper, that employee was handed a $50 bill on the spot.  If they failed, they were handed a printed note telling them they just lost $50 but they may get another chance.  A contest like this creates excitement for employees, and as soon as someone wins some cash,
the word spreads.

I know you’re not an ice cream manufacturer but you can use this idea in your store.

You can get Jeff and Dan’s book online.  If I knew a brick and mortar client
who had it I would send you there, but I don’t know any who stock the book.



American Retail Supply
Marketing Tip of the Week for July 11, 2012


Wacky Weather

Here’s another tip from Bob Negen at Whizbang! Marketing.  Just Click on this link to get Bob’s Whizbang! Tip of the Week.

From Bob

Hot, cold, windy, dry, rainy, stormy.

The weather is always a topic of conversation and frequently has a big impact on your business - positive or negative.

Use the weather as great reason to "talk" to your customers and invite them into your store to shop, even in adverse weather conditions.  These ideas might give you some inspiration...

Little Gestures
Simple and cheap, these are great conversation starters and a wonderful way to show how much you care for your customers.

·   Give bottles of icy water whenever the thermometer hits a certain mark.

·   Offer free hand warmers in a cold snap.  (You can get both the water bottles
    and the hand warmers cheap in bulk with your logo on them.)

·   Rent a frozen yogurt machine and serve mini cups in hot weather.

·   Keep big umbrellas and walk your customers to their car in rainy weather.

·   Put out bowls of water for pets in a drought.

·   Pour cups of hot cider on blustery fall days.

Fun Promotions
These kinds of promotions give you a great reason to communicate frequently with your customers (weather updates!) and can drive traffic into the store.

·   Our local ice cream store offers half off cones when it's snowing outside
    driving traffic during normally slow times.

·   Offer 30% off storewide the first day the temperature hits 30 degrees - a fun
    pre-holiday promotion for folks in the north.

·   Biggest wind gust in a storm = the percentage off coats the next day.
    32 mph wind gust = 32% off coats.

·   Make a purchase on a rainy day and get a $3 gift certificate to a local car
    wash (a partner, of course, who will donate the certificates as a new
    customer acquisition tactic!!)

Big Deal Events
Get some 'conditional weather insurance' and make a BIG weather wager with your customers...

·   Every purchase made between February 1-23 is free if it snows more than
    24" on February 24th.

·   If it hits 100 degrees on July 4th, the next 100 customers get 75% off their
    entire purchase.

·   More than 30" of rain in a month and everyone who bought during that month
    gets a year's worth of free groceries.

This kind of event not only gives you a big reason to communicate, it can often lead to publicity for your store if the "bet" comes close to paying out for your customers.

The weather is always with us... might as well make the most of it!

Be sure to register to get Bob’s Retail Success Tip delivered to your inbox every week.  Just Click on WhizBang Tip of the Week at this link.
Follow this link to get Bob’s WhizBang! Tip of the Week.




OUR Declaration of Independence

IN CONGRESS, July 4, 1776.

The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen United States of America,

When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.--That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, --That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.--Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States.
To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world.

