WASHINGTON-The National Tire Dealers & Retreaders Association's 75th Anniversary convention, Oct. 12-14 in New Orleans, will celebrate the industry's successes as well as provide dealers with opportunities to improve their businesses. Barry Gibbons, who led Burger King's turnaround and was crowned one of Fortune Magazine's 1990 ``New Turnaround Champs,'' will be the featured speaker at the convention's opening session, Oct. 12.
Beginning Friday, Oct. 13, the NTDRA has scheduled a number of educational seminars geared toward helping dealers manage more profitable businesses. They will cover:
Qualifying Buyers: Value Added Selling-Designed to help retailers increase sales of passenger and light truck tires by addressing shoppers' wants, needs and buying motivations.
How to Effectively Turn Receivables into Cash-Designed to help commercial dealers improve cash flow and establish and implement an effective collection policy.
Turning Incoming Calls into Tire Sales and Using the Telephone to Build Rapport with Your Customers-The ``Telephone Doctor'' returns with ways to handle incoming calls and build store traffic.
How Your Business Can Prosper in the Shadow of the Retail Giants-Features 10 survival strategies for effective competition against mass merchandisers.
Seven Steps to Fiscal Fitness-Designed to help small-to medium-sized dealerships avoid common business failures while providing an overview of cost-volume-profit relationships, cash-flow planning, growth financing and control, dealing with banks, errors of omission and estate planning.
Hiring the Right People: Part I-Recruiting-Details how to create a strategic recruitment plan and attract qualified candidates.
Hiring the Right People: Part II-Interviewing and Hiring-How to develop a pleasant, controlled interview, create probing questions, avoid problem questions, take notes and analyze the information you collected.
How to Win the Ad War-Designed to help small- and medium-sized dealerships prepare an ad budget, negotiate value-added media partnerships, take advantage of co-op programs, track ads and produce more effective ads.
Motivation, Goal Setting & Performance Evaluation-Designed to help managers of small-and medium-sized tire store develop management skills that achieve a competitive edge.
OSHA (Occupational Safety & Health Administration) Compliance-Explains how to meet OSHA work site safety, employee training and record-keeping requirements.
The NTDRA also will induct 12 industry leaders, including five association ``founding pioneers,'' into the Tire Industry Hall of Fame during the Hall of Fame Luncheon, Thursday, Oct. 12.
The inductees are: Tom B. Babcox, former president of Babcox Communications, which publishes Tire Review; G.F. ``Sam'' Bauer, founder of Bauer Built Inc.; Ivan W. Gorr, former chairman of Cooper Tire & Rubber Co.; Andre and Edouard Michelin, co-founders of Groupe Michelin; Charles J. Pilliod Jr., former Goodyear chairman; and Keith Rowbotham, former Northwest Tire Dealers Association executive director.
Members of the ``founding pioneers'' group are: Thomas F. Whitehead of Whitehead Brothers, Chicago, the NTDRA's first president; R.F. Valentine, Valentine Rubber & Supply, Cleveland, the NTDRA's second president; Henry Stenzel, Milwaukee Tire & Supply Co., Milwaukee, NTDRA treasurer, 1920-21; Ashby L. Leeth, Leeth Brothers, Washington, D.C., NTDRA treasurer 1942-65; and Jerry Shaw, editor of Tires magazine, 1919-54.
The Tire Industry Reunion Reception will be held prior to the convention dinner, Oct. 12. Retired General Norman Schwarzkopf, commander-in-chief of operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm, will be the dinner speaker.
For the sixth year, Cooper Tire & Rubber Co. will present a new Pontiac to an NTDRA member at the Breakfast with the President.