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July~August 2020

President's Column

Kent Dunham, Showdown Displays I hope that everyone had an enjoyable 4 th of July this past week. I found spending time in the lake, on the boat and with family allowed me to think that everything was back to normal if for only a few days. Of course, upon returning I have to come back to reality knowing this pandemic is still in control of our lives. At least here in the Upper Midwest we seem to be fairing better than most other parts of the country, but there is still a long way to go. We at UMAPP continue to discuss how we can best provide value to our membership during this time and we are trying and planning many things.  Read More

Upcoming Events

Things are Changing Friday Facebook Live! at 10:30 am every Friday through September at Facebook.com/UMAPP. We feature a different supplier every week. Catch up on past presentations or see who's coming up at UMAPP.org. Click the Facebook mug on the home page April 15, 2021 | UMAPP Room Show New venue! Crowne Plaza Minneapolis West, Plymouth, Minnesota A beautiful facility with indoor exposed brick, fabulous food, and all Room Show meeting rooms with plenty of elbow room and together on one level. Plenty of free parking and each meeting room has windows! Suppliers: watch for the application to exhibit coming soon in August. Remember, 10 exhibitors are voted into the show by our distributor members, and one exhibitor is chosen by our committee. August 18, 2021 | Summer Golf Outing Postponed from August 2020 StoneRidge Golf Course, St. Paul, Minnesota (between Woodbury and Hudson, WI) 11:30 am | Lunch 1:00 pm | Shotgun start August 19, 2021 | Brand Connection Expo | End Buyer Event Postponed from August 2020 Connecting your clients with new ideas New venue! Inwood Oaks Event Center, corner of Highway 94 and Radio Drive (Woodbury/Oakdale) Watch for more information to be arriving in the next few months about sponsorships, hole in one contest, and registration for the end buyer show.

UMAPP's Collegiate Scholarship

Every year, UMAPP partners with Promotional Products Education Foundation (PPEF) to award a $1,500 one-year college scholarship to a UMAPP member or one of their children. For the 2020-2021 academic year, congratulations goes to Jake Pundsack of Melrose, Minnesota, son of Lisa Pundsack, president of Kelly Promotions. Jake is attending school at Minnesota State/Moorhead. Applications for the 2021-2022 college scholarship will be available in January 2021 (due back in March).

Special Edition Weekly Wild Wednesday Webinars Through July Available to all UMAPP Members for Free

“State of the Industry Across North America: A Regional Association Town Hall” Wednesday, July 15 11:30 am | Central   Join regional executive directors from east to west and north to south and in between as they answer your questions about what is happening around the country and Canada as we continue to work through the social, economic and health issues created by the global pandemic. Learn what is working and not working in all parts of North America and what is opening up and what is still closed up tight. Find out what other professionals are seeing, feeling and experiencing and the questions they are facing.  Read More/Register

“Using Technology to Stay in Front of Customers and Sell More Ideas” Wednesday, July 22 11:30 am | Central   2020 has changed some aspects of traditional selling. Many sales professionals are finding it difficult to present solutions in a traditional face to face setting right now. This session will show how you can still uncover your customers real needs through consultative selling and use technology to reinforce value and keep them coming back. Read More/Register

Tiffany Tarr CAS, Vice President of Sales, DistributorCentral

“Using All the Tools in the Tool Box” Wednesday, July 29 11:30 am | Central   As sales professionals, we often fall into a habit of using the same tools from the sales tool box. These are the ones that we are most comfortable, and often, the easiest for us. But during new and different times, we have to make sure are using all of the tools in the toolbox in order to grow (or even maintain) our business. This might mean going “back to basics” for some and for others it might mean taking the time to embrace technology. But if we want to succeed right now, no tool should be ignored. Read More/Register

