12 Winners of Membership Contest Share Ideas to Improve Business
Wednesday January 30, 2008 | Filed under:
Today we announced the 12 winners of the ‘Why I Love My ASI Membership’ contest, and the stories they shared with us about their business success are ideas that can help you grow your business.
The winners are:
Canyon Outback Leathergoods (asi/43766), New Ulm, MN; Coosa Creek Embroidery Inc. (asi/168315), Blairsville, GA; Elision Technology Inc. (asi/51905), Regina, SK, Canada; Flags Made (asi/54515), Humble, TX; Gener Advertising (asi/203684), Toa Baja, Puerto Rico; Gideon Publications (asi/205405), Bethlehem, PA; Nittany Corp. (asi/726700), Tampa, FL; Paradigm Custom Embroidery (asi/700087), Rogers, MN; Proforma CM Design (asi/300094), Greenville, SC; Prominent Promotions (asi/300856), Brooklyn, NY; TG Promotions (asi/304978), Nashville, TN; and Winning Edge Inc. (asi/97472), Maple Plain, MN.
Starting a few months ago, ASI members entered the contest by submitting stories through the www.TheNumberThatMatters.com - and some sent them directly to me - sharing real examples of business successes that helped them land a big client, increase sales or approach customers with fresh ideas for promotions.
Here is what three of the winners said in their entry – ideas you can use to grow your business:
"ESP Online has given me a competitive advantage in the industry. I am able to quickly pull together organized and personalized quotations for my prospects and customers and consistently beat my competition to the table. The time savings alone is worth the membership cost many times over. Combine this with search capabilities, and continuing to subscribe is a no-brainer." - Chris Dixon, owner, Proforma CM Design
"One time I attended an education seminar at an ASI show. I took the information back to a car dealership client of mine who was doing a weekly mailer that included a key for people to bring back and use to try to win a car by turning the crank. I learned in the seminar how to suggest another idea, and that was to offer a logo product to anyone who came in. That way, they could promote their logo and everyone left with something. They now buy an average of 250 products every two weeks, at $20 per item." - Julie Wolff, sales manager, Coosa Creek Embroidery, Inc.
"For our business, it's simple. Credit checks can be done by asking "what's your ASInumber." If the distributor has one, everything becomes seamless. Without it, we have to take more steps to figure out who is trying to buy our products. That costs time, and delays production. Having an ASI number is the way to go!" - John Giefer, general manager, Canyon Outback Leathergoods
The contest was launched in October and sprouted when our members indicated in a recent survey why they love their ASI membership.
In fact, 94% of distributors who responded in the survey indicated that they use the ASI number when looking for information about a supplier, and 93% of suppliers and distributors said that the ASI number is the number one way they identify another industry professional.
Respondents also indicated that the top five benefits of ASI membership are: credibility, recognition, knowledge, trust and innovative solutions.
Each winner will receive a free year of basic ASI membership and an American Express gift card for $250 – good as cash – and are mentioned on www.TheNumberThatMatters.com and in Counselor magazine.
Tell me more about your experiences or anything else – post now on the blog or email me at tim.andrews@asicentral.com.