NEWS STORIES Biz Stone: “Opportunities Can Be Manufactured” Sell It Now Keynote Showcases Innovation Two-Steppin' At The Gala Celebration Joe Show Day Two Attendees Unwind At Dallas Reception Fashion Finds From Dallas Counselor's How-To Minute: Better Business Relationships Improve Your Network Through LinkedIn Drive Sales With A Prospecting System SHARE PROMOGRAM LinkedIn Facebook Twitter

ASI NEWS Promo Products Take Star Turn The ad specialty industry was big news on Fox stations across the country in segments aired in 13 markets. Find out more. Sales Are Up ASI's 2011 distributor sales research report shows total industry sales of $18.5 billion, up 6.2% from 2010. Find out more. LOGOMALL ASI welcomes the following Suppliers to the LogoMall Network. Find out more. ASI STORE Find, review, and purchase the latest exclusive ASI products... Find out more.

Biz Stone: "Opportunities Can Be Manufactured"
One young entrepreneur distributor stood up in the packed ballroom at The ASI Show Dallas this morning and asked keynote speaker Biz Stone a simple but meaningful question: What's the one thing you'd like me to know when I leave here today? Stone, the pioneering technology guru who co-founded Twitter, pondered a moment. "Wear sunscreen," he joked, drawing laughs from the distributor and the rest of the audience. But when the chuckles died down, Stone gave his real answer: "The only real way to succeed is to just jump off the cliff. You really have to go for it; you can't hedge."

Such easy, irreverent humor and poignant insights into succeeding in business and life characterized Stone's keynote speech, which kicked off the final day of exhibits at ASI Dallas. Speaking in a laid-back conversational style, Stone shared a series of stories – about everything from the founding of Twitter to a German film that helped inspire the go-for-it philosophy that's been integral to his success – that resulted in tidy takeaways distributors can immediately apply to be more successful.

One of those takeaways was that "opportunity can be manufactured." To illustrate his point, Stone told how he founded a lacrosse team at his high school after it became clear he wasn't prepared to make the rosters in more traditional sports. Recruiting players and coordinating with administrators, Stone was soon excelling on the lacrosse field, captaining the team. "You can arrange the right circumstances to be successful," Stone said. "It works well whether you're a high school freshman or running a business."

Responding to an audience question, Stone said businesses will get the most benefit from Twitter – and social media in general – if they create content that is compelling to customers and prospects. "You want to give them something that makes them smarter and keeps them coming back for more," said Stone. "Give people a peek behind the curtain; show them your humanity." Fielding another question from an attendee, Stone said attempts to censor social media will ultimately fall flat, not because of technology's power, but because of the human spirit. "I think freedom of expression and speech and the fact that people are naturally social animals will bowl over anything," he said.

Revealing a bit of the quirkiness that has helped fuel the creativity that has made him a world famous innovator, Stone talked about a German art house movie in which an angel decides to become human because he wants to experience the sensations – love, good food – of being a man. While this meant the angel had to give up his immortality, the
experience of being human was worth it, said Stone. There's a valuable lesson there. "He was willing to die to get what he wanted," said Stone. "If you want something, you have to totally go for it; be prepared to mega fail or mega succeed."

Discussing the creation of Twitter, Stone revealed that he went through unsuccessful attempts to develop a new technology platform. But what kept him and his co-founders working on Twitter, despite the comments of naysayers who thought the work-in-progress had no future, was simply that they were having fun doing it. Indeed, having fun continues to be a core metric of success at Twitter. "If you're not emotionally engaged in what you are building, it's not going to go well for you," said Stone. While an admitted tech geek, Stone is most excited not by Twitter's status as a groundbreaking technological phenomenon, but rather that the tool is a means for people to openly exchange information. "If Twitter is a triumph," said Stone, "it's not a triumph of technology, but a triumph of humanity."

ASI’s Nicole Rollender caught up with Stone after his keynote to find out more of his business advice. Click here to watch the interview.

Sell It Now Keynote Showcases Innovation
In an energized ballroom yesterday at ASI Dallas, 10 suppliers showed off their wares and their creativity at the "Sell It Now, Suppliers Tell You How" keynote. The presentations included on-stage appearances from the legendary Dom Peppermint, a not-so-graceful ballerina and an especially stylish salesperson wearing a dress made up of business cards.

Counselor spoke with two suppliers after they gave their presentations. Click here to watch the video interviews.

Two-Steppin’ At The Gala Celebration
For the first time ever, the gala at The ASI Show Dallas was held at The House of Blues, a local hotspot for music and dancing. Featuring live entertainment, finger-licking-good food and an unlimited supply of promotional thunder sticks, the venue was a big hit with attendees.

Counselor’s cameras were on the scene to capture all the action. Click here to watch the video.

Joe Show Day Two
In this day-two edition of The Joe Show from The ASI Show in Dallas, Counselor Manager Editor Joe Haley showcases some unique products he found on the show floor this morning. High-tech gadgets? Check. Soda? Check. Caffeine-infused lip balm? Of course.

Click here to watch the day-two episode of The Joe Show.

