Bob Negen
Bob Negen, founder of Mackinaw Kite Co., will bring a sense of fun and adventure to your audience. His "make it fun, but get it done" attitude has given Bob an expert edge, not only in marketing, but also in practical, proven customer service practices, solid, common sense employee management, super efficient operations and focusing the entrepreneurial spirit. Bob discovered his ...
Topics:
- Advertising /
- Growth /
- Marketing /
- Retail /
- Small Business
Bob Negen, founder of Mackinaw Kite Co., will bring a sense of fun and adventure to your audience. His "make it fun, but get it done" attitude has given Bob an expert edge, not only in marketing, but also in practical, proven customer service practices, solid, common sense employee management, super efficient operations and focusing the entrepreneurial spirit.
Bob discovered his entrepreneurial spirit at the age of twenty-three and opened one of the world's first kite stores. In a business where having fun was a job requirement, Bob demonstrated to the world that having fun has no age barrier. He helped change the public's perception of the kite from a child's toy to an "eco-friendly" hobby for families and people of all ages.
The Mackinaw Kite Co., a chain of specialty toy and kite stores, was founded in 1981. In only twenty years, Bob grew his company from $17,000 to over $3 million in annual sales. In 1998, the company was named "Retailer of the Year" by the Kite Trade Association.
A natural marketer, Bob constantly created many successful promotions. His favorite, The Great Lakes Sports Kite Championships, is one of the largest, most prestigious kite events in the world. It is held annually in Grand Haven, Michigan, where in 2005, it was held as a benefit for The Children's Leukemia Foundation.
Bob was also instrumental in helping create a nation wide yo-yo boom. He employed eight full-time yo-yo professionals to perform in schools, malls, nationally broad cast parades, professional sporting events and other large entertainment venues. His company opened over a dozen "Yo-Yo Universe" kiosks in shopping malls and hired and trained over one hundred fifty employees. Using his unique training system, he was able to sell over $2 million dollars worth of yo-yos in a little over six months.
His yo-yo adventure forced Bob to boil down twenty years of hard-earned experience about life as an entrepreneur into a fun, but no-nonsense, only-if-it-works outlook on business.
Bob will bring the same sense of fun and adventure to your audience that he brought to the toy business. In Bob you have a real business person whose knowledge, skill and passion come from the trenches of small business. His credibility and audience connection come from shared experience. When Bob tells an audience that something will work, it will. He speaks from experience.
Small Business
A WhizBang! Guide To Practical Policies And Procedures
One of our favorite sayings is, "If it ain't written, it ain't real." Here's the skinny on how to write practical policies and procedures that help your operation, not hinder it.
Coach 'Em To Keep 'Em
Coaching your staff is probably the best way of increasing sales, improving employee satisfaction, and lowing turnover. Learn how to tweak, fine-tune, and constantly monitor their skills and performance.
E-Mail Marketing...Easier, Cheaper, Faster, Better
Ride the technology wave; it's the wave if the future. This workshop is packed with tips, tricks, strategies, rules of the road, and ideas for using e-mail as a super effective, incredibly inexpensive marketing tool.
Great Selling Is Great Customer Service
Selling is not a dirty word. If you're doing it right, selling is nothing more and nothing less than providing top-notch customer service.
How To Develop A WhizBang! Staff
Building an exceptional staff is the fastest and most efficient way to increase sales and improve customer service. We show the five steps you need to know.
How To Get The Maximum Bang! From Your Marketing Bucks
You can explode the effectiveness of your marketing budget by using the techniques and concepts outlined in this nuts and bolts seminar. Bob shares his favorite marketing tips, tricks, and tactics.
Mining Diamonds In Your Own Backyard
Learn how to get the absolute most from every one of your current customers - by "Mining The Diamonds In Your Own Backyard". This is the core of our marketing philosophy and OUR MOST POPULAR WORKSHOP.
Moving From Survive To Thrive
Dunn and Bradstreet recently did a study and determined that "90% of small businesses that fail do so because of a lack of skills and knowledge on the part of the owner." Get Bob's take on how to avoid this all too common fate.
Plan For Success - Five Steps To Building A Better Business
Super successful companies are the product of rock-solid planning. Here are five steps for planning the foundation of your successful business.
Snorkeling In The Labor Pool
How To Look Below The Surface And Hire Great People. The "hire and hope" method just doesn't cut it! Learn the simple interview techniques that let you look below the surface and discover if your candidate has the right stuff for your job.
WhizBang! Customer Service - For Frontline Employees
This fun, interactive workshop focuses on practical, proven customer service strategies that can be brought back to your business and used immediately. The focus is not on theory, but on easy to understand strategies, tips and tricks.
WhizBang! Customer Service - For Owners and Managers
Great customer service is not an accident. This workshop gives you the tools you need to develop a culture of outstanding service. Your customers deserve it!
Why Don't They Do What I Want Them To Do?
There are three reasons people don't do what they are asked to do. This workshop will help you understand these reasons and teach you tips and tricks to enjoy better communication, higher productivity, lower turnover, and higher staff morale.
Retail Success Programs
Built To Last - The Ten Building Blocks Of Long Term Retail Success
Many retail business struggle because they do not execute in one or several of ten critical areas of retail operations. Understanding all ten of these building blocks and how they are connected is essential to long-term success.
Great Selling Is Great Customer Service! Selling Skills For The Retail Floor
Selling is not a dirty word. If you're doing it right, selling is nothing more and nothing less than providing top-notch customer service.
How To Create A Store That Runs Great From Top To Bottom - Even When You Are Not
Are you shackled to your store? There is nothing more frustrating than being at home or on vacation and wondering if the job is being done right (or at all). There are tried and true methods for getting your store to run like a well-oiled machine and keep it running that way.
How To Plan An Exciting Merchandise Assortment Your Customers Will Love
Building a merchandise assortment plan is like creating a blueprint for your store, yet most people skip this critical first step when buying merchandise. It's very simple - a better merchandise assortment equals better sales, higher margins, fewer markdowns, and HIGHER PROFITS.
Twenty Great Promotions For Under One Hundred Dollars
Everything you need to plan, execute, and review twenty great promotions all in one workshop. Get ready to jump start your brain, have FUN, and reap the profits.
