[Printable Version]

September 2011
Volume 10, Issue 1

Mike Richie, PTRA'S President

President's Perspective
by Mike Richie, PTRA President

With the beautiful Sandestin, Florida resort and 39th annual PTRA meeting in our rear view mirror, plans are moving ahead to next year for our 40th anniversary conference on beautiful Coronado Island at the historic Hotel Del Coronado Resort, just across the bridge from San Diego.

You will see in this issue that Bill Taylor, our Conference Chairman for 2012, has plans well underway to make our conference another you won’t want to miss! And there will be more to come as we get closer to next May.

I would like to take a minute to thank our principal members for their support — both at our annual conference and throughout the year; our principals understand the reps' function, how we work with multiple principals to generate synergistic sales through our customer base, and the advantage that gives back to each of the principals. We have all opened doors to lines we represent because of our vast customer bases that would not normally be opened to a line with a direct sales force.

Without our principal’s participation and understanding it would be impossible to have an association of manufacturers’ representatives with the high caliber of sales professionals working toward our common goal of increased sales and market share.

To our new members, I would like to encourage you to come to our annual conference, meet the rep and principal members and become involved. That doesn’t necessarily mean work — we all have enough of that. I just mean meet people in the same business as you that share your same concerns.

Social networking is of great importance to our members, whether it is on the golf course, meeting by the pool or beach, or sharing ideas in our break-out sessions and round-table discussions. We all seem to get the most out of our time when we express our ideas to one another, so I encourage you to step forward and share your experiences with fellow members.

As I became more active in PTRA, I began to see the benefits they were offering could actually make me more efficient in my everyday work.

One great educational tool is MRERF (Manufacturer’s Representatives Education and Research Foundation), who started offering the CPMR course in 1990. Many of us have taken advantage of it and gained a great deal of insight as to how to run a rep organization effectively and work smarter with our principals.

With the addition of the CSP (Certified Sales Professional), a course designed for the salesman in the rep organization, I hope our members will take advantage of these educational opportunities that address the needs of individual salespeople.

If you attended our conference in April and saw Alan Beaulieu’s presentation, then you know we have basically “flat” growth coming over the next 2-3 years. That means we’ll all have to work as smart as possible to take business from companies with direct salespeople and “transfer” it to our PTRA principals. For now, it looks like the pie is going to stay roughly the same size — it’s up to each of us to gain a larger slice.

Please start making your plans to attend next year’s conference on Coronado Island. With the feedback we received on our conference surveys, we are putting a schedule together that will bring new ideas to you and your company and are looking forward to seeing everyone there next May 20 through the 24 at the Hotel Del Coronado!

All the best to you for the remainder of 2011 and beyond!

Curt Benson

It’s hard to believe that several months have passed since the 39th annual PTRA Conference in Destin, Florida was held! For those of you that attended, it’s my hope that you not only enjoyed your time at such a great resort but also were able to take home some useful information that will help you achieve what the conference was intended to convey — sustainability and prosperity in the coming year! I would like to take a moment and thank all of you for your attendance (238 strong), as well as your support during the conference, as myself and those on my committee tried to make your time at the conference as enjoyable and informational as possible. I hope we accomplished that. There was great discussion, informational speakers, relationships made and some renewed.

We were able to try some new things this past year — some that were successful and some not so successful — but as an organization it is our goal to continue to strive to bring the membership new things and new ideas. Fresh is much better than stale. I know that Bill Taylor is already working on next year’s conference and will continue to raise the bar for conference 2012. I strongly urge the membership to make your plans now to attend conference 2012 in San Diego as I am quite sure it will be well worth your time and expense to do so! It was a pleasure to serve the membership as Conference Chairman this past year and I again thank you for your support in attending. I look forward to seeing everyone again in San Diego!