Kirby Hasseman, CEO, Hasseman Marketing

Three Skills To Practice In A Cancel Culture  __________________________________________ Top-Shelf Tip No. 121: "When the customer comes first, the customer will last."  Robert Half _________________________________________ Reprinted with permission from Promotional Consultant Today. According to dictionary.com, cancel culture is the "practice of withdrawing support for (cancelling) public figures and companies after they have done or said something considered objectionable or offensive."  As a sales leader, you might find this movement eyeopening— and alarming. How can you prevent customers or prospects from "cancelling" your business? According to Shonnah Hughes, global product growth and innovation evangelist at GetFeedback, it starts with emotional intelligence. Psychology Today defines emotional intelligence as "the ability to identify and manage one's own emotions as well as the emotions of others." Read More

An event brought to you by PPAI - coming up on July 16

Still Looking For More Education? The Georgia Association Promotional Products Professionals (GAPPP) is inviting all regional association members in the country to participate in their July GAPPP University. The University will offered via ZOOM, over the course of 4 days (7/21, 7/23, 7/28, and 7/30), starting at 11:30 a.m. eastern, with a 15 minute intro speaker, then two Learning Labs each day, last for 30 minutes.

Read More for Speakers and to Register

Did you know? . . . parallel parking is no longer required on many driving tests? More than a dozen states no longer test it. The Wall Street Journal . . . . the Earth's crust is vibrating less because of shutdowns caused by the COVID-19 virus? Half the world's population has been in isolation, and transportation systems and industries have shut down worldwide. So seismic noise - the vibration of the planet's crust - has measurably decreased. This means scientists who study earthquakes can more easily monitor small tremors and minor volcanic activity, possibly helping improve measurements in the future. Thomas Lecocq, PhD, seismologist, Royal Observatory of Belgium, Brussels, and leader of a study published in Nature . . . . Beware the keto diet for weight loss . In the short term, the super-high-fat, low-carbohydrate diet does trick the body into burning fats instead of carbohydrates, as occurs in a state of starvation - so you lose weight. But in a recent mouse study, after a week, negative effects started to occur. The mice were storing fat as well as burning it, which increased their risk for obesity and diabetes - conditions against which the keto diet is allegedly protective. Long-term clinical studies in humans are needed to confirm the keto diet's most effective time frame. But it does appear that the diet's supposed weight-loss benefits work only when it is used for limited periods of time. Vishwa Deep Dixit, PhD., Waldemar Von Zedtwitz Professor of Comparative Medicine and of Immunobiology, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut, and leader of a study published in Nature Metabolism . . . . dogs are being trained to sniff out coronavirus? The trained dogs may be able to detect the virus in asymptomatic people, which could improve public safety as people return to work and social-distancing restrictions are lifted. LiveScience.com "The grass may look greener on the other side, but believe me, it's just as hard to cut." Little Richard, American Musician, 1932-2020

Nine Ways To Respond To Discount Requests _____________________________________ Top-Shelf Tip No. 134: “He profits most who serves best.”  Arthur F. Sheldon _____________________________________ Reprinted with permission from Promotional Consultant Today.  It’s bound to happen at some point: A customer asks you to lower your rates or give you a discount of some kind. As many companies tighten their budgets fearing lean times, you may begin to receive discount requests more often. Whether you choose to work with a customer’s pricing requests or you stand firm on your pricing, you should always have a few responses ready, according to Michael Pici, director of sales at HubSpot. Read More

Industry News Read all the latest industry news. Read More

What is UMAPP?

You are receiving this email because you have participated in our events, joined our mailing list, and/or are a UMAPP member. The Upper Midwest Association of Promotional Professionals (UMAPP) is a promotional professionals regional association for companies and staff in the states of Minnesota, North and South Dakota, Iowa, and Western Wisconsin.

Upper Midwest Association of Promotional Professionals UMAPP.sue@comcast.net UMAPP.org | 651-734-9767

For current UMAPP members only! Just one of the benefits of companies joining UMAPP is the discount that SAGE offers. Click the graphic to go to their home page, and let them know you're a UMAPP member.