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RPMD - Yay! Hines Speech is Talk
of the Show
By Brian Berk
[June 2008 - Page 3]
Not Everyone is Fired
Another show highlight was “The Apprentice: Boston Edition.” Hosted by Alan Friedman and Danny Rocks, the event was a sequel to a similar event during January’s NAMM show. The lighthearted event involved eight retailers—four men and four women—who had to think on the fly about several issues that you could be facing at your store. Like the popular TV show, retailers were eliminated one-by-one after each task. However, the audience—not Donald Trump—made the decision who got fired. The audience could not select a winner however. Liane Rockley of Rockley Music and Pete Gamber of Alta Loma Music were named co-champions. Among the tasks to be completed were: hosting a three-day sales event within 30 days guaranteed to rake in $10,000 or more; whether to sell to a church at a 30-percent discount with a promise of exclusive business; whether to allow your 17-year old nephew to build your Web site in exchange for gear or allowing a professional company to do so at a $40,000 price tag; building out 10 lesson rooms and implementing a lesson program within 60 days right before school starts; and designing a new compensation plan for a print salesman in your company whose productivity and morale have dropped because he/she feels they are underpaid without dramatically affecting the bottom line.
Who Had the Best Idea?
Willis Music’s Kevin Cranley hosted the “Best Ideas” session, when retailers came up to a podium to present the greatest thought they had to help the bottom line at their stores. Judy Pringle of Canadian Choral Centre in Winnipeg, Manitoba, was awarded the best idea by the audience for her idea of store promotions placed on spring water bottles that are handed out.
Another idea was having every store staff member wear buttons to describe what the store is doing every day. “It’s cheap and the most effective thing we did all year,” said Gayle Beacock, co-owner of Beacock Music, who presented the idea. “We know what we’re doing but we forget to tell people who we are in contact with every day about them.”
One example of the text written on the buttons, said Beacock, was: “This Christmas, give the gift of music education. Gift cards available for lessons. Ask us.”
“When our staff is out at lunch at Carl’s Jr. or out with friends at night, it is mandatory to wear the buttons each and every time. Lessons [business] went up 25 percent in December just because we had those buttons on 24/7.”
A third suggestion was to volunteer your time at small schools and try to get other local area businesses to spread the word about “Guitar Hero” or other competitions.
Cranley, also NAMM’s treasurer, took home the coveted Dorothy Award during a lavish closing-night banquet. The award is the highest honor bestowed by RPMDA and recognizes “a lifetime of service and achievement in the music industry.”
Next year’s Salt Lake City RPMDA will take place from April 28 to May 2.
Another show highlight was “The Apprentice: Boston Edition.” Hosted by Alan Friedman and Danny Rocks, the event was a sequel to a similar event during January’s NAMM show. The lighthearted event involved eight retailers—four men and four women—who had to think on the fly about several issues that you could be facing at your store. Like the popular TV show, retailers were eliminated one-by-one after each task. However, the audience—not Donald Trump—made the decision who got fired. The audience could not select a winner however. Liane Rockley of Rockley Music and Pete Gamber of Alta Loma Music were named co-champions. Among the tasks to be completed were: hosting a three-day sales event within 30 days guaranteed to rake in $10,000 or more; whether to sell to a church at a 30-percent discount with a promise of exclusive business; whether to allow your 17-year old nephew to build your Web site in exchange for gear or allowing a professional company to do so at a $40,000 price tag; building out 10 lesson rooms and implementing a lesson program within 60 days right before school starts; and designing a new compensation plan for a print salesman in your company whose productivity and morale have dropped because he/she feels they are underpaid without dramatically affecting the bottom line.
Who Had the Best Idea?
One example of the text written on the buttons, said Beacock, was: “This Christmas, give the gift of music education. Gift cards available for lessons. Ask us.”
Cranley, also NAMM’s treasurer, took home the coveted Dorothy Award during a lavish closing-night banquet. The award is the highest honor bestowed by RPMDA and recognizes “a lifetime of service and achievement in the music industry.”
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