The NARMS Accreditation Program

Dr. Christine Niero of Professional Testing explains what the new accreditation program being established by NARMS is all about, including the design of industry standards and practices. She shares why a company would want to become accredited and outlines what the approval process will entail. Finally, she predicts that the program will be launched this summer and encourages those with questions to visit the NARMS website for more information.

The Value of Outsourcing Sales and Marketing Activities

Atul Parvatiyvar of the Institute for Customer Relationship Management explains a study on the value of outsourcing sales and marketing activities primarily by food brokers and sales and marketing agencies. Its focus was to find out what is the value produced by the sales and marketing agencies for the CPG industry, as well as to find out the various ways in which marketing productivity is created by the actions of sales and marketing agencies. He elaborates on how the information was compiled and identifies its key findings. Finally, he shares about an additional part of the study that should be out by the end of May.

The Benefits of NARMS Membership for Canadian Companies

Canadian Audrey Fry explains why membership in NARMS has been beneficial for her company. She discusses how the sharing of ideas and problems has been meaningful to the success of her business, elaborating that many issues are the same in both countries. She encourages other Canadian merchandising companies to join the organization to become better at what they do, to develop relationships, and to learn to share and to work together with competitors.

The Value of Belonging to PIC

VP of Davaco and Chair of the NARMS Professional Installation Companies (PIC) Committee, Gregg Morrison, explains who belongs to the committee and how it can be beneficial to members. He highlights things such as networking, current information, exposure, and the website as valuable resources that NARMS provides to professional installation companies. Finally, he details the results of a recent study his company conducted regarding the value of PIC.

The Benefits of NARMS for MSO Companies

Co-Chair of the MSO Committee for NARMS, Christian Warren, gives insight into how MSO companies can benefit from attending the annual conference, as well as being a part of the organization. He highlights such things as networking, the information NARMS provides, the website, and the Conference Expo. In addition, Christian explains the role of the MSO Committee. Finally, he shares about how easy it is to get involved with NARMS.

Reaching the Different Types of Cultures in Business

Stan Slap summarizes his keynote session on customer service. He believes that the culture defines the success of brand and reaching the employee and customer cultures is critical. Stan shares that the best customer service experiences are found in companies who understand that they sell both a product and a process. He explains how the customer experience can be measured. Finally, Stan gives examples of both a company with exceptional customer service as well as one with poor service.

The Critical Components of Sales

Jim Pancero discusses how experienced salespeople can hunt for new sales. He emphasizes the importance on on-going, in-depth training, even for the seasoned veteran. Jim describes the three most important characteristics of a good salesperson as being one who is structured, proactive, and thinks ahead. He believes success in selling today is a science, not an art. Finally, Jim shares what he believes are the most significant things a salesperson can work on right now.

Summary of the "How to Thrive in a Wal-Mart World" Session

Michael Bergdahl discusses strategies that Wal-Mart currently uses which may help other companies thrive in the retail industry. He shares about Sam Walton's emphasis on people and pulling the potential out of them. Michael gives insight into how other businesses can glean valuable information regarding human resources from Walton's expertise, including his strategy of "picking them green". Finally, he gives an overview of his three books.

Lessons from the Don Imus Controversy

Kevin Coupe of MorningNewsBeat.com shares his insight regarding the Don Imus controversy and how it can communicate important lessons for the retail industry. He explains a couple of real life examples of where tolerance and intolerance cross purposes and the impact that such disagreements can potentially have. Kevin believes companies need to think through how they will handle diversity issues to prevent from doing it badly.