He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome
            and necessary for the public good.
He has forbidden his Governors to pass Laws of
            immediate and pressing importance, unless
            suspended in their operation till his Assent should
            be obtained; and when so suspended, he has
            utterly neglected to attend to them.
He has refused to pass other Laws for the accommodation
            of large districts of people, unless those people would
            relinquish the right of Representation in the Legislature,
            a right inestimable to them and formidable to tyrants only.
He has called together legislative bodies at places
            unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the depository
            of their public Records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing
            them into compliance with his measures.
He has dissolved Representative Houses repeatedly, for
            opposing with manly firmness his invasions on the rights
            of the people.
He has refused for a long time, after such dissolutions,
            to cause others to be elected; whereby the Legislative
            powers, incapable of Annihilation, have returned to the
            People at large for their exercise; the State remaining in
            the mean time exposed to all the dangers of invasion
            from without, and convulsions within.
He has endeavoured to prevent the population of these
            States; for that purpose obstructing the Laws for
            Naturalization of Foreigners; refusing to pass others to
            encourage their migrations hither, and raising the
            conditions of new Appropriations of Lands.
He has obstructed the Administration of Justice, by
            refusing his Assent to Laws for establishing Judiciary
            powers.
He has made Judges dependent on his Will alone, for
            the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment
            of their salaries.
He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent
            hither swarms of Officers to harrass our people, and
            eat out their substance.
He has kept among us, in times of peace, Standing
            Armies without the Consent of our legislatures.
He has affected to render the Military independent of
            and superior to the Civil power.
He has combined with others to subject us to a
            jurisdiction foreign to our constitution, and
            unacknowledged by our laws; giving his Assent to their
            Acts of pretended Legislation:
For Quartering large bodies of armed troops
            among us:
For protecting them, by a mock Trial, from punishment
            for any Murders which they should commit on
            the Inhabitants of these States:
For cutting off our Trade with all parts of the
            world:
For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent:
For depriving us in many cases, of the benefits
            of Trial by Jury:
For transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for
            pretended offences
For abolishing the free System of English Laws in a
            neighbouring Province, establishing therein an
            Arbitrary government, and enlarging its
            Boundaries so as to render it at once an example
            and fit instrument for introducing the same
            absolute rule into these Colonies:
For taking away our Charters, abolishing our most
            valuable Laws, and altering fundamentally the
            Forms of our Governments:
For suspending our own Legislatures, and declaring
            themselves invested with power to legislate for
            us in all cases whatsoever.
He has abdicated Government here, by declaring us out
            of his Protection and waging War against us.
He has plundered our seas, ravaged our Coasts, burnt
            our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people.
He is at this time transporting large Armies of foreign
            Mercenaries to compleat the works of death, desolation
            and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of
            Cruelty & perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most
            barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the Head of a
            civilized nation.
He has constrained our fellow Citizens taken Captive on
            the high Seas to bear Arms against their Country,
            to become the executioners of their friends and
            Brethren, or to fall themselves by their Hands.
He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and
            has endeavoured to bring on the inhabitants of
            our frontiers, the merciless Indian Savages, whose
            known rule of warfare, is an undistinguished
            destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions.

In every stage of these Oppressions We have Petitioned for Redress in the most humble terms: Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. A Prince whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people.

Nor have We been wanting in attentions to our Brittish brethren. We have warned them from time to time of attempts by their legislature to extend an unwarrantable jurisdiction over us. We have reminded them of the circumstances of our emigration and settlement here. We have appealed to their native justice and magnanimity, and we have conjured them by the ties of our common kindred to disavow these usurpations, which, would inevitably interrupt our connections and correspondence. They too have been deaf to the voice of justice and of consanguinity. We must, therefore, acquiesce in the necessity, which denounces our Separation, and hold them, as we hold the rest of mankind, Enemies in War, in Peace Friends.

We, therefore, the Representatives of the United States of America, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare, That these United Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States; that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as Free and Independent States, they have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace, contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts and Things which Independent States may of right do. And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The 56 signatures on the Declaration appear in the positions indicated:

Column 1
Georgia:
   Button Gwinnett
   Lyman Hall
   George Walton

Column 2
North Carolina:
   William Hooper
   Joseph Hewes
   John Penn
South Carolina:
   Edward Rutledge
   Thomas Heyward, Jr.
   Thomas Lynch, Jr.
   Arthur Middleton

Column 3
Massachusetts:
    John Hancock
Maryland:
    Samuel Chase
    William Paca
    Thomas Stone
    Charles Carroll of Carrollton
Virginia:
    George Wythe
    Richard Henry Lee
    Thomas Jefferson
    Benjamin Harrison
    Thomas Nelson, Jr.
    Francis Lightfoot Lee
    Carter Braxton

Column 4
Pennsylvania:
   Robert Morris
   Benjamin Rush
   Benjamin Franklin
   John Morton
   George Clymer
   James Smith
   George Taylor
   James Wilson
   George Ross
Delaware:
   Caesar Rodney
   George Read
   Thomas McKean

Column 5
New York:
   William Floyd
   Philip Livingston
   Francis Lewis
   Lewis Morris
New Jersey:
   Richard Stockton
   John Witherspoon
   Francis Hopkinson
   John Hart
   Abraham Clark

Column 6
New Hampshire:
   Josiah Bartlett
   William Whipple
Massachusetts:
   Samuel Adams
   John Adams
   Robert Treat Paine
   Elbridge Gerry
Rhode Island:
   Stephen Hopkins
   William Ellery
Connecticut:
   Roger Sherman
   Samuel Huntington
   William Williams
   Oliver Wolcott
New Hampshire:
   Matthew Thornton

 
Remember, Only Happy Clients Come Back.
God Bless,

Keith Lee
800-426-5708
www.AmericanRetailSupply.com

 
American Retail Supply
6205 S 231st Street
Kent, WA 98032
800-426-5708

American Retail Supply
4900 Osage Street, #700
Denver, Colorado 80221
800-284-7312

American Retail Supply
1320 Kalani Street #110
Honolulu, HI 96817
888-395-4888

To remove your name from this list click here.



