You Asked For It… You Got It!

Formal education programs and training seminars conducted by professionals

Member feedback from previous trade shows indicated a strong desire for more formal education programs and training seminars conducted by professionals. So we are very pleased to announce that Donna Paz and Mark Kaufman of Paz & Associates will be conducting three educational sessions at this year’s trade show in OKC.

Donna Paz has been working in or with bookstores since 1976. With her background in business management, and certification as a trainer in customer service, Donna takes an innovative approach to help bookstores refine their retail concept and create uniqueness.

On Thursday, September 6^th, from 1-4 pm., Paz & Associates will offer their very popular course in Exceptional FrontLine Bookselling. This seminar is excellent for newer booksellers and can serve as a valuable refresher course in hand-selling for veteran booksellers. This seminar will focus on training you and your staff to go beyond ordinary service into the realm of extraordinary and unique service that will dazzle your customers. The fee for this course is $45, which includes materials that can be taken back to your stores and used to train others.

On Friday, September 7^th, following the Children’s Booksellers’ luncheon, Paz & Associates will offer Show & Sell: Increasing Turns with Focal Point Merchandising, which will provide you with strategies to improve sales in your store. This session includes three secrets to catching the customer’s attention and seven strategies for increasing sales. Also offered will be Integrated Marketing: Working Smarter, Not Harder. This exciting session will demonstrate how newsletters, advertising, and community relations, are all important ways to increase the community’s awareness of your store. Learn how to create a marketing plan that integrates promotional materials with in-store events and displays. Discover the "Cardinal Rule of Retail Advertising" and other helpful tips to help you improve your current marketing efforts. The fee for each of these 1½ hour sessions will be $20.

Also on Friday afternoon, representatives from the ABA will offer a three hour session on Basic Bookstore Finances that was well received at BEA. Free budgeting and monitoring software for use in your store will be provided.

This year the ABA will be asking us, its members, to provide them with input into the development of the new five-year plan for the ABA. Your involvement in this process is both desired and necessary for the ABA’s continued success in its battle to represent us on a national scale. A time for this one hour session is not yet established.

A new feature of this year’s trade show will be Round Table discussions to be held during the lunch break at noon on Saturday, September 8^th. We will have tables set up outside the trade show area at which various topics will be discussed during lunch. Some of the topics to be featured include: (a) Buying sidelines at the Dallas market; (b) Selling used books; (c) How to use co-op wisely; (d) Profitable sidelines; (e) Working with wholesalers, and other topics of interest to our members.

Being knowledgeable and informed is a necessity in today’s competitive retail environment. Education is an important first step in attaining and maintaining that knowledge. We hope you will find this year’s education sessions useful and rewarding.

Mid-South Hosts a Successful Spring Forum

Katy Budget Books shows hospitality

More than forty booksellers attended the Spring Forum this past March. The forum was co-hosted with the American Booksellers Association and was held at Katy Budget Books in Houston. Booksellers from Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, and Louisiana were in attendance. The morning session was conducted by Oren Teicher, ABA Chief Operating Officer, who asked and answered questions on a wide variety of topics relating to ABA, Booksense, Booksense.com, the status of ABA litigation, etc. One topic of interest to many of the stores in attendance was the Booksense Specialty Lists. There was a lot of dialogue between Oren and the specialty stores present about the format and length of the children=s, mystery, and other possible Booksense Specialty lists.

Following lunch provided by MSIBA, many booksellers remained for discussion sessions on ACan Used Books be Profitable For Your Store?@ and ASurvival Guide for Booksellers at Dallas Gift Market@. There was a party atmosphere, and the energy and enthusiasm of all the discussions was impressive. There were a lot of booksellers from in or around Houston, and many were making plans to visit as many stores as possible on their way home. Oren Teicher was very impressed with our marquee sign reading AWelcome, Independent Booksellers@. ABA ran a picture of the sign in Bookselling This Week when they reported on the forum. Oren reported that our forum was one of the best attended of all the ABA forums held throughout the nation. My thanks to all who made Midsouth=s first Spring Forum a big success. We are currently developing plans for next year=s forum. Where should it be??

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Fall Trade Show

Mark your calendars for September 6-9

Summer has arrived! Trying to work with my kids underfoot, frantically working on Ato do@ lists before leaving the store for a few days= vacation, attempting to perform scheduling miracles to accommodate staff vacation requests. Does this sound familiar? The body must work while the mind tries to wander.

Although fall seems far away, it is not too early to focus our thoughts and make plans to attend the MSIBA Fall Trade Show. MARK YOUR CALENDAR NOW FOR SEPTEMBER 6TH-9TH. I have just returned from Book Expo America in Chicago. As always, it was a pleasure and a privilege to be with fellow independent booksellers. However, I also came away from that huge show with a greater appreciation for the MSIBA regional trade show. I have attended the Midsouth show each year since 1993. I can honestly say that the friendly, relaxed atmosphere has allowed me to make contacts and friendships among fellow booksellers, publishers, and even authors. An interesting thing occurred this year when I allowed my senior staff to choose between Book Expo in Chicago and the Midsouth Show in Oklahoma, two-thirds preferred to attend Midsouth because they look forward to renewing old friendships and they find it much easier to meet and talk with authors. You will find in this newsletter, registration information for the beautiful Renaissance Hotel (our block rate of $89 per night is incredible--book early), as well as information regarding the schedule of educational programming (including Donna Paz!), and other special events. We will be continuing to post updated trade show information on our website (www.msiba.org).

Finally, if you have not yet paid your 2001 dues, you should do so ASAP in order for your store to be included in our upcoming Membership Directory. We will also provide a free link from our website to your store=s website.

Wishing you a busy summer season,

Tamra Dore=
Katy Budget Books

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