Doug Bower

The 40th Anniversary of PTRA will be held at the world renowned Hotel Del Coronado in San Diego from May 20-24, 2012! Emperors, Kings, Princes and Princesses, Barons and Baronesses, movie stars and U.S. Presidents have all been drawn to the hotel, one of the most famous ocean front Victorian style resorts in the world. Loaded with history, the resort served as the backdrop for the movie, Some Like it Hot, starring Marilyn Monroe and L. Fran Baum wrote the Wizard of Oz while staying at the resort. The hotel retains its charm (it continues to maintain a hand operated elevator) and is said to be the #1 destination for weddings in the U.S. I can’t think of a more desirable destination to hold our conference and celebrate our association’s anniversary.

You spoke and we listened. Back by popular demand is Alan Beaulieu from the Institute of Trend Research whose presentations are always packed and generate numerous questions and discussions. We are in the process of completing our list of speakers and will forward information to you in the coming weeks. Look for the 2012 presentations to be informative, practical and a valuable source of information.

As an added plus and in case you didn’t know, Dr. Stephen Letterman (drbeach.org) is the Director of the Laboratory for Coastal Research at Florida International University and “America’s foremost beach expert.” Each year, Dr. Letterman ranks the top beaches in the United States and Coronado Beach is ranked #2 for 2011 and a virtual shoo-in for first place in 2012 during our conference! On his website, Dr. Letterman describes Coronado Beach as “the toast of Southern California; it is a veritable oasis by the sea, measuring hundreds of yards wide. With its lush subtropical vegetation, unique Mediterranean climate, and fine sparkling sand, beach-goers flock to this beach for great ship watching and the summer’s mild surf.” For you beach lovers, Coronado Beach sounds hard to beat!

The Hotel Del Coronado is on my “bucket list” and I can’t wait to spend time at this historic venue and national treasure. The conference program, networking, hotel, climate of San Diego and surrounding beach make this conference a “must do” for all members of PTRA. Please mark your calendar for May 20-24, 2012 and join us in San Diego! More to come soon…..

R.J. Hughes Sales, Inc., is pleased to announce the addition of our newest sales associate, Jeff Carlson. Jeff will be assisting in covering the state of Wisconsin on behalf of R.J. Hughes Sales and our principals. Jeff spent the last four years as a Special Weapons Maintenance Missile Technician at Naval Base Kitsap. He spent six years in the strategic weapons system made up of systematic troubleshooting, corrosion protection, control and repair and operation of nuclear ballistic missiles in the U.S. Navy. Troubleshot and replaced components related to the navigation function, target data and acquisition processing. Replaced delicate electro-sensitive and pyrotechnic missile components to ensure flight worthiness and prevention of failure. A few areas of expertise are electromechanical systems, quality assurance training, technical analysis, electro hydraulic systems, pneumatic systems, AC/DC circuits, and materials management. Jeff has been awarded Top Secret SIOP Security Clearance and Secret Clearance by the U.S. Navy. Jeff is certified in Trident D-5 Missile Back-fit, has an associates in electronics, and is completing an Electrical Engineering Degree. Please welcome Jeff Carlson to R.J. Hughes Sales, Inc.

Smith Industrial Group, Inc. is proud to announce the addition of Tod Boise to their sales team. Tod has over 20 years experience with industrial sales in the state of Indiana. Tod resides in Carmel, Indiana. His territory will be the entire state of Indiana with responsibilities for distribution, OEM and key end user development. Please visit www.smithindustrialgroup.com for more information on Smith Industrial Group.

Industrial Sales Associates, Inc. (I.S.A.) is pleased to announce the addition of Brandon Smart as a sales associate to their team. He joins Warren Hoffman and Rick Deering in the outside sales department. Brandon’s background and experience includes sales, customer service, communication, computer and electronic skills along with the desire to continue the professional approach to territory management, which I.S.A. requires and their principals have come to expect. I.S.A. has three outside sales representatives, two IT support staff and a clerical position to help service the territory. For more information visit their website @ www.indsales.us .