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Week of March 29, 2006
Week of August 22, 2005
Week of May 25, 2005
Week of May 4, 2005
Week of March 29, 2006
Dealer Training Continues
By Lane Baldwin
In the past two weeks, I've traveled to Pennsylvania and Louisiana to meet with (and train) the staffs of several dealers. For each trip, I was accompanied by the District Sales Manager (DSM) for that area.
In Pennsylvania, I was assisted by Ross Neifert, who has been with US Music for two decades. We visited five dealers, finishing with Guitar Villa in Quakertown, PA. In addition to some face time with their staff, we held a Meet & Greet to help kick off a special Eden Sale weekend. Now, to be honest, St. Patrick's Day (and a Friday to boot) probably isn't the best time to hold one of these, but the sale had been planned well in advance and we wanted to be a part of it before I flew home that evening. However, as I understand it, the weekend sale went very well.
One cool thing about the Meet & Greet was meeting Tim Moyle from the forum, where he's known as Bassman639. When we arrived, Tim was already there waiting, and he stuck around until we left some three hours later. While he was there, Tim snagged a great deal on a D112XLT - his second - to add to his growing inventory of Eden gear. It was great getting to hang with Tim; he's a wonderful person who makes me proud to be a part of the Eden community.
 Tim Moyle (Bassman639) and Lane with Tim's newly purchased D112XLT cabinet. |
 Lane and the staff at Zeagler Music |
The following week, I traveled to Louisiana to work with Jim Marince. Again, we visited several stores, offering training and waving the Eden flag. My new SKB Bass Safe arrived in time for this trip, so I was able to take my Washburn BB6. The Bass Safe protected the bass very well during all four flights (two each way). Many thanks to SKB for supplying me with the means to carry my own bass on these training trips.
On Saturday, we held an early training session at Zeagler Music in Baton Rouge. They brought the staff from the other location so that we could work with everyone at once. Because they were also holding a clinic featuring Maurice Fitzgerald (see separate report), they also brought the Eden inventory from the other store so they'd have everything under one roof for folks to check out. This also helped with the training as I had numerous products to work with.
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In all, both trips were very productive. In addition to dealer training, I was able to visit a few potential new dealers with the DSMs. Of course, it's always nice to add a dealer to our list, especially in towns in which we are not yet represented. My thanks to all the dealers that participated in the training sessions. We appreciate your dedication to helping your customers make informed gear choices - especially when they choose Eden!
Week of August 22, 2005:
Dealer training continued last week (August 22-24) with a trip to DSM Randy Shamber's district. I was up at 3AM - yes, that's AM! - to catch my flight. After a layover in O'Hare, I got into Newark, NJ about 10 and immediately got myself a six-shot latte. For the remainder of the day, caffeine was my very good friend, believe me.
Driving into New York City, we grabbed lunch at a deli around the corner from our first stop - Rudy's Music, on (in)famous 48th Street. Nestled into four floors, Rudy's is world-famous for their service and high-end gear. I had a great visit with the folks who manage the bass department on the third floor.
From there, it was off to Rockaway, NJ, for some time with the guys at Ritchie's Music Center. We spent the rest of the afternoon there getting to know the guys and teaching them about all things Eden. They were very cool, and really paid attention, asking lots of good questions.
For dinner, Randy took me to one of my favorite New Jersey steak houses, Charlie Browns, where we talked shop over large pieces of red meat. Still jazzed from all that caffeine, I watched "Revenge of the Sith" at the hotel, since my laptop was on the fritz and I couldn't hook up to the forum.
Tuesday morning I laid plans for the day, and for Wednesday. Randy picked me up midmorning and we headed out to Manalapan, NJ and Musician's Workshop. These guys are a brand new dealer and enthusiasm was very high.
From there, we headed out to Russo's Music in Trenton. Russo's is ranked in the Top 20 music stores in the US, yet it's still a mom and pop store. Chris runs the bass department there, and is a huge Eden fan. He already knew a lot about the gear, so we spent much of the time talking about upcoming products and the fine art of getting great tone.
Thanks to John Vitale (our Artist Relations Director) coming through at the last minute, we spent Tuesday evening listening to the Allman Brothers at the PNC Arts Center. This is an open-air pavilion and a great place to hear music. We nestled into our fifth row (center) seats just in time to hear the first tune. John also scored us after-show passes, but we had to leave before the end of the show in order to get to the hotel before midnight. Ten minutes after hitting the door, I was fast asleep; guess I didn't have enough caffeine today.
Wednesday was the big day. We grabbed doughnuts and coffee at the local Dunkin' Donuts and headed for Music123's sales location. (Their warehousing and distribution is in Indiana.) After making friends over caffeine and sugar (good breakfast!), we split the sales team into groups that would fit into the conference room. I had about an hour with each group, training two groups before lunch (pizza for everyone!) and another three after.
This was the most difficult training to date, as these folks all sell by phone. They aren't face to face with the customer, and can't demonstrate the amps like most salespeople can. This required a significant departure from our normal training. One thing that everyone seemed to like was the ability to go to our website for information.
The staff at Music123.
Our last stop was to meet with Don, who will be opening a store in Marlton, NJ in October. Don's committed to providing upper-level gear and service and plans to offer nothing but Eden amps. If you're in his area, make sure to check him out when he opens, as he placed an order for about $20,000 of bass gear! We made plans for me to return in early October to have a good, long training session with his new crew.
By the way, if you're an Eden player and would be interested in a sales gig, you need to talk to Don. He's looking for someone to run his bass department. Email me and I'll hook you up.
Due to transpiration problems, I barely missed my flight home. And thanks to the long line at the ticket counter, I almost missed the next one, too! Thankfully, I got on board with about a minute to spare, arriving at O'Hare with just enough time to sprint to my connection home.
All in all, this was a great trip. Everyone we visited was very enthusiastic about Eden and Nemesis products and were very attentive to the training. Randy took great care of me, and I got to see the Allman Brothers again. Now, if I can just get my laptop fixed so I can do some things during my downtime, I'll be running on all cylinders.
Week of May 25, 2005:
After a training session at Rubino's Music, David, Lane and DSM Bill Rowe take time out to pose with an authographed ceiling tile. The tile was then placed in the Bass section of the store, just above the Eden display. For more than a decade, Rubino's has gathered autographs from local and national celebrities, giving their ceiling a unique character. Store owner (and WP100 Navigator user) Jim Rubino didn't want to pass up the chance to add the Eden crew's names to their list of visiting luminaires.
Shown left to right are Barry (sales), Jim Rubino (owner), David, Lenny (sales manager), Bill and Lane.
Week of May 4, 2005:
We are pleased to announce that Eden has recently begun our new Dealer Training Program. Founder and head of Research & Development David Nordschow and Special Projects Coordinator Lane Baldwin gave the first two sessions to stores in central Illinois on April 28, 2005.
The program, which was put together over the last few months, provides dealers with in-depth product information, as well as tips on how to help their customers choose the bass rig that's right for them. By late summer, we will implement an Eden Salesperson Certification Program to acknowledge those who demonstrate their knowledge of Eden gear.
Shown left to right, Lane Baldwin (Special Projects Coordinator), David Nordschow (Founder and head of R&D) and Chris Marr (District Sales Manager) at the first presentation of Eden's new Dealer Training Program.