American Retail Supply
Marketing Tip of the Week for July 3, 2012


Think Past the Transaction

If you’re a consistent reader of my tips you’ll see exactly why I love the tips from Bob Negen at Whizbang! Marketing.  Just Click on this link to get Bob’s Whizbang! Tip of the Week.

From Bob

Next week we are going up to our cottage in Mackinaw City for some serious relaxation, family time, and (we hoped) some great bike rides.  Our kids are finally old enough to pedal more than one block and our youngest son Sam has finally shed his training wheels.

But transporting four bikes – especially one as big as Big Bob’s – was more than our old, “single people” bike rack could handle.  So we went to our favorite local bike store, Rock ‘N Road Cycles, here in Grand Haven to get a new rack that could handle four bikes.  To our dismay, they had racks for two bikes, racks for different hitch sizes, racks for three bikes, but NONE that would work for our four bikes and our trailer hitch.

Sigh.

The first guy we talked to couldn’t help us, but was well-trained and savvy enough to refer us to the owner, Tim.  Tim’s a great guy and has sold us FIVE new bikes this year.

Tim didn’t blink an eye. He was off in a flash with a, “Let me see…” and back in under five minutes assuring us that the rack we needed would be in by tomorrow at ten o’clock.

Okay, we’re retailers and so are you.  It’s no mystery what happened. He called his rack vendor and had our rack shipped Next Day Air to arrive in the morning. Expensive.

But worth it?

You bet.  Yeah, he probably won’t make much (anything?) on this particular rack sale.  But we would certainly have gone to his nearby competitor to find
the rack we needed and our loyalty would have eroded.

Instead, he has a solid customer for life.  And all the bikes our kids need in the next fifteen years will sure as shootin’ come from Rock ‘N Road
Cycles. Cha-Ching!

Tim’s a smart merchant and thinks past the single transaction. He’s willing to break even on this transaction. He wants bike riders for life.  He wants our kids to think of his store as the ONLY place to get new bikes and ensure a new generation of Rock ‘N Road fans.  Tim’s going to break the bank on the back end.

That’s how you get happy customers AND happy retailers!

Be sure to register to get Bob’s Retail Success Tip delivered to your inbox every week.  Just Click on WhizBang Tip of the Week at this link.  Follow this link to get Bob’s WhizBang! Tip of the Week.

American Retail Supply
Marketing Tip of the Week June 30. 2012

The One Sentence Wonder

Staff Development

Check out this extremely effective coaching technique that takes almost no time at all. Quite often the littlest things make the biggest difference. 

Use “one sentence wonder” coaching.

The “One Sentence Wonder” is just like it sounds, one simple sentence to reinforce a desired behavior or to correct and undesirable one. It does work wonders!

Walk up to your associate, give your one sentence feedback and move on. Here are some examples:

•  “Julie, you really hustled and got that order checked in and ticketed
    in record time. Thanks.”

•  “John, thanks for taking the initiative and washing the windows.”

•  “Doris, I understand how hard you are working on checking in that order,
    but remember our standard is to greet every customer immediately
    when they come in the door.”

And, of course, solid eye contact and a smile make your “One Sentence Wonder” even more powerful.

Try this technique today. You’ll be amazed at how easy and effective it is.

Remember, behind almost every great team there is a great coach.

This was another tips by Bob Negen from WhizBang! Training.   Be sure to register to get Bob’s Retail Success Tip delivered to your inbox every week.  Just Click on WhizBang Tip of the Week at this link.  Follow this link to get Bob’s WhizBang! Tip of the Week.

Cool Stuff

I love these pop-up gift card boxes and so will your customers.  Follow this link to see more. 

American Retail Supply
Marketing Tip of the Week for June 26, 2012


Catch Them Doing Something Right

I’m thrilled to share more tips by Bob Negen from WhizBang! Training.  Be sure to register to get Bob’s Retail Success Tip delivered to your inbox every week. Just Click on WhizBang Tip of the Week at this link.  Follow this link to get Bob’s WhizBang! Tip of the Week.


Catch Them Doing Something Right
You’ve probably heard the concept before.  But I want to think about this idea in two possibly new ways


#1 – Who am I supposed to catch doing good stuff? 
You’ve probably heard that you should catch your employees (or your kids) doing something right.  And you should!  Also, catch your customers doing something right.  If a customer refers a friend to your business, send them a card, a gift certificate, or call them with a sincere “thank you!”  It’s only one example of catching your customers doing something right.

Catch your neighboring businesses doing something right.  If they are keeping customer friendly hours, shoveling their sidewalks, or planting flowers do you stop and say thank you?

What about your Chamber of Commerce, city government, or trade organization?  Give them a pat for the good stuff they do, too.


