We brought in the very best in the industry including a pool of experts from Nationwide.
Edward Knodle, National Director of Member Services for NMG and former Executive Director of NARDA

Photo/Nationwide

Nationwide's interactive 3 day conference included 15 courses including topics on email & web marketing, merchandising, customer service, financial management, strategic and succession planning.

WINSTON-SALEM, NC (April 15, 2011) According to Nationwide Marketing Group (NMG), parent company of RentDirect Nationwide - the rent-to-own industry's largest buying group, over 100 business owners and their top managers attended the first Business and Leadership Management Conference held on April 3-5, 2011 at the American Airlines Conference Center in Fort Worth, Texas.

“We were overwhelmed by the positive feedback we received from dealers who attended the conference,” said Robert Weisner, Chief Executive Officer of Nationwide Marketing Group. “Many dealers confirmed that no other organization in the industry is offering this kind of educational opportunity for independent dealers to improve their businesses.”

The interactive 3 day conference included 15 courses including topics on email & web marketing, merchandising, customer service, financial management, strategic and succession planning.

Edward Knodle, National Director of Member Services for NMG and former Executive Director of NARDA, saw the need for independent dealers to get back to basics. Knodle and Elly Valas, Member Services Director of NMG, led the charge in creating a conference that would do just that, teach dealers the fundamentals of running a business and ensure their continuality in the new marketplace.

“We brought in the very best in the industry including a pool of experts from Nationwide,” said Knodle. “I am extremely happy with the turnout and we already have a waiting list of dealers who want to attend the next conference that will be scheduled later this year.”
Nationwide Marketing Group, the premier buying and marketing organization for appliances, electronics, furniture and rent to own independent dealers in America, is known for providing educational opportunities for their members. The organization offers a host of online learning programs and business courses at each of their PrimeTime! buying show and conference events.

“For 40 years, we have been committed to supporting the independent dealer,” said Weisner. “Our members can expect us to continue to provide them with the learning resources and programs they need to be leaders in their markets.”

For more information on the Business and Leadership Management Conference contact Elly Valas at 303-316-7569 or elly@ellyvalas.com. To learn more about Nationwide Marketing Group including an invitation to the next PrimeTime! buying show and conference being held in Dallas, Texas at the Gaylord Texan on August 21- 24, 2011 call 336-722-4681 or memberinfo@nationwidegroup.org

Testimonials
Classes were very informative. I took succession planning with Elly Valas who did an exceptional job. She was in touch with the industry and her stories were relevant. I would recommend the conference to other dealers and if their businesses are big enough I encourage them to bring their head managers. - Duane Larmore, Shore Appliance Connection, Salisbury, MD

For me, the training and team building courses were the most valuable. We learned how to measure our performance and set goals in every department and how to get feedback from our employees. I learned a ton and I’m definitely planning on attending again and bringing my managers with me. - Alex Jaffee, Household Furniture Co., El Paso, TX

We were definitely thrilled from top to bottom and give the conference an A+ plus. The hour and half sessions seemed like a half hour because the instructors kept us all participating, talking and breaking into groups. This carried to the outside of the classroom which stirred up conversation on doing business with other dealers. We all left on a high note and are very enthusiastic about what we learned and excited to put it into practice. We got an unbelievable value for the price of two plane tickets! - Brian Nowacki, Plaza TV & Appliance, W. St. Paul, MN

All excellent presenters and topics. Ed Knodle was one of my favorite speakers, he really motivated me to push harder. The conference gave me a lot of good ideas including focusing on more aggressive marketing, reaching out to the community, targeting the younger generation and going after the big box stores. I’ve never been so excited to come back to work. - Justin Van Horn, Plaza Appliance Inc., Yuma, AZ

The conference covered all of the fundamentals of running a business. I’m from an older generation so the web classes taught me a lot of things that I had no idea about like building websites and claiming Google listings, shopping the web and being more techno savvy. All of the information shared was current and up to date. I would highly recommend this conference to other dealers. - Kim Steele, Steele's, Butte, MT
I am a small dealer but found it to be very informative and applicable across all topics. All of the presenters were very good, especially the class on sales techniques. They handed out DVD’s that I found particularly useful and will be incorporating into our customer service. - Jerry Axelrod, Systems Design Group, Redondo Beach, CA

We are invigorated and excited! The presentation on customer service by Jim Niekamp was extremely well received. He did not present theoretical ideas but rather real life strategies we could take to our stores. We are implementing everything we learned from the conference and are already planning training for our staff. - Mark Shirin, Ventura TV & Appliance, Fresno, CA