Free seminars that teach business strategies, best practices for marketing, and other secrets for building and growing your business await you at the 2018 ATA Trade Show Academy Seminars each morning.
Imagine this: The alarm sounds in your Indianapolis hotel room. “Beep-beep-beep.” It’s 6 a.m. Your eyes are heavy, your bed warm and ambition hibernating. You hit the snooze button and fall back to sleep, thinking you’ll get an extra hour of rest before hitting the Show floor at full capacity.
Meanwhile, your competitors down the hall throw off their blankets, shower and dress quickly, grab pens and paper, and fly out their doors. They’re seizing opportunities to hear industry professionals share insights on several business-boosting topics.
So, ask yourself: Of those archery retailers, who’s better positioning themselves to boost their business and increase their profits? Who’s more likely to discover a thing or three about the archery and bowhunting industry? Who’s ensuring their time and financial investments in the Show will reap dividends?
Easy answer, right? Success-driven individuals plant themselves in seminar rooms all three mornings of the ATA Trade Show, eager to listen and learn. They might guzzle coffee and munch bagels — both items are free at the seminars — to stay awake, but they’re engaged and learning.
ATA Academy Seminars help retailers improve business by increasing their revenues and fine-tuning their efficiencies. These 60-minute seminars also help retailers connect with the ATA, build their industry networks and capitalize on the many resources they provide.
Kurt Smith, ATA’s senior manager of retail programs, organizes the seminars and works with the instructors to ensure their sessions help attendees improve their business.
“Most seminar topics are geared toward retailers because they dominate the audience,” Smith said. “Seminars offer retailers useful, practical advice and information. They’re a gateway to new ideas, unique strategies and better understanding of the archery and bowhunting industry. All those things help businesses succeed.”
Because Smith and other ATA team members pick the seminar topics and presenters, each session ensures retailers walk away with at least one new idea for growing their business. They can …
- Gain new perspectives: It’s helpful to hear from industry pros with different experiences and strengths. It’s also helpful to hear from retailers dealing with similar struggles. They might help solve your own problems.
- Discover business strategies and best practices: The business world, and the archery and bowhunting industry, are forever changing. By listening carefully, even when hearing information you’ve heard before, you’ll discover something new or learn different ways to save time and money. Successful business people know they can always learn new things, whether it’s about sales, products, marketing or customers.
- Add specialized contacts for networking: Seminar presenters are uniquely qualified to teach their subject matter. Meanwhile, the seminars’ helpful environment opens doors for more serious conversations and often creates contacts or connections down the road.
Although most ATA seminars are geared toward retailers, some seminars focus on manufacturers’ needs, such as patents, trademarks and federal excise taxes. These sessions often target new or smaller manufacturers that lack the resources to conduct that homework on their own.
ATA Academy Seminars begin at 7:15 a.m. and run no later than 8:15 a.m. to accommodate the Show’s 8:30 starting time.
“I encourage attendees to pick a topic they aren’t familiar with,” Smith said. “Retailers often choose sessions that feel safe or comfortable. It’s usually more beneficial to dive into something beyond your area of expertise. Seminars help retailers learn, grow and explore business opportunities. We hope they’ll take advantage of it.”
Check ATA’s website in October for the full lineup of seminar topics and presenters.
Here’s a sneak peek of topics at the 2018 ATA Trade Show Academy Seminars:
- The ins and outs of hosting Scholastic 3-D Archery events;
- How to meet the needs of female customers;
- Must-have information on intellectual property and legal matters;
- Benefits and rewards of joining the ATA’s Retail Growth Initiative;
- How to build customers and communities through coaching and lessons;
- Learn the benefits of offering ATA’s Explore Bowhunting/Explore Bowfishing programs;
- And much more!
