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Tuesday
August 4, 2009 Congratulations to Alex Morin!Filed under: ASI Canada Debco is pleased to announce the appointment of Alex Morin to the position of Vice President of Sales. Alex has been with Debco since 2001, learning all aspects of the business along the way.
Tuesday
August 4, 2009 Time to invest in yourself!Filed under: ASI Canada The ASI Canada Seminars are being held in Toronto August 11th & 12th & August 13th in Woodstock, the seminars provide members with the best opportunity to get motivated for the fall selling season.
Saturday
July 25, 2009 We are devasted beyond words!Filed under: A message from Leslie, ASI Canada It is with great sadness that Fred and I need to advise you of the passing of Randy Shippam. Randy passed away suddenly yesterday (July 24) while in Chicago with his wife Roberta.
Wednesday
July 8, 2009 Catching up with an old friend!Filed under: ASI Canada Recently I was invited to attend the Promo Expo BBQ, hosted by Neil Mihan, Tom Guitard, Sally Ross, Linda Davies & Jessie Camani, I had no idea when I accepted their invitation how much I would appreciate the opportunity they provided me. One of the great things about events like this is being able to take some time to network with people in the industry and chat with friends we never seem to have enough time visit anymore. When I first got into the industry in the early 80’s socializing was a major part of doing business together in this industry, but over the years that has changed. While there are many reasons for this change I personally think it’s a shame. When I arrived at the BBQ I was pleased to see a number of old friends and it was great to have a chance to just relax and catch up. But the highlight of my day was when Athena Dunn showed up with her father Wilson Dunn, Wilson retired from the industry a few years ago and it’s been awhile since I’ve seen him. I was very fortunate in my early days to have the pleasure of meeting and getting to know Wilson, he was like an industry staple and I looked forward to seeing him every month at the Ontario Chapter meetings. Wilson was our industry’s real Ambassador; I can’t tell you how many people I spoke to during the years that had questions about the industry or running their business that I said call Wilson! He always took the time to speak to them and give his advice and opinions to, no matter how big or how small they were Wilson always made time for them. I can’t think of anyone in all the years I’ve been in the industry who has freely given more of their time and expertise than Wilson. Wilson has always been a true gentleman in this industry – it still amazes me sometimes that he enjoyed hanging out with Fred and myself and was a constant figure at every event we had, including many late nights in our suite! His Friday lunches were infamous in this industry, to be honest back in those days if you were included you knew you had made it in this industry, that was the power of Wilson Dunn! We actually started referring to Wilson as the Godfather of our Industry he is held in such high esteem. When the twins were very young we started to have an annual Christmas Open House and Wilson came every year, but the one night I will always remember is when Wilson arrived someone made the remark “the Godfather is here”. I’m not sure which of girls asked the question when they overheard this but the question was: is he our grandfather to which I responded – you could only wish! Seeing Wilson and getting to spend some time with him was without a doubt a true highlight for me, so I’m thankful to Neil, Tom, Sally, Linda and Jessica for hosting a good old fashioned BBQ and allowing us all to spend some quality time together – we just don’t do enough of that anymore!
Check back later for more info on what the Promo Expo group is up to…
Sunday
May 31, 2009 Bag Design Open HouseFiled under: ASI Canada It was a dreary, damp day Wednesday, June 27. But, inside at 300 Confederation Parkway, Unit 3 (the home of Justin Case/Bag Design) it was warm, dry, congenial and magical!
Sunday
February 1, 2009 Finally, we can get back to business!Filed under: ASI Canada Love them or hate them the Conservative government will now be in power for at least a year and the budget will stand. This is good news for Canada, as the majority of Canadians did not want either another election or anything to do with a coalition government. It helps at the least with giving us some stability on one front and should help businesses in Canada to focus more on running their companies without the distraction of whose going to be running the country. While many in the industry have told me things are slow coming into the year I hear the same thing every year. January for many is a slow month as clients are coming off two weeks of holidays and it takes some time for things to ramp up again. For some the political instability would also have had an affect as planning would have been shelved waiting for the budget. But, love is in the air or is it! As we head into February now’s the time to really take stock of where we are and what our relationships truly are with our clients. Are we just selling them stuff so that we can generate an income or do we really have their best interests at heart? The days of just selling stuff are done; mass transmitting “Specials” to everyone in your contact list are a thing of the past. What’s most important to customers and even potential customers are “What’s in it for me” – they want you to save them time, save them money and most importantly make them look good! Unless you are dealing with the owner of the company, everyone is going to be concerned about the stability of their position within the company. They are being asked to do more with less, less time as many are forced to not only do their own job but jobs that were done by other co-workers. Budgets are being cut back and yet management wants to see sales at the very least maintain 2008 levels and many will demand increases. Stress levels will be higher than ever! Now’s the time to get down to business with a totally new attitude of caring and understanding for what your clients are dealing with. In the past couple of years we’ve all heard the term consultative selling and now is when we need to put that into practice on a daily basis! In today’s environment it will be all about caring and respect, the more you care and the more you can do to help your clients succeed in these difficult times the more you in turn will succeed! Check back next week for more tips and ideas!
Tuesday
December 23, 2008 HAPPY HOLIDAYSFiled under: ASI Canada It’s been an exciting first year for ASI Canada thanks to each of you and on behalf of Fred, Celine, Jay and myself we would like to thank you for your support during 2008!
Tuesday
December 9, 2008 Are Advertising Specialties Recession Proof?Filed under: ASI Canada Our industry survived the last two recessions relatively well and there are some very important reasons why.
Wednesday
November 26, 2008 Advertising Specialties Impressions StudyFiled under: ASI Canada During the past week I have been having conversations with members from the east coast to the west coast about the state of the industry in Canada.
Monday
November 10, 2008 When the going gets tough!Filed under: ASI Canada What a roller coaster it’s been in the past few months – record high gas prices, then dropping to lows not seen for a long time. A dollar at par, then dropping like a stone, the stock market falls, then record increases only to fall again. |
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