By Todd Ramsey
Installer and Retailer of the Year are some fantastic titles to behold. In the run-up to those titles though, there are many people and retailers who are doing great things to become noticed in the industry, to their suppliers and others in their company. The Installer and Retailer of the Year contests are about doing a great job, setting examples for colleagues and industry, and achieving some industry recognition in the process, all by being nominated to the list for voting. What are the people and companies who are on it now doing right that you could emulate? Remember it’s about making the industry better overall, which is everyone’s responsibility.
We’re just over one week into the Mobile Electronics magazine Installer and Retailer of the year voting and it’s going to continue through the end of March and into early April. I’ve gotten a lot of calls and e-mails from people who are on the list asking how they get votes now that they are nominated. Here are some of the tips I can offer to campaign for votes from industry colleagues and other people in your circle of trades.
Installer Candidates
First, think about why someone would vote for you. Are you hoping you are just popular enough to get a vote from your work colleagues and a few reps or are you thinking beyond that? What is it about your commitment to the career path and the innovation in your daily work that is truly setting a great example for others? Answer that question and you have an idea of what you need to be presenting to the people you’re asking to vote.
Also, think about your range of expertise and new skills you have learned (or are continuing to learn). Installer of the Year shouldn’t be about who makes the shiny fiberglass trunk install or who built the biggest show car. Although those can be great achievements to consider, those installers providing support to their fellow colleagues and inventive solutions for their customers on an everyday basis are really the individuals who have the greatest chance to make positive impressions that keep our business fun and on track toward providing customer satisfaction.
Retailer Candidates
As retailers, think beyond just the brands and categories you sell. Think more about how your industry participation is helping put a great face on the fantastic things we CAN do for our customers. Think about how your company adds value to your community and to your employees by showing each and every day how we do care about what we put out there in the marketplace and we do want people to enjoy their 12-volt investments, regardless of how much they spend. Think about why you would do business with your store(s) if YOU were the customer!
Also think about how your company is positioned as an employer and adding to the enrichment of each individual working for the company. Consider how you may have creatively weathered some rough times and kept morale up. Be proud of what is great about working for your company through your employees’ eyes and if you aren’t sure what that is exactly, just ask them!
Soliciting Votes
Once you have identified some of the reasons you are qualified to ask for someone’s vote, please take that step and campaign for votes. Ask your reps, suppliers, factory personnel and other links in your supply chain to vote for you for those important reasons you have identified. Ask colleagues at work and other complimentary business partners (car dealerships, tool trucks, repair shops, etc.) to vote for you. Mobile Electronics magazine only counts votes cast by people in the trade or associated somehow with the trade and you (or your business) so reach out to these people, tell them how important their vote is to you, tell them what you have identified as reasons you feel earned their vote of confidence and then send them the link to the ME-Mag.com voting page to cast their vote for you (or your shop).
Click here to visit the voting page!
It’s an important tool for marketing yourself and your business to be included Mobile Electronics magazine’s Installer and/or Retailer of the Year process, from the Top 100 to the award winners at the Mobile Electronics Industry Awards. Take every opportunity to let your supply chain know you are actively involved in making the industry better and utilize the buzz of the nomination to generate interest and conversations in your business among your customers. It’s going to be an exciting next several weeks so don’t be left out.
And if you were not nominated in any of your categories, please take some time and get to know the installers and retailers by visiting their websites, social networking pages, and even in person where you can. Surely you can gain some perspective from seeing things they might be doing well that you want to emulate. Equally important, your vote is important to the industry and Mobile Electronics magazine wants you to cast informed votes for the person and retailers you think are the best in the business.
For those who want to make the list next year, start thinking about it now and campaign by showing your industry colleagues, and customers, how great your work is, how dedicated to your industry you are and how you enrich your colleagues and community with your enthusiasm for your career! People respect that and surely want to vote for it!
Nominees, get out there and campaign! Industry colleagues at large, get over to ME-mag.com and vote!