Author:
Patrick Durkin
The ATA Academy’s seminar series offers business solutions that help ATA members grow, learn and profit. These free seminars start 7:15 a.m. all three days of the Show (Thursday through Saturday) in rooms 130 to 139, and in the Members Services Area on the Show floor.
The 2018 ATA Academy features 33 seminars that share tips and insights into improving customer service, website designs, technical tuning, pro-shop marketing, coaching kids and managing clubs, and many other helpful topics that help retailers compete and improve their bottom lines.
The greatest difficulty each morning is choosing between the seminars’ many topics. If you attend the Show with staff, coworkers or industry friends, split up to attend as many classes as possible. Afterward, compare notes and information.
The greatest difficulty each morning is choosing between the seminars’ many topics. If you attend the Show with staff, coworkers or industry friends, split up to attend as many classes as possible. Photo Credit: Shane Indrebo
If you attend the Show alone, don’t worry. After each seminar, gather contact information from the presenter and your fellow attendees, and follow up with everyone after the Show — or over lunch or dinner during the Show.
This year’s lineup includes 15 new presenters, all of them industry professionals who can provide fresh perspectives for growing archery and bowhunting.
Seminar attendees will also learn the importance of buying groups and MAP pricing from ATA Board of Director members Gary Kinard of Texas and Wayne Piersol of California. Kinard and Piersol represent the National Archery Buyers Association. Likewise, Marty Stubstad from Minnesota will share insights on how the Archery Range and Retailers Organization can super-charge your purchasing power year-round.
Attendees can also learn great tips for improving their store’s website from Sydney Schalit and Eric Whiting without making those tasks a full-time job. You can also discover how to meet the needs of female customers with Whitney Johnson, explore how to build an archery learning academy with Lynda LeCompte, or hear fascinating insights from Randy Phillips on how to succeed in archery retailing in the months and years ahead.
Tune in to hear fascinating insights from Randy Phillips on how to succeed in archery retailing in the months and years ahead. Photo Credit: Shane Indrebo
Several expert ATA staff members will also present in-depth seminars on modern marketing, federal excise taxes, identifying and stopping counterfeit products, creating good business plans, building partnerships that boost business, and helping customers find their true archery and bowhunting homes.
In addition, this year’s ATA Show targets manufacturers with two seminars, both of which are held outside the regular seminar schedule to accommodate exhibitors’ schedules. Representatives from the Intellectual Property Rights Center and U.S. Customs and Border Patrol will discuss counterfeiting issues Saturday in the seminar area.
Earlier, a seminar featuring experts from the IRS and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, discussed federal excise taxes Wednesday in the seminar area.
After each day’s seminars, visit the ATA’s Member Services Area to learn about other ATA programs and benefits like ATA ePRO, ATA Connect and the Retail Growth Initiative program.
