June 14, 2001 ABA Education Sessions Offered Much to Enhance Management Skills In three well-attended sessions on Thursday afternoon, May 31, at BookExpo America, ABA offered booksellers the opportunity to enhance their management skills to compete more effectively in today's highly competitive marketplace. "Relationship Marketing--Increasing Share of the Customer One Person at a Time" was presented by Michael Hoynes, ABA marketing officer, and Randy LeGrant, co-founder of New Sources, a precision-targeting firm, which has worked with ABA and 20 independent bookstores across the country on a local marketing intelligence test program over the past year. Hoynes presented a number of statistics that provide critical insights into the make-up and habits of book-purchasing consumers. Among them were that traditional independent bookstore customers purchased 20 books per year, but only an average of eight from independent bookstores; most consumers have positive opinions about chains and online booksellers; and industry trends suggest that the total number of new books sold in 2005 will be the same or less than the number sold in 2000. Using this and all other available consumer trend information, a Marketing Intelligence Program was designed to help independents outsmart the competition by developing a better understanding of the local market to gain a greater share of current customer business and to determine where the most likely prospects are located within the local area. Overall results of the test program were presented at the session: The 20 participating independent bookstores found that "hunches" about their local market areas were confirmed, providing more confidence in planned marketing activities; the stores gained new insights into known market situations, which, they found, could lead to new marketing opportunities based on consumer trends in book buying; and the participants learned new information about their local markets, which, they discovered, could increase opportunities to attract new customers and sales to their stores. Hoynes announced that bookstores can now sign up to participate in the Marketing Intelligence Program, which was refined with these 20 test stores. There is a service contract and a fee. For details, bookstores should contact Hoynes at [email protected] or (800) 637-0037, ext. 1204. The seminar "Basic Bookstore Finances" was a hands-on presentation by ABA CEO Avin Mark Domnitz and Ed Rush, ABA's controller. Their presentation examined the three basic financial documents--the Balance Sheet, Operating Statement, and Cash Flow Statement--how they are created, how they are used, and how they relate to one another in a proactive system of budgeting and planning. In addition, participants learned about the four main financial ratios: Return on Investment, Debt to Equity Ratio, Current Ratio, and Ratio of Inventory to Trade Payables. Attendees were provided with a binder full of worksheets, instructions, a glossary, and a post-test "to help the financial manager of a bookshop operate in a proactive manner." Blank budget and monitoring worksheets were also provided on software so that attendees could return home and plug in their numbers, enabling them to measure their budgets against actual results to track performance "in the pursuit of sustained profitability and efficient operations." "Staff Recruitment and Training" was the topic of the seminar facilitated by Stas Kazmierski, co-managing partner of Zingerman's Training, Inc. Kazmierski described the highly successful Zingerman's deli/catering/restaurant/mail-order business in Ann Arbor, Michigan, and introduced attendees to the basic concept of Servant Leadership--the leader's responsibility is, first and foremost, to serve the organization--upon which the business was founded. Kazmierski outlined the requirements for effective Servant Leadership: Provide an inspiring and strategically sound vision for your store; give great day-to-day service to staff; manage in an ethical manner; learn something every week and teach it to others; help staff succeed by providing effective training, by using responsible communication techniques, by offering constructive criticism, and by making difficult decisions; and say thanks. Attendees were encouraged to develop an Action Plan to implement positive leadership changes in their own businesses and to examine the systems already in place to close the gap between systems and the store culture. -Rosemary Hawkins Topics: Resources, BookExpo, About ABA,