Take Your Store to the Next Level With
Two Amazing Days of World-Class Retail Training
Dear Colleague,
Imagine getting out of the hurry-scurry of your daily store life for two days and gathering together with hundreds of enthusiastic, motivated independent retailers just like you.
Imagine immersing yourself in world-class, retail-specific information that will take your business to the next level and help you put more money in the bank.
If that kind of education, inspiration, and motivation sounds like what you need, then I'd like to invite you to join us for the 6th annual Retail Success Summit!
The 2012 Retail Success Summit is
SOLD OUT!
Click to add your name to the waiting list.
The Retail Success Summit is an exciting combination of high-level thinking about the strategic focus that drives your business, in-depth explorations of our favorite tactics from the Retail Mastery System, new never-seen-before material, case studies, best practice ideas, 2-minute success tips, and the amazing expertise of four absolutely top-notch guest speakers!
You’ll learn the best of the best in marketing, inventory management, store operations, selling skills, financial management, website marketing, staff development, customer service, personal development, social media, and so much more. You’ll be working hard, thinking harder, and moving fast...
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"Enjoying the Retail Success Summit. As good as we are in some of the featured subject areas, I was quite surprised that on just one subject I took an entire page of notes on things I could tweak, things that could be better, etc. Imagine when I get to the subjects I'm weaker on!!! Wow....better get a new pen for those!"
- Julie Delgrosso
"Exceeded all expectations of what I thought I could learn in two days!"
- Rex Anderson
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Knowledge is the Key to Success...
Here’s a statistic that you should tape to your computer screen so you see it at least a couple of times a day:
"90% of small businesses that fail, do so because of a lack of skills and knowledge on the part of the owner." (Dunn and Bradstreet survey reported in the Harvard Business Review)
If it’s the lack of skills and knowledge which can tank your business, then logic simply dictates that adding skills and knowledge will increase your chances at business success.
I know this to be true not only from my personal experience as a store owner, but also from working with thousands of retailers at WhizBang! Training. Being good at one or two of the eleven essential retail skills doesn’t cut it; really successful store owners know a lot about all of them.
It doesn’t matter if you’re a brand new retailer or have owned your store for 25 years, the more knowledge you have about what to do and how to do it, the better your results are likely to be.
...But it's the persistent application of knowledge
that makes you ultra-successful.
Knowledge alone isn’t enough. Education without action is merely entertainment. Susan and I are not in the entertainment business. We’re showing up to make a huge impact on your business.
You won’t get better results and won’t have the ultra-successful store of your dreams unless you take action. That's why we built another special feature into the Retail Success Summit; one we know will make an amazing difference in your business.
Throughout the two days you'll be challenged to think about your business in new, exciting ways. You'll learn proven, practical techniques to increase your sales and boost your profits. But most importantly, at the Summit you'll create an exact blueprint of where you want to go and how you’re going to get there... a step-by-step plan for your path to success.
Unlike most seminars where you come home with a bunch of notes that get stuffed in a drawer somewhere, you're going to leave the Retail Success Summit with a one-page action plan you can put to work immediately in your business.
How do we know it works? Here’s just one example of real results achieved by taking action on the information learned at the Retail Success Summit…
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“We are pleased to announce we have successfully checked off 8 out of 10 action items on our list from the Summit! Number 9 is in the works.
AND we finished August up 40%! Thank you for ALL you do!”
- Jamie Bush, Point of Origin
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7+ Hours a Day with Bob and Susan Negen
This year Susan and I will be giving you tons of amazing tips, techniques, ideas, and tactics for running a better store. For most of the two-day event you'll be working directly with us and learning the very best that we have to offer.
In fact, we will be presenting fourteen different topics! There's so much money-making gold on this list that unless you literally sleep through the whole thing, you're bound to come away with ideas to boost your sales by many tens of thousands of dollars... or more.
- NEW! Creating Rock Solid Customer Loyalty - Keep 'Em Shopping Again and Again
- NEW! 5-Step Staff Training - Better Service, Higher Sales, and Less Stress
- NEW! Pinterest for Retailers - How to Use it to Drive Traffic to Your Website
- NEW! Time Management - Get More Done, Have More Fun, Make More Money
- NEW! Customer Service - Simple Strategies For An Amazing In-Store Experience
- NEW! Coaching - Building A Team of Sales Superstars
- NEW! Publicity - How to Attract Tons of Free Media Attention With A Great Press Release
And Back By Popular Demand...