#2 – What is the “good stuff” I’m supposed to catch them doing?
If you think you need to wait until someone does something extraordinarily good to give them some attention, think again.

Catch them doing simple things right and let them know you appreciate it.  The world revolves around little gestures.

Make a point of catching people doing things right.  Give your employees, customers, service organizations, neighbors, friends, spouse, and children the attention they crave.

Here’s our challenge to you – catch at least five people doing something right today and give them a big pat on the back.  When you get in the habit of catching people doing things right, you’ll find yourself surrounded by happy, positive people.

Follow this link to get the WhizBang! Retail Success Tip of the Week delivered to your inbox every week.

Cool Stuff
Custom Acrylic Cell Phone Accessory Display

Our client had bought this basic gondola rolling display from a store that was going out of business.  Russell, in our Honolulu distribution facility, helped him design these custom acrylic pieces to use with the gondolas. 

The client can reconfigured his store in minutes.

The client also wanted units to use on support posts in his store so Russell designed these units using slatwall.

 Overall look of the store.

American Retail Supply
Marketing Tip of the Week for June 22, 2012

Cell Phone Marketing

Follow this link to watch a replay of our Webinar Fantasy Marketing.

http://login.i2webexpress.com/?meeting=4159607

 
The Webinar is a total of 36 minutes including questions we answered at the end.  You’ll find out everything you need to know about Mobile Text Marketing including:

•    Why Mobile Text Marketing works

•    How to build your list of opt-in customers

•    Key concepts for successful SMS Marketing

•    The cost of SMS Marketing

 
Watch the presentation here

http://login.i2webexpress.com/?meeting=4159607

American Retail Supply
Marketing Tip of the Week for June 20, 2012


30 Minutes Today 

Find out everything you need to know about Mobile Phone Text Message Marketing during our complimentary 30 minute webinar today.

Register at:

http://login.i2webexpress.com/?meeting=2746872

Fantasy Marketing
Date - Wednesday June 20, 2012

Time - 1:00pm Pacific time, 4pm Eastern, 3pm Central,
2pm Mountain, 12 noon Alaskan, 10am Hawaiian

Register at:

http://login.i2webexpress.com/?meeting=2746872

American Retail Supply
Marketing Tip of the Week for June 19, 2012

Guaranteed Read

I’ve mentioned before in these tips, it doesn’t matter if you’re McDonald’s, Apple, WalMart, or any other business, your biggest marketing challenge today is busting through the marketing clutter and getting your message seen, read or heard.

 
The New York Times says,
“Mobile text messaging may be the closest thing in the information-overloaded digital marketing world to a guaranteed read.”

Learn the ins and outs of Mobile Text Marketing this Wednesday during our online seminar.

Fantasy Marketing
Date - Wednesday June 20, 2012

Time - 1:00pm Pacific time, 4pm Eastern, 3pm Central,
2pm Mountain, 12 noon Alaskan, 10am Hawaiian

Register at:

http://login.i2webexpress.com/?meeting=2746872

Here’s what you’ll learn on Wednesday.

•    Why SMS Marketing works

•    How to build your list of opt-in customers

•    Key concepts for successful SMS Marketing

•    The cost of SMS Marketing

American Retail Supply
Marketing Tip of the Week for June 15, 2012

"I’m Begging You"

My business can only Thrive when you’re business thrives, that’s why I’m begging you to not miss this.  As I said in Wednesday’s tip, retail has changed and it’s going to continue to change, maybe even faster than you think and you can either be left in the dust or you can change and survive.

Mobile Phone Text Message Marketing may or may not be right for your business but you, at the very least, need to know about it, how difficult (actually very easy) it is to implement, what you’ll need to invest in terms of time, and the hard costs attributed to Test Message Marketing. 

Find out all of this, and more, when you join us on this

Complimentary On-line Seminar

American Retial Supply
Marketing Tip of the Week for June 13, 2012

Left in the Dust

Retail has changed and it’s going to continue to change, maybe even faster.  You can be left in the dust, or change, survive and even thrive!

Mobile Phone Text Message Marketing may or may not be right for your business, but at the very least you need to know about it, how difficult (actually very easy) it is to implement, what you’ll need to invest in terms of time, and the hard costs attributed to Test Message Marketing.Find out all of this and more when you join us on this

Complimentary On-line Seminar

Fantasy Marketing
Date - Wednesday June 20, 2012

Time - 1:00pm Pacific time, 4pm Eastern, 3pm Central,
2pm Mountain, 12 noon Alaskan, 10am Hawaiian

Register at:

http://login.i2webexpress.com/?meeting=2746872

American Retail Supply
Marketing Tip of the Week for June 11, 2012


Fantasy Island

Imagine this…
You have an advertising or marketing message you want to get out
and within seconds of thinking of it, you get it delivered to a bunch
of people, all of whom want to get your message, AND within
4-1/2 minutes 94% of those people have read your message.

