Playback - Summer 2008 - (Page 20)

REPS IN THE FIELD Spotlight on NAMM Rep: BOBBI BROOkS, INDUSTRy REP “This is a great industry and anyone who would like to have fun at a job would love working in the audio segment,” says Bobbi Brooks, who has been a sales rep for nearly 20 years, many of those with her current company, Sales Force & Associates. “We used NAMM’s ‘reps looking for lines’ resource when we first started—this helped us tremendously at the beginning,” says Bobbi. “We started our firm with no product lines and started with vendors that we found on the bulletin board (before it was automated).” Sales Force & Associates has been a NAMM Member for about eight years, and uses the PLAYback resource guide and industry projections in the NAMM Global Report to its advantage. “Now, when we have a new dealer starting out I always mention how NAMM has a great resource of affiliates that they work with—like special rates on credit cards, UPS and FedEx services, insurance benefits and it’s a one-stop resource for them. I think the NAMM PLAYback Digital is a great information provider—now that everyone is going electronic, it’s a nice quick way to stay informed on what’s going on with NAMM and our industry.” Bobbi feels that NAMM can create more opportunities for helping reps succeed by showing a list of dealers who have registered for the shows online to help identify attendees and plan meetings in advance. Along with involvement in trade shows, she says reps can also take some steps on their own to improve business. “Marketing is something I’m very involved with in our firm,” Bobbi explains. “It’s what I believe sets us apart from our competitors—I’m always creating flyers, condensing literature and promoting our ‘Sales Force’ as a whole. We put on our own show each year called the ‘Sales Force Symposium,’ in which we have each of our vendors attend and offer one-hour presentations on their products. We invite and absorb the cost of our dealers who attend (food/hotel/entertainment) during this weekend event. This is a great marketing tool for us.” To help promote future success for all reps, Bobbi suggests more teamwork between industry members. “I think seasoned reps have already found what works for them. It’s my opinion that independent reps need a forum for themselves—a sales and management panel—to discuss new sales techniques, marketing ideas, how to standardize pay/benefits/ compensation for sales employees and feedback on what vendors expect from us.” Bobbi Brooks is a pro audio sales rep for Sales Force & Associates in Hollywood, Fla. I think seasoned reps have already found what works for them. It’s my opinion that independent reps need a forum for themselves—a sales and management panel—to discuss new sales techniques, marketing ideas, how to standardize pay/benefits/ compensation for sales employees and feedback on what vendors expect from us. –Bobbi Brooks, Sales Force & Associates 20 PLAYback

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Playback - Summer 2008

Playback - Spring 2008 Contents From the President NAMM Events Music in the News The Local Community Music Store: A Family Affair Commercial Retail Washington Watch Reps in the Field New Domestic Members International NAMM Foundation Music Notes Resources Viewpoint Playback Supplement : Summer NAMM08 Concerts & Events Artist Appearances What to See NAMM University Sessions

Playback - Summer 2008

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