February  2005       SEDA Training l Safety Week 2005

         Financial Planning l Tools of the Trade l Member News

SEDA TRAINING

It's Spring Training Time for SEDA Members

Spring training has started here at SEDA, and its time to get your team on the field! Get your sales team ready to play hardball with QSSP—it’s big league training at its best. Don’t neglect your farm team—the Fundamentals of Safety & Health program is ideal for inside sales and customer service reps who aren’t ready for the majors, but who need to work on the

fundamentals. And even veteran team members need to hone their skills from time to time—the University of Industrial Distribution is perfect for your middle managers.

That’s the pitch—SEDA has a spring training program for everyone on your team. Check out the details on each program below. Get your team in shape for the 2005 selling season!

Space Still Available in March QSSP Class

The March 2005 QSSP Class--scheduled for March 14-18 at the Holiday Inn Hurstbourne in Louisville, Kentucky-- still has space available. The spring class dates were moved up a month from the normal April date and time is running out to register for this program. This program continues to set the gold standard for safety sales training in the safety equipment industry. Attendees at the most recent QSSP class had an average of over 11 years of safety sales experience.

Contact Jackie King at SEDA Headquarters at 443-640-1065 x105 to sign up today or visit the QSSP web site to download more information about the program and the registration form.

Join the more than 600 safety sales professionals who have used QSSP training to further their careers. Remember that SEDA members get discounted registration and that companies who send 5 or more participants in 2005 will receive an additional $100 discount per registrant.

Fundamentals of Safety & Health Class Set for April 4-5

The next Fundamentals of Safety & Health class has just been announced for April 4-5, 2005 in Orlando, Fla. at the Embassy Suites, Orlando Airport. The cost is $495 per person and details on the program and registration information is attached. Plan to send your inside sales staff and new field sales people to the next Fundamentals of Safety & Health seminar. DETAILS

It's Not Too Late to Register for the University of Industrial Distribution

Take advantage of this great SEDA membership benefit and the opportunity to network with your wholesale-distributor peers in other industries by registering for UID 2005, March 13-16, at Indiana University/Purdue University, Indianapolis, IN.   Register by the early bird registration deadline of February 18 and save $100 per registrant. DETAILS

SAFETY WEEK 2005

Safety Week 2005: Improving Channel Success

Safety Week 2005 is all about improving and developing the relationship between channel partners—the suppliers, manufacturers, manufacturers’ agents and distributors that make up the safety equipment industry. It’s condensed, intense, and completely focused on the needs of your business. It’s high level, it’s high-end, and it gives you high returns on your investment. If growing your company through successful channel relationships is important to you, there’s no better place for you to be this May than Safety Week 2005. DETAILS

FINANCIAL PLANNING

Is the Smart Money Really All that Smart?

In recent years a somewhat heated debate has developed regarding the most appropriate approach to improve financial performance. In simplest terms the two approaches can be thought of as an operations approach and a working capital approach. DETAILS

Deadline for 2005 SEDA/SMG PROFIT Survey March 31

One of the most important benefits SEDA distributor members enjoy is the annual PROFIT Report. Conducted by Dr. Al Bates and the team at Profit Planning Group, the PROFIT Report is the best source for financial benchmarking information in the industry. Do not delay in filling it out, the deadline for responses is March 31, 2005. DETAILS

TOOLS OF THE TRADE

Advanced Inside Sales CD Now Available

Advanced Inside Sales, a self-study CD-based training program, is now available to SEDA members at a cost of $99 per disc.  The CD course will provide a start for distributors who want to make their inside sales force a more aggressive part of their selling system. DETAILS

SEDA Members are Safety Specialists

SEDA, in collaboration with Occupational Health & Safety Magazine, has once again developed an exciting marketing brochure that helps safety equipment buyers understand the value of working with safety equipment specialists.  The brochure is a twenty-page insert that appeared in the August 2004 issue of OH&S called “SEDA Members are Safety Specialists.”  It contains articles on why SEDA members specialize in safety and what it means to their customers; how QSSP training helps bring a new level of customer service to safety equipment buyers; how SEDA’s catalog partner, Safety Marketing Services is helping SEDA distributors create custom catalogs at a fraction of the cost of creating them in-house; why safety and security come first with SEDA distributors; and how SEDA distributors are thinking globally in supplying their customers outside of the United States.

You and your sales force can use the brochure when calling on new accounts, mail them to prospective customers, and distribute them at industry events and trade shows. 

Click here to order your supply. Quantities are limited to 100 per member.

2005 Brown Smith Wallace Consulting Group Distribution Software Guide Available

The 2005 Distribution Software Guide is a one-of-a-kind guide provides independently researched information about distribution centric solutions that focus on the operational issues that drive distribution companies today. The guide is the one place busy executives and information officers can compare solutions “head to head.” DETAILS

SEDA MEMBER NEWS

The Safety Winds Team Kicks off the Program's 2005 Season at the Daytona International Speedway

The Safety Wins team invites individuals who drive as part of their job to attend free driver safety training at the Daytona International Speedway in Daytona, Florida, on Wednesday February 16, 2005. DETAILS

SEDA Welcomes New Distributor Members

SEDA has welcomed two new distributor members since the last issue of The Safety Scene. DETAILS