Attendees Unwind At Dallas Reception
What’s a great way to cap off a productive day on the show floor? Attend the Celebrate Dallas Reception, of course. The event yesterday afternoon gave both distributors and suppliers a chance to kick up their heels and do a little business networking at the same time.

Missed the fun? Counselor’s got you covered. Click here for the sights and sounds from the celebration.

Fashion Finds From Dallas
Ever heard of anti-snag and crystal-cooling technology? In these two editions of Fashion Finds from ASI Dallas, Stitches editor Nicole Rollender explains how these new trends in fashion are turning heads on the show floor in Big D.

Click here to watch the day-one episode of Fashion Finds.

And, click here to watch the second edition of Fashion Finds from Dallas.

Counselor's How-To Minute: Better Business Relationships
In a video report, Counselor presents a business strategy video each week that focuses on how distributor firms can overcome a specific challenge or rise to the occasion on an opportunity in front of them. This week: How to improve relationships with suppliers.

Wondering how to stand out at trade shows and earn respect from top suppliers? Need some guidance on sourcing and safety issues that matter most? Worried about suppliers going direct? Check out this video.

In a quick, minute-long video from the ASI Show Dallas, Counselor Senior Writer Dave Vagnoni walks viewers through three simple steps they can take to build a better rapport with supplier partners. Click here to watch the video.

Improve Your Network Through LinkedIn
Just a few short years ago, LinkedIn was barely a blip on the radar of most businesspeople. These days, the social media platform is integral to how professionals connect and do business. On Thursday, Kathleen Booth, CEO of
Quintain Marketing, spearheaded a power session at The ASI Show Dallas that featured strategies for using LinkedIn to expand your network of connections and grow your business. To maximize LinkedIn's networking potential, start by completing your profile and uploading all your contacts from your e-mail, said Booth. Then, take advantage of LinkedIn's "people you may know" function, which will suggest other people you could want to connect with based on things like who your contacts are. Once you get going, grow your network by asking your connections for introductions to others. Also, invite other people to connect with you by sending them customized invitations.

One question that often comes up, said Booth, is whether or not to link up with competitors. Some fear competitors will review your connection list and try to swipe clients you're hooked up with. While deciding to link with the competition is ultimately a personal choice, Booth elects to connect with everybody, even those she is up against. "If your clients feel serviced well," Booth said, "they're not going to jump ship because your competitor approaches them."

While having a large and ever-growing list of connections is great, it's not enough. To really get the most out of LinkedIn, you need to appear in weekly digest e-mails and show up frequently on your connections' homepages. "It keeps you top of mind," said Booth. How do you it? One way is to post regular updates. This can be facilitated by linking a blog or Twitter account to your LinkedIn page. A social media dashboard like Hootsuite can help manage and streamline updates.

Another great way to expand connections is to join groups. Consider getting involved in school groups, professional organizations, hobby groups and skill-related groups for things like marketing, advertising and even public relations. "When you join a group, you should post questions and respond to other group members’ questions and posts," said Booth. Also, take advantage of LinkedIn Answers by posting answers to people's questions in this forum. "Your responses are rated, and if you're rated high consistently, you'll show up as an expert through LinkedIn," Booth said. "It's a way to establish thought leadership and credibility with a cold audience."

Drive Sales With A Prospecting System
If your approach to acquiring clients resembles a crap shoot, David Blaise says it's time for a change. Blaise outlined a six-step system for identifying, qualifying and selling new clients during a power session at The ASI Show Dallas on Thursday. The system, he says, will lead to improved sales results and make managing salespeople easier. Here are the six steps he offered:

Step 1: Target: At the outset, decide what markets you will go after. You can target by industry, locality, program specialty, product specialty, or some combination thereof. "It's completely up to you who to target," Blaise said. "It's important to have a focus."

Step 2: Hunting & Gathering: With a market in mind, select 25 prospects to target. Next, research the companies, discovering contacts you can reach out to at each. To find prospective decision makers in the organizations, use online sources (website, social media pages, paid search sites) or go offline (call the company and ask who buys their promotional products).

Step 3: First Contact/Follow-Up: Whether a phone call, mailer, or in-person meeting, your first contact with a prospect should differentiate you from the competition. Blaise recommends sending a gift of some kind. After the initial contact, follow up with phone calls. If you don't get the person on the line, leave three messages over the course of three weeks. If you don't hear back, assume they're not interested and move on.

Step 4: Qualification & Segmentation: See if prospects will make good clients by asking probing questions that determine if they are qualified to do business with you. Try to find out, for example, if they have a need and a budget for promotional products. Next, segment the prospects into groups that include those ready to buy immediately and others ready to purchase for a promotion/event down the line.

Step 5: Examine Metrics: At this stage, decide how to approach the prospects in the segmented groups. For those ready to buy right away, press forward immediately for a sale. For those ready to buy down the line, schedule a time to follow-up with them and then come up with promotional ideas that will help them achieve their objectives.

Step 6: Tweak & Repeat: This is where the process begins again. Analyze your outcomes and refine your approach and strategies to achieve greater results. "Each time you do this," Blaise said, "you'll get better and better."