Wi12: Booksellers’ Expertise Sought on Session Topics

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As development continues on educational programming for Winter Institute 12 (Wi12), the American Booksellers Association is looking for member feedback and insight regarding the event’s sessions and panels. A partial list of potential sessions for the January 27–30, 2017, institute is listed below. Booksellers who have relevant expertise related to the sessions are asked to share their knowledge with ABA: for ABC session topics, contact ABC Children’ s Group Manager Matthew Zoni; for all other session topics, contact Education Manager Lisa Winn.

Many thanks in advance, and see you in Minneapolis!

ABC

ABC Presents: Using Nielsen Data to Expand Nonfiction Sales
Building upon findings in a recent Nielsen Book study that showed a significant rise in sales of active nonfiction for children and the potential for even greater growth, booksellers who have successfully increased their nonfiction business will discuss the keys to broadening their inventory and maintaining a diverse selection to complement the subjects driving interest in this category.

ABC Presents: Starting a Teen Book Festival
A book festival can be an ideal vehicle to promote reading and literacy in your community. Booksellers intimately involved in festivals around the country will explain how to get started with your own children’ s or teen festival, including working in partnership with other local businesses and organizations, attracting authors and publicists, and garnering media attention.

ABC Presents: Successfully Merchandising and Selling Graphic Novels
With graphic novels rapidly expanding as a category and continuing to mature as an art form, stores may struggle to determine which books to carry and how to display them, as well as how to handle resistance from skeptical parents and educators. Panelists will discuss the issues surrounding this growing segment, from essential titles and effective organizing ideas to successful handselling and the value of graphic novels in fostering reading.

Bookselling 101

Bookselling 101: Working With Publisher Reps
Creating and nurturing relationships with publisher representatives is key to building a thriving business. Panelists in this session will provide an overview of how publisher reps work with independent bookstores as well as steps booksellers can take to capitalize on and grow these relationships.

Bookselling 101: Basic Sales Techniques — How to Engage the Customer
Being an insightful reader and a book lover is just part of working in a bookstore. While it is great to introduce someone to their next great read, a bookseller’s  business goal is to actually sell the book. How do you move from book insight to book sales? In this session, bookselling pros will provide strategies and tips for making the sale and attendees will have an opportunity to practice their newly acquired skills!

Bookselling 101: Writing Effective Blurbs
Handselling a book through an effective blurb is an essential bookselling skill, whether it’ s for the Indie Next List, shelf-talkers, or other opportunities in-store, online, or elsewhere. A panel of bookseller blurb-writing all-stars will discuss the key elements of effective blurbs and direct attendees in hands-on exercises for writing and reviewing blurbs.

Finance

Budgeting for Cash Flow for Small Stores
Scaled for the smaller store, this session on budgeting for cash flow will give booksellers the tools they need to create a cash flow budget in order to access cash for various expenses, such as testing a new sideline or covering the cost of an event. Tips and best practices will also be provided.

Securing Capital
While securing capital for a small business is never easy, there are new avenues available. In this session, a national advocacy organization focused on solving some of the biggest problems facing entrepreneurs will join with indie booksellers to review a range of options, from SBA loans to community lending, as well as offer insights and successful strategies for accessing needed business capital.

Marketing

Creating and Managing Your Store Brand
Creating and committing to your brand reassures your customers, vendors, and others with whom your store does business. It also sets you apart and provides distinction for your store in the local community and among your bookselling and publishing colleagues. An expert in store branding and an accomplished bookseller will review and discuss the finer points of creating and managing your store brand.

Crafting a Persuasive “Elevator Speech”
Do you have a five-minute “elevator pitch” to promote your store to publishers, the media, or members of your local community? If not, this is your chance to see four concise and outstanding presentations, and to learn how to create or improve your own elevator pitch.

Technology

Ignite — Top Tech Tools for Booksellers
Four booksellers will each give an Ignite-style presentation on one or two tech tools that have made a difference in their day-to-day business life. Come and experience the Ignite format, in which presenters are given five minutes to tell their tech tool story with 20 slides that automatically advance every 15 seconds. The result is a concise and engaging presentation that will leave you with new resources you can use as soon as you return to your store.

Events

Take Your Show on the Road: Managing Large-Scale Events
Managing large-scale, off-site events takes a lot of planning. With concerns ranging from securing a location to event team logistics, pulling together a large-scale event can quickly overwhelm even the most seasoned event planner. Spend this hour with colleagues from bookstores that regularly produce large-scale off-site events for insights and tips on how to manage a successful event of your own.

Operations

Time Management for Small Stores
The overall management responsibilities of running a small store can feel overwhelming, especially for owners with part-time staff and increasingly busy days. Effective delegation and consistent employee training can seem impossible. This session, led by a time-management expert familiar with small businesses, will offer tips and ideas for better managing daily operations.

Training Your Staff as Backlist Experts
Backlist titles are the core of your inventory, but these titles may not always be front-of-mind when booksellers are faced with a customer who is looking for something to read. This session will offer tips and tactics for ensuring booksellers are armed with great backlist title ideas and provide training procedures that put the focus on handselling backlist as well as frontlist titles.

Working With Small & University Presses
Working to provide readers and book buyers with the widest possible range of authors’ voices and viewpoints is at the heart of what independent bookstore and small and university presses do every day. This session will look at ways retailers and publishers can work together more effectively and how they can capitalize and strengthen their long-term relationships.