RTOHQ: The Magazine, Summer 2018

W E L C O M E J I L L M c C L U R E Welcome to Summer F or the rent to own industry summer means riding mowers air conditioners and lively customer appreciation events Summer means vacations for you for employees and for customers It also means were just weeks away from gathering with friends and peers at RTO World For me summer means traveling to see our APRO members Any time I can be with members face to face is time well spent So far this summer Ive been to Kentucky Missouri and Florida spending time with some of the leaders who make APRO strong Th e Heartland of America event with the Missouri Rental Dealers Association MRDA always draws a nice crowd of our members and associate members with a setting that cant be beat on the Lake of the Ozarks John Cleek Jr and Ken Steiner do a marvelous job of creating camaraderie and opportunity through their event In June I spent time with Florida members in Tampa see page 14 in APRO on the GO While in the Sunshine State I watched Jamie Slatton train one of his Buddys store employees on sales Th e takeaway with Jamie was all in how the customer feels Make them feel valued He stressed treating them with dignity and giving them a real retail experience Jamie warned against sitting them down with a clipboard full of paperwork that is more akin to the waiting room experience for a rectal exam at the doctors offi ce Jamie is funny and a born salesman and a friend to everyone he meets Th ose things can be a beautiful combination I had the pleasure of meeting his lovely mother Miss Lois who is a legend herself She told me stories of Slatts Jamies dad and one of the patriarchs of rent to own Her stories were delightful and they also told of the struggles they had in the early days My favorite part was hearing about Jamie as a schoolboy who charmed his teachers and had more friends than he could count Jamie has a gift for pulling people together and inspiring others Jamies sales approach is practicality paired with personal He knows how people want to be treated and does a great job teaching the nuances of human behavior and validation Having been solely a boon to Buddys were now fortunate hes agreed to share this training to all as part of the Store Managers track at RTO World See page 35 for the education session schedule While we are just weeks away from our fi rst RTO World plans for conventions begin months and even years in advance Im excited to report my trip to Kentucky was to visit their convention center and hotels in preparation for RTO World 2019 Were excited to announce the next convention will be held in Louisville the home of the Kentucky Derby Since APROs last convention there Louisville has seen a major transformation with its new Convention Center and updated hotels Plan now to attend August 6 8 2019 Hopefully youre already registered for 2018 s RTO World and well see you in a few weeks If you havent youve got a few more days to get the details and get registered for Rent to Owns biggest and best trade show and convention Flip through the following pages to read more about what we have in store for you and to read about a few of the people you are likely to see in person when you get to St Louis Jill McClure CAE APRO Executive Director jmcclure@ rtohq org facebook com jillmcclure cae 7 linkedin com in jillmcclure