It sounds like this business owner was on Fantasy Island.

 
Remember the television series that ran from 1978 to 1984, in which
Mr. Roarke (Ricardo Montalban) starred as enigmatic overseer of a
mysterious island somewhere in the Pacific Ocean where people
from all walks of life?

It’s not a Fantasy.  Learn how you can, get your message to a whole
lot of people, all of whom want to get your message, AND within
4-1/2 minutes 94% of those people will have read your message. 

Attend our complimentary On-line Seminar: 
Fantasy Marketing
Date - Wednesday June 20, 2012

Time - 1:00pm Pacific time, 4pm Eastern, 3pm Central,
2pm Mountain, 12 noon Alaskan, 10am Hawaiian

Register at
http://login.i2webexpress.com/?meeting=2746872

American Retail Supply
Marketing Tip of the Week for June 8, 2012

Great Greetings

Here’s another great tip from Bob Negen from WhizBang! Training. Be sure to register to get Bob’s Retail Success Tip delivered to your inbox every week.

Follow this link to get Bob’s WhizBang! Tip of the Week.


Great Greetings

One of the most uncomfortable points of customer contact for many people is the very first one – the greeting.

When a customer walks into your store, office, or business for the first time the greeting is the very first step in - and a very important part of - the sales process. You are beginning a long-term and potentially very valuable relationship. We all know the instinctive response to the old standby, “Hi, can I help you?” is “NO, I’m just looking”. Even if they really do need help!

So what DO you say? Make it simple, personal, and genuine. And no matter what you say, say it with a sincere smile and good solid eye contact. Body language speaks volumes.

Here are a few of our favorites:

“Good morning!” said with a big smile.
“Is it still raining outside?”
“What a darling baby. How old is she?” said to Mom with a stroller.”
“Hi, I’m Susan.”
“Go Bears!” said to the fellow with a Chicago Bears cap on.
“Hello. Welcome to <your business name>.”

Follow this link to get the WhizBang! Retail Success Tip
of the Week delivered to your inbox every week.


Cool Stuff

Less Can Be More
Even though we sell some absolutely incredible looking displays, often in retail display, less is more. If you have great products in your store the best display can be the one you don’t see.

Here are some cool custom acrylic pieces we did for our client Bob Ward & Sons in Montana. In this case, these displays take a back seat to the star of the show – the product. With these acrylic displays the product itself looks to almost be floating.


Gun Display
  

Scope Display   


Knife Display

Call 800-426-5708 for information on customer acrylic displays. 


American Retail Supply
Marketing Tip of the Week for June 6, 2012

American Retail Supply
Marketing Tip of the Week for June 5, 2012

WHIZBANG! You’ll Love It

If you like these Marketing Tips and general business philosophy you’re going to love getting complimentary weekly email tips from Whizbang Training. Follow this link and sign up for their Whizbang Tip of the Week.

Bob specializes in training independent retailers and their staff, and frankly he brings something to the table that I can’t – 19 years of on the floor, experience as an

Independent Retail Store Owner. His tips and training include:

· Marketing

· Selling

· Customer Service

· Personal Business Skills

· Electronic Marketing

· Financial Management

· Staff Development

· Inventory Management

· Assortment Planning

· Store Operations

· Visual Merchandising

I am so excited to introduce you to Bob Negen and Whizbang Training. Over the next couple weeks I’ll be introducing you to Bob by sharing with you some of his past Whizbang Tips of the Week.

Bob’s tip of the week is complimentary and you may opt out at any time. Follow this link to get Bob’s Whizbang Tip of the Week.

Cool Stuff

I love these bags and both are legal in most municipalities with plastic bag bans.

We made them for our client White Pass & Yukon Route in Skagway, Alaska.

Both of these bags are 3 mils thick which means that they are reusable bags and not banned in most municipalities that have plastic bag bans.

I also love the colors. The green, white and blue print on the dark yellow film can’t be missed.

Both bags are made from Low Density Poly Film. The bag on the left is a patch handle bag. It is a 15” x 18” bag with a 4” bottom gusset.

The bag on the right is a rigid plastic handle bag with cardstock reinforcement in the handle and a cardstock bottom. It is 16” x 6” x 22” x 6”, so it has a 6 inch bottom and side gusset.

Call us at 800-426-5708 for more information on this Cool Product.