Commissioned Sales & Training Opportunities

[cestout]

I have been to 2 wood working shows in Ontario, CA where CarveWright was scheduled and was a no show. Very disappointing. Also I submitted my name to do demos at Lowe's, but the people at the stores here in Calif don't even know what a CarveWright is. I would like to share, but I have no opportunity.
Clint

[TerryT]

Thanks Michael,
I am easily confused sometimes.

[mtylerfl]

I have been to 2 wood working shows in Ontario, CA where CarveWright was scheduled and was a no show. Very disappointing. Also I submitted my name to do demos at Lowe's, but the people at the stores here in Calif don't even know what a CarveWright is. I would like to share, but I have no opportunity.
Clint

Hi Clint,

Yeah, I've heard from other users the original CarveWright distributor for Canada wasn't too reliable, unfortunately.

My Lowes store here in town didn't know what a CarveWright was either. I showed the store manager a printout from the Lowes website to show him "Yes, Lowes does sell them!". Not all stores know about them (reminds me of Sears - our local Sears store never heard of the CompuCarve - nevermind that I bought two of them at that very same store!).

There's always opportunity - we can't depend too heavily on others to always heartily embrace our ideas, though. Sometimes we need to take the initiative on our own to "make it happen"! It's usually the first few steps that are the hardest.

[mtylerfl]

Thanks Michael,
I am easily confused sometimes.

Ha! Me too - especially between coffee breaks!

[fwharris]

Hi FW,

Yes, it will be great to get together. I know some folks may not be able to travel, whether due to time constraints or budget. That's kind of "just the way it is".

I go to several conferences and User Groups each year...some were within driving distance...some I had to buy plane tickets for. And, of course, there are food and lodging expenses. So it can add up alright. However, I have not been disappointed spending the $$ for any of the conferences/User Groups I've personally attended...all have been well worth the cost for me, at least. The most costly one I've ever attended was two days for $700 NOT counting food and hotel!

Some folks combine business with pleasure at some of the meetings I've attended...making the destination either a stop off point on the way to somewhere else, or if the destination has some fun things to do nearby, it becomes part vacation - part business. Since most of my personal travels are business trips, the costs are a welcome tax deduction, too.

Probably not practical to try to do a "live video" broadcast setup. Most meeting situations really need to be attended in-person. However, some of the User Group presentations could be put on a CD or DVD and offered to folks that were unable to attend. One User Group I went to a couple years ago did just that...if you were in attendance, the cost of the DVD with something like 19 hours of demos was $99...if you did not attend, the cost was $149. (I bought one!)

In the live presentations, it was not time-efficient to show each and every tiny little detail of how to get from point A to point B, but the DVD included the whole enchilada. A lot of work to put together!! Something along those lines might be a possibility in the future, as long as someone actually has the time and skillset to produce such a DVD.

Thank you for the feedback. Good ideas and suggestions to consider!

I had no clue of what it would take to do the on line seminar and was just tossing it out as an idea. Of course it would not be like being there and that would be my top choice for something like this just for the one on one interaction. You can not beat that!

If I was to choose a location I would probably opt for Texas do to being closer for me to travel. That would also make it move convenient for Joe and the gang to participate and give us the opportunity to see their facilities.

Great point on the business expense write off. I just might have to go legit now! [insert smiley face!]

[mtylerfl]

Hi FW,

Texas could still be a possibility for a get together (it's probably a good mid-distance choice for the majority). Joe L. told me they could accommodate approx. 30 people or so in the conference meeting room they have at CarveWright headquarters. Might be more suited for the sales rep training if we used their facility...or, someone there could shop for hotel conference room pricing near the CarveWright offices if we held a larger User Group event in Texas.

I still need to get some prices for a conference room at a hotel near me, in case we do a User Group here in GA. It's been years since I've organized a larger gathering, so don't know what the pricing is like these days. For a smaller group for sales/demo training (10-15 people or so) no problem hosting it at my house (space-wise).

[fwharris]

Michael,

LHR's facilities would probably be a great location for the sales rep training as it should offer us the opportunity to meet those who we would be interacting with.

[natebrown510]

I'm not much of a poster but I love the forum, especially everything you do for everyone Michael. I think the idea of some kind of user group conference is a really cool idea that I would be extremely interested in. While I wouldn't mind a trip to Georgia, or anywhere for that matter, to do it at LHR headquarters, or the general area, would be a nice chance to see their facilities.

[TerryT]

Sooooo, what's happening?

[lynnfrwd]

Joe and Michael are coordinating Training plan. Aiming for Aprilish.