Marketing And PR Expert Tells ASI Show Audience ‘The Decisive Advantage Is Speed’

Today’s real-time selling revolution requires faster customer response times

DALLAS, TX – January 26, 2018 – Marketing and public relations expert David Meerman Scott advised distributors and suppliers at an ASI Show keynote in Dallas on Friday to go boldly into today’s real-time sales revolution and fully embrace e-commerce and social media to connect with more clients.

“We’re in the middle of a real-time revolution and the decisive advantage is speed,” said Scott (@dmscott), who shared the “new rules” of marketing and PR with entrepreneurs at ASI Show^® Dallas (#ASIdallas), held Wednesday, January 24, through Friday, January 26, at the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center.

Scott’s keynote was devoted to helping sales reps and distributor owners grow their businesses by keeping pace with today’s fast-paced e-commerce world. Responding to leads within an hour, he said, results in a seven-time greater conversion rate. “It’s all about developing your real-time mindset,” said Scott, an author and former marketing VP who’s given his trademark “Agile, Real-Time Selling” presentation in 47 countries across seven continents. “That device in your pocket is an amazing tool for selling – it’s a television station, a radio station…You must align your sales with the way people are buying.”

Stan Skiba, of the Advance Group (asi/108540), said of the keynote, “I was very impressed and surprised to hear that a few of his social media ideas and suggestions were things I had already been doing, especially ‘newsjacking.’ He gave me ideas on how to continue to use them in different and more updated ways, and on different platforms.”

Scott’s keynote was a highlight of the Dallas show, which attracted nearly 3,000 distributors and 400 exhibitors from 39 states and nine countries, including 1,375 attendees from Texas, 38 women-owned and 66 minority-owned companies. Of the total, 13% were new to the show. Plus, 13 distributor companies chose Dallas to host sales meetings, including 11 Counselor^® Top 40 companies.

Dallas TV station CW33 also visited the show floor to interview exhibitors and distributors about the industry and its wide range of available products, and aired a feature on its Thursday evening newscast.

In addition, ASI announced its show will move to Fort Worth next year. “We’re excited about being able to move to a location where the convention center, dozens of restaurants, hotels, nightlife and street activities are all within a couple of blocks of each other,” said Timothy M. Andrews, ASI president and chief executive officer. “We love Dallas, but we were drawn to Fort Worth by the authenticity, the chance to have distributors and suppliers together nonstop during show days and evenings, and the more lively community and Western atmosphere.”

Statistically, Texas is the number-one state – and lies in the number-one region – in the country for promotional products sales, according to ASI’s Advantages magazine. By staying in Texas, ASI Show – which is celebrating its 20th anniversary – continues to provide the industry with a place to create lasting business relationships, display and source products and further industry knowledge at the first and largest industry event in the Southwest. Plus, 95% of ASI’s Dallas attendees do not attend any other show.

The Fort Worth show will be held at the same time of year, with a launch date of February 4-6, 2019, at the Fort Worth Convention Center. To promote the show, the Advertising Specialty Institute^® (ASI) hosted a Visit Fort Worth booth at the Dallas show with information on everything the city has to offer, along with several well-informed cowboys, a lasso demo – and a 2,000-pound longhorn steer named Norman, who posed for photos.

“ASI loves the great state of Texas and we can’t wait to take our show to the next level at our new location in Fort Worth,” said Rita Ugianskis-Fishman, senior vice president and general manager of ASI Show. “The Southwest region is a selling powerhouse that’s helping drive record growth in the promotional products industry and we can’t be more excited about embracing everything Fort Worth has to offer, especially convenience, along with a diverse range of restaurants, culture and entertainment, most within walking distance.”

In Dallas on Education Day, 1,448 businesspeople attended all-new tracks and classes in a wide variety of subjects, including social media, marketing and sales, with the exhibit day Power Sessions drawing 137.

Brand-new industry distributor Gaylyn DeVine, of TLS Graphics (asi/560070), called the show incredible. “I love to see all the products – there is no limit on the items you can put a logo on,” she said. “I think we limit ourselves to thinking promotional products are only ‘x, y, z’, and this show serves as a reminder to think outside of the box.”

Supplier David Guito, of Jornik Manufacturing (asi/63549), said, “Having distributors see our products in-person rather than online or in pictures inspires lots of great ideas on how to use or sell the products. And getting our face in front of the customers really helps to solidify the relationship we have already started through emails.”

In addition to promoting deal-making on the show floor, ASI Dallas delivered a slew of additional activities like a factory tour of In Your Face Apparel, a motivational breakfast with national storyteller Kindra Hall (sponsored by Diamondback Engraving, asi/49546; Kasher Inc., asi/63824; and Terry Town, asi/90913) and the ASI Show Bash at House of Blues, sponsored by Brighter Promotions (asi/42016), Custom Printing II (asi/47971), Logo Mats (asi/67849), Next Level Apparel (asi/73867) and Radius Display Products (asi/49916).

ASI also delivered everything exhibitors and distributors need to be more successful, from first-rate education and numerous networking opportunities to personal demos of sales tools like ASI’s all-new ESP^®platform and ASI Creative Labs, which offers companies all the services of a marketing agency.

Registration opens for ASI Show Fort Worth in the summer of 2018, along with registration for ASI Show Orlando and ASI Show Chicago, ASI’s other large convention center trade shows. Distributor companies interested in bringing a large group to ASI Show events should contact Tim Gaghan at (800) 546-3300, ext. 3351.

Suppliers interested in exhibiting or sponsorship opportunities should call Rita Ugianskis at (215) 953-4756.

For complete editorial coverage of the show, visit www.uat-asicentral.com, www.asishow.com and ASI’s Facebook page.

The final large ASI Show event is in Chicago, Tuesday, July 24, through Thursday, July 26, at McCormick Place.

About ASI Show
The ASI Show Family of Events – ASI Show, fASIlitate, ASI Roadshow and Engage – fosters business-building relationships among ASI member distributors and suppliers, and includes options to meet the needs of the entire membership base. ASI Shows, the flagship series, are large-scale convention center trade shows held in Orlando, Dallas and Chicago. fASIlitate is a hosted buyer event that brings together the industry’s elite – top suppliers and million-dollar distributors – for three days of scheduled one-on-one meetings in resort venues across the country. The ASI Roadshow visits top cities across the U.S. and Canada and gives member-distributors an opportunity to escort their top clients to the show. Engage will continue to evolve, and serve as a hybrid event, combining the best of all event formats. Visit www.asishow.com for more information about our full event portfolio.