ASSOCIATIONS

By Staff -- Industrial Distribution, 11/1/2000

NIF heads to Las Vegas in November.

The National Industrial Fastener Show/West will meet in conjunction with the National Fastener Distributors Assn.'s Fall City Meeting and the Western Assn. of Fastener Distributors' Conference on Nov. 14-17, in Las Vegas, Nev.

General Colin L. Powell will give the keynote address for NFDA's Fall City Meeting from 1:30 to 2:45 p.m. on Nov. 16. Powell served as the 12th chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff from 1989 to 1993. He now serves as chairman of America's Promise-The Alliance for Youth.

On Nov. 16, Jim Speck will lead a "Fastener Fundamentals" workshop from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., which will address fastener mechanics, materials, testing, application engineering, manufacturing and design.

Chuck Holmes will present "Selling in the 21st Century," at 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. on Nov. 16. Holmes will provide real-life examples of how to sell tough-to-crack accounts and address other difficult sales questions.

On Nov. 16, at 10 a.m. and 3 p.m., William Agee will present "Improving Purchasing and Sales Performance through Effective Communication." He'll address fundamental needs in effective communication, how communication environments differ; knowing the message as well as the messenger; body language; active listening processes; cross cultural exchange; and top to bottom communications in business.

For additional information, call 614-895-8348.

IIDA changes name, membership. Illinois Industrial Distribution Assn. is the new name of the state organization created to forge a partnership of companies instrumental to distribution of industrial products in Illinois.

Formerly the Illinois Industrial Distributors Assn., and representing only industrial distributors, the new IIDA has expanded its membership to include manufacturers and manufacturers representatives that market industrial products primarily through distribution.

"Together we can address issues and create a working relationship to enhance the business of industrial distribution in Illinois," says IIDA's president, Ken Novak of C & N Supply, Dixon, Ill.

For more information, call (312) 456-5590.

AMTDA announces second teleconference series. The American Machine Tool Distributors' Assn.'s second educational teleconference series will begin Nov. 6.

The sales teleconference program allows companies to conduct in-house training for their entire staff from the convenience of their offices.

The Nov. 6 program will feature consultant Tim Underhill, who will present, "Creating a Unique Selling Proposition through the Value You Add." The program is designed to help distributors and manufacturers understand how to show the dollar impact they have on a customer's bottom line.

Additional programs include:

Dec. 4-"Customer Loyalty: the Not-so-secret Source of Sales Profitability," with Stan Bigelow, president, Interact. The program will focus on reducing the costs of doing business and increasing profit margins by creating loyal customers, improving customer retention, becoming a "customer satisfaction manger," and honing the sales engineer's role.

Feb. 4-"Using the Internet for Business," with industry presenter Steve Epner. The program will provide practical, hands-on strategies for using the Internet to enhance sales and marketing activities.

April 23-"The 10 Most Deadly, Detrimental and Destructive Sales Mistakes," with John Graham, president of Graham Communications. The program will provide targeted information on dealing with and attracting customers.

In other AMTDA news, the association recently awarded the Certified Machine Tool Sales Engineer designation to: Steven Addy, Charles Grant, Jack Livingston, Peter Stackpoole, Robert Coughenour, Geoff Darch, Jay Davis, Dale Ernstmeyer, Edward Galzin, Bradley Gecowets, David Hope, Troy Kattenhorn, Steven Kohagen, Michael Steinbock, Scott Zavala, Stephen Meussling, Randy Stohler, Mark Wade, Derrick Warren, and Thomas Westermeier.

For more information, call AMTDA at (301) 738-1200.

Send Association News to senior editor Susan Srikonda, 275 Washington St., Newton, Mass., 02458; call (617) 558-4722; fax to (617) 558-4327; or e-mail to ssrikonda@cahners.com.