- 20+ Ideas for Promotions and Special Events - And 3 Keys to Making Them Successful, Profitable, and Fun
- Email Marketing - How to Do It Right, Keep 'Em Reading, and Get 'Em into Your Store
- Retail Math - Important Calculations, What They Mean, & How You Can Use Them to Boost Sales & Profit
- Strategic Vision - Clarify WHAT to Do By Understanding the WHY Behind It All
- Copywriting for Retailers - How to Write Words that Sell
- Great Selling - Six Steps to the Perfect Purchase
- Cause Marketing - The Dos and Don'ts That Will Make or Break Your Campaigns
- Q & A - Your Questions Answered
PLUS, there are four more great topics that will be covered by your...
Great Guest Speakers!
Check out this amazing line up of guest speakers for both the general and breakout sessions.... you are going to learn so much from each one of these real-world business leaders!
Ari Weinzweig
"Energy Crisis in the American Workplace"
Ari Weinzweig, CEO and co-founder of Zingerman's, believes that, much like the planet, we get ourselves in trouble when we live counter to nature in our workplaces. In his general session program, Ari will speak about the 12 Natural Laws of Business and will share his belief that operating in violation of natural laws leads to a major energy crisis resulting in apathy, lack of engagement and perhaps even a faltering economy! Ari will talk about how to "fix" that energy crisis and how to live and work in synch with the 12 Natural Laws in your organization.
In1982, Ari Weizweig and Paul Saginaw opened Zingerman's Delicatessen in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Their intention was to offer a world-class corned beef sandwich in a retail space where customers would be surrounded by exceptional food. Almost thirty years later, and still rooted in Ann Arbor, the Zingerman's Community of Businesses employs over 500 people and generates annual sales of over $35 million.
One of eight Zingerman's businesses, ZingTrain shares the "Zingerman's Experience" with forward-thinking organizations from around the world. ZingTrain brings their experience in training and organizational change consultation to help clients apply the real-life systems, tools and techniques used at Zingerman's so they can make meaningful, bottom-line-enhancing changes in their own organization. http://www.zingtrain.com
Don Crowther
"Building Your Bottom Line Using Social Media"
Susan and I are especially excited to bring Don Crowther to the Retail Success Summit this year. We have known Don for several years as part of a business networking group and let me tell you, in a room full of super-smart people - EVERYONE shuts up and listens when it's Don's turn to speak. He is simply amazing at identifying, testing, and developing practical strategies and tactics that work in the real world. If you hear something from Don, you can rest assured that it’s been proven to work, and work well!
In his general session presentation Don will deliver 7 key strategies that you can implement immediately to drive customers into your store who are eager to buy what you have to sell. You'll learn which social media sites are right for retail and which to ignore, how to use your employee's "down time" to skyrocket your profits, and why what so many social media experts tell you is absolutely wrong.
Don helps companies ranging from Fortune-500-level giants to solo-entrepreneurs make more money online using proven social media and search marketing techniques. His teachings come from decades on in-the-trenches experiences building incremental sales and profits as the founder and president of five successful companies, developer and webmaster of over 250 quality websites, and as marketing, strategy and ethics instructor for the world’s largest accredited online university. http://www.doncrowther.com
Crystal Vilkaitis
"Case Studies: How Real Retailers Are Making Social Media Work"
After working with hundreds of retailers in the past year, Crystal Vilkaitis has compiled real-world retail case studies that work! During her breakout sessions she'll share with you the top tactics she pulled from her case studies. You'll learn how you can implement them into your store's social media marketing strategy.
Crystal is the Director of Social Media for SnapRetail, helping independent retailers market their stores using email, Facebook, Twitter, daily offers and other social media tools to bring traffic into their stores and strengthen the relationship with their customers.
Crystal was featured in Fast Company’s Most Influential Person Online campaign, ranking in the top 2%. She manages the SnapRetail Facebook page, which was named in the top three small business pages by Social Media Examiner out of over 1,400 nominations. Crystal speaks at all the major markets and has conducted over 200 seminars and webinars speaking to thousands of retailers about how to effectively use social media. http://snapretail.com
Cathy Donovan Wagner
"I'm Making Money… Just Wish I Could Find It!"
Most retail stores are working hard to generate sales in this economy, but sales are only part of the retail profit equation. Making sure you have the right inventory in the right place at the right time is key to financial success. In his breakout sessions Cathy Wagner will explore the basic elements of Open to Buy Planning and how you can use it to put more money in the bank.
