RTOHQ: The Magazine, Summer 2018

20 RTOHQ The Magazine Shifting the Paradigm But perhaps the most important benefit to in store visits is the firsthand experience and education elected officials acquire by visiting your store Too often officials knowledge about the industry is limited to what they as well as the public hear and those perceptions are too often based on misconceptions When they can visit your store shake the hands of employees and customers hear the stories of how your store impacts the community and learn firsthand about the details of the rental transaction they become an ally to your business and an advocate for the industry Many rental dealers have had success with in store visits for years forging strong relationships that have protected the overall industry by extension and shifted the paradigm from a negative to a positive Here are a few examples of those stories ABC Rentals Jim Brown Wichita Kansas For APRO founding member and ABC Rental Owner Jim Brown relationships with elected officials have been a regular part of business for 40 years The rent to own dealer from Wichita Kansas has been inviting local state and U S officials to his store and attending events and meetings with them since the 1970s As a result Brown has garnered relationships that have lasted as long as his business Its always been important to me to stay involved in our community and to maintain strong relationships with our elected officials says Brown Thats what theyre there for When we run into of the rental transaction and how you serve your community you can create an ally for your business and for the rent to own industry while improving your bottom line in the process Grassroots advocacy has worked for the rental industry for decades and one of the most personal educational and effective methods of establishing meaningful relationships with public officials is to invite them to visit your store Free Advertising for Both You and Them When you Google senator visits small business one example that comes up is an article released by local television station WWMT Debbie Stabenow visited more than 70 small businesses in 2017 and said small businesses account for 18 million employees in Michigan about half of Michigans workforce Another hit was a video of Texas Senator Ted Cruz wearing a hard hat at a small factory in Amarillo Texas There are many many stories and videos of politicians wearing hard hats ironically if you Google politicians wearing hard hats youll find a link from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration OSHA stating Hard hats are not required where there is no exposure to head injuries A few google hits down Maryland Senator Ben Cardin visited Flying Dog Brewery in June 2017 and made the boastful declaration that he drinks more craft beer than anyone else in the Senate There are 13 million hits on the search senator visits small business the smaller of the two chambers of Congress Now think about how much money you spend on marketing and advertising and how much it would cost to get the kind of widespread exposure these visits generate The coverage number of readers number of site views is priceless Case in point many of you considered the stories mentioned and are now planning to try a Doggie Style Pale Ale from Flying Dog Brewery whereas 5 minutes ago you probably had never heard of them The benefit to public officials is just as powerful Without having to spend precious contribution dollars they reach an invaluable audience and show their constituents that they care about the local businesses they represent Photo opportunities such as kissing babies rolled up sleeves shaking the hands of workers ceremoniously operating machinery in factories goes farther than a paid advertisement its showing a real connection to the community they serve and best of all its free They will not forget the opportunity you afforded them and will be more likely to back you when you need it ABC Jim Brown hosted U S Representative Mike Pompeo Its our job to invite and educate them about our business and our transaction so that when a problem arises you dont have to sell them on what we do They are familiar with us and they are on our side