ABA Regional Trade Show Education Program Preview

The American Booksellers Association will be presenting education sessions as part of the programming at each of the eight regional booksellers association fall trade shows and at the New Atlantic Independent Booksellers Association sales conference. Here is a first look at what's planned. In the coming weeks, BTW will feature previews of the shows, with details about the time, place, and presenters for each of the association's programs, as well as information about the ABA presence on the trade show floors and opportunities for ABA members to win prizes.

Descriptions of each session can be found below the schedule.

SEPTEMBER

Pacific Northwest Booksellers Association
Wednesday, September 19 - Friday, September 21, 2007
Meydenbauer Center, Bellevue, Washington

ABA Educational Programming:

• Building and Rewarding Customer Loyalty
• Bookstore Self Audit
• Staff Development: An Overview

New England Independent Booksellers Association
Thursday, September 27 - Saturday, September 29, 2007
Rhode Island Convention Center, Providence, Rhode Island

ABA Educational Programming:

• Doing Digital Right

Mountains & Plains Independent Booksellers Association
Thursday, September 27 - Sunday, September 30, 2007
Denver Marriott Tech Center, Denver, Colorado

ABA Educational Programming:

• Staff Development: An Overview

Great Lakes Booksellers Association
Friday, September 28 - Sunday, September 30, 2007
Renaissance Schaumburg Hotel & Convention Center, Schaumburg, Illinois

ABA Educational Programming:

• Participating in the Digital Revolution: High Altitude

Southern Independent Booksellers Alliance
Friday, September 28 - Sunday, September 30, 2007
Hilton Atlanta, Atlanta, Georgia

ABA Educational Programming:

• Building and Rewarding Customer Loyalty
• Creating Killer Events
• Bookstore Self Audit

OCTOBER

Midwest Booksellers Association
Friday, October 5 - Sunday, October 7, 2007
Minneapolis Convention Center, Minneapolis, Minnesota

ABA Educational Programming:

• Staff Development: An Overview
• Building and Rewarding Customer Loyalty
• Participating in the Digital Revolution

Northern California Independent Booksellers Association
Friday, October 5 - Sunday, October 7, 2007
Oakland Convention Center in Oakland, California

ABA Educational Programming:

• Improve Efficiency to Achieve Success

New Atlantic Independent Booksellers Association
Sunday, October 14 - Monday, October 15, 2007
Sheraton Baltimore City Center, Baltimore, Maryland

ABA Educational Programming:

• Staff Development: An Overview
• Handselling: Customer Service With Results
• How to Be the Story: Developing and Implementing a Public Relations Plan

Southern California Independent Booksellers Association
Saturday, October 20, 2007
Millennium Biltmore Hotel, Los Angeles, California

ABA Educational Programming:

• How to Be the Story: Developing and Implementing a Public Relations Plan
• Participating in the Digital Revolution: Low Altitude

Bookstore Self Audit
Following on the success of the "What to Do When the Competition Comes to Town" session presented at BookExpo America, ABA staff and a panel of booksellers will walk participants through a store "self audit." Learn how to evaluate your store from the perspective of your customers -- focusing on ambiance, convenience, financial health, inventory and selection, marketing and service. You will learn how to use the audit to identify where to focus your resources to make your business more customer-friendly.

Building and Rewarding Customer Loyalty
Books are sold everywhere, so how do you keep customers coming back to your store? This session will explore what customers really want, and how you can foster loyalty by responding to consumer needs. An in-depth discussion of the pros and cons of implementing and marketing a customer loyalty program will be featured.

Creating Killer Events
With books sold in more and more outlets each year, independent booksellers are finding new and innovative ways to distinguish themselves from the competition. One of the most effective tools to set you apart from the crowd is to offer a schedule of compelling events geared toward your store and your customers. In this session, you will review an event prep checklist and hear experienced booksellers describe what makes a killer event. A panel of booksellers will share their experiences creating highly successful events.

Doing Digital Right
In this session, ABA staff will interview a group of bookseller panelists who are using online technologies -- websites, MySpace pages, Blogs and more -- to successfully market their stores. Learn what works and what doesn't, and leave with good ideas you can use in your own store.

Handselling: Customer Service With Results
You will learn how to implement and improve handselling strategies to grow a store's reputation, energize staff, and increase sales. The focus will be on attracting and training good handsellers, integrating handselling into marketing efforts, and ensuring that customers walk away with a unique and positive shopping experience. Video vignettes will illustrate some do's and don'ts of handselling.

How to Do a Customer Survey: A Case Study
Have you ever wondered what your customers think about your store, or how they view you compared to your competition? In this session, find out how to create and execute customer surveys that will help you learn more about your customers and develop more effective strategies to meet their needs. This session will outline the nuts-and-bolts of how to do customer surveys using data gleaned from a case study -- including how to frame questions, administer the survey in your store and online, and analyze results.

How to Be the Story: Developing and Implementing a Public Relations Plan
On average, independent bookstores spend two percent of their annual budget on advertising. But what is the budget for public relations? What's the difference between advertising and PR? This session will show how a comprehensive public relations plan can have a greater impact on a store's visibility than advertising and at a much lower cost. Learn how to formulate and execute a PR plan. Booksellers will break into groups to tackle hypothetical PR problems.

Improve Efficiency to Achieve Success
This seminar will show you how to use your time more effectively, make your staff more productive, and implement efficiencies throughout the store. Intended for owners and senior staff of bookstores of all sizes, the session will discuss the importance of routine functions so that more time and energy can be devoted to achieving the goals you have set for your store.

Participating in the Digital Revolution
Everyday the news is rife with stories of how technology is changing the way people interact, acquire information, and especially the way they consume it. How are phenomena like digitization of content, print-on-demand, social networking, open source computing, and more, affecting independent booksellers today, and how will they affect booksellers in the near future? This session will explore the latest developments in the technosphere and will provide hands-on information on why and how booksellers should, and can, create MySpace pages and blogs.

Participating in the Digital Revolution: High Altitude
Everyday the news is rife with stories of how technology is changing the way people interact, acquire information, and especially the way they consume it. How are phenomena like digitization of content, print-on-demand, social networking, open source computing, and more, affecting independent booksellers today, and how will they affect booksellers in the near future? This session will explore the latest developments in the technosphere and how they impact booksellers.

Participating in the Digital Revolution: Low Altitude
This session provides hands-on information on why and how booksellers should, and can, create MySpace pages and blogs. Includes live demonstrations.

Staff Development: An Overview
This session takes a high altitude view of how hiring, training, and managing staff is as much art as it is science. Topics will include hiring people who will add strength to the store, recognizing and building upon an employee's unique abilities, and creating a work environment that motivates staff.

Understanding the Basic Financial Documents
This hands-on presentation will examine the three basic financial documents -- the Balance Sheet, Operating Statement, and Cash Flow Statement. This session, aimed at novice booksellers or those seeking a refresher course, will look at how these documents are created and how they are best used.