With over 26 years of experience in retail as both a store owner and as a consultant at RETAIL Mavens, Cathy has the unique position of having worked on both sides of the counter. She has seen firsthand the tremendous benefits that the strategic planning and inventory management processes bring to a business. Cathy is able to help other retailers implement these processes, uncover hidden opportunities, and create business growth. Cathy is a proud affiliate on Management One. http://retailmavens.com/ and http://www.management-one.com/
Flexible Format!
Each retailer who attends the Retail Success Summit is unique, with different kinds of stores and different needs. There's "no one size fits all" when it comes to learning. That's why we're giving you more choices and more possibilities at this year's Summit than ever before.
In addition to the general sessions, once each morning and once each afternoon there's going to be a breakout session. During each of the breakout sessions you'll be able to choose to attend one of three topics - one presented by me, one presented by Susan, and one presented by a fabulous guest speaker. Download the agenda by clicking this link.
Pick the topics you like - leave what you don't.
But if you want to get it all, bring a colleague or two from your store and send one person to each of the three breakout sessions. It's like magically adding up to four more learning hours to each day.
Monday Night Networking!
On Monday evening we will be having our "always-a-hit" networking party where you'll have a great time chatting with all your new retail friends, hanging out with Bob and Susan, and exchanging great ideas for success. Cocktails, treats, and a tasty jazz ensemble. You won't want to miss it!
And during the cocktail party this year we'll be hosting a...
Silent Auction
All the proceeds from the silent auction will go to a charity... of YOUR choice. That's right, the Summit attendees will get a chance to vote for which charity the money raised will benefit. All Summit attendees will be invited (but certainly not required!) to donate an item from their store for the silent auction. If you donate you'll get the chance to highlight your store and have a lot of fun. Whose item will bring in the most for charity? Only time will tell.
Whether you donate, bid, or just egg on your fellow retailers, it's sure to be a good time, doing some good for the world.
Now that you know what's happening during the Summit, you may be wondering about the...
Location, Logistics, and Nitty-Gritty Details
The Retail Success Summit will be held at the fantastic DeVos Place Convention Center in downtown Grand Rapids, Michigan on June 25 and 26, 2012. In the heart of downtown Grand Rapids (named in 2011 as one of the best places in the US to live by both the Men's Journal and the Wall Street Journal Market Watch) the DeVos Place is situated on the lovely Grand River and is large enough to hold the 400+ retailers we expect to gather for the Summit.
The DeVos is a short cab ride from the Gerald R. Ford airport, connected via covered walkway to the Amway Grand Plaza Hotel and the JW Marriott, and is within easy walking distance of great restaurants, shops, and museums. Click here for more information on lodging and fun stuff to do while you're in Grand Rapids (not that you'll have a lot of extra time!)
Check-in and name tag pick-up begins at 8:00 am on Monday 6/25 and the event starts promptly at 8:30 am. The Summit will close at 5:00 pm on Tuesday 6/26.
You'll see that with all the new topics, new breakout sessions, and the awesome Monday night parties, you'll be busy having fun and learning lots from morning to night.
What's the Investment?
You might think that with all the great new stuff we've added to the Retail Success Summit this year we'd raise the price. Nope. The regular price for the Summit remains $997.
It's an amazing price for everything you're getting: 2 full days of business-building, money-making, retail-specific information, nationally-recognized guest speakers, amazing networking opportunities, your take-home action plan, and lots of fun.
Honestly, you'd have to sleep through the entire event not to pick up enough great ideas to pay for the registration fee 10X, 20X, even 50X over. I'm not kidding or exaggerating. A $50,000 ROI on this event should be a no-brainer for any retailer who has half a brain (you do) and is willing to use the ideas you'll learn (you will.)
But I want to give you fair warning...
If you want to attend the Summit this year and are ready for a serious retail brain expansion, I strongly encourage you to register today. Over 60% of the total available seats have ALREADY been taken!
Last year we sold out and had to turn people away. And, even though we moved to the larger space at the DeVos Convention Center to accommodate more retailers, I think we will probably have a sell-out event again this year.
The 2012 Retail Success Summit is
SOLD OUT!
Click to add your name to the waiting list.
I can't wait to see YOU at the Summit!
Bob Negen
P.S. I know you're going to love all the great NEW stuff that's happening at this year's Retail Success Summit. In fact, I GUARANTEE it!
Yep, this event, like everything we offer, is 100% guaranteed. If at any time during the session you feel your investment was not money well-spent, talk to us at a break and we'll give you your entire registration fee back. No hassles, no problems, no questions asked.
The 2012 Retail Success Summit is
SOLD OUT!
Click to add your name to the waiting list.
