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Don’t miss out on your next big seller! Join Frank Alkyer, publisher of Music Inc. and UpBeat Daily magazines, and a panel of music retail gear experts for this fast-moving Breakfast Session. They’ve scoured the far corners of the exhibit floor, and in 60 minutes, they’ll reveal their top picks from the 2016 NAMM Show. These products, services and technologies are sure to make an impact in the new year—and in your business. Discover what you need to check out before you leave Anaheim. 2016 Best in Show Winners Add-ons or Accessories NYXL Bass Strings, D’Addario, Booth 4834 Upper R

Most companies have tons of creative buzz and big ideas. So why do some get game-changing results while others miss the mark? The answer: Successful companies have a process for turning creativity into action. In this NAMM U Breakfast Session, tech entrepreneur, New York Times best-selling author and jazz guitarist Josh Linkner discusses innovation in a way you’ve never heard before. In 60 minutes, Linkner delivers practical tools that can be used immediately at your business—tools that can expand creative output and increase the bottom line. Discover how to apply best practices f

You know who your tough customers are—they knock you down, beat you up and leave without buying. They seek out the cheapest price online, then come to you to haggle. Here, Music Trades Magazine columnist and sales guru Bob Popyk discusses ways you might not have thought of to get them to buy, make them regular customers and save your sanity—all at the same time. * PowerPoint not available for this session

Want practical ideas to improve your YouTube channel and video marketing? Jen Lowe of Boom Boom Percussion moderated this exciting panel discussion with three YouTube and video marketing experts: Ben Werlin of MusicStoreLive, Nick Gordon of D’Addario and Michael Zapanta of MZFilms.tv. Get a 360-degree look at how to tell your company’s story using video, how to turn that story into sales on YouTube and how to use analytics to get better results on an ongoing basis. * PowerPoint not available for this session  

At 2015 Summer NAMM, Donovan Bankhead of Springfield Music hosted a motivating session on one of the best ways to drive traffic to your store: events. It featured a panel of retailers from the Independent Music Store Owners (iMSO) group: Gordon Wilcher of Owensboro Music Center, Don Tegeler of Tegeler Music Center, Allen McBroom of Backstage Music and Jim DeStafney of Blues Angel Music. Each iMSO member discussed his most successful store event to inspire fellow music retailers to get creative and plan events at their stores. Here are five signature events and proven strategies fr

In 90 seconds, Myrna Sislen of Middle C Music shares her big idea: Generate interest in new products by creating "unboxing" promotional videos. She films these offbeat videos of new products being unpacked, then posts the videos to YouTube, her website and company e-blasts. "It's new and a little bit different, and that's the direction we want to go," Sislen says.

Several months ago, I’d never made a cold call in my life. I shuddered at the thought of calling someone I didn’t know and asking for money or donations. Making my first call, I began dialing and stopped before I got to the last digit. I’d put a script together and been talking to myself in the car for days getting ready for this, but I still hesitated. If it weren’t for Mason Music, my retail business that I cared so much about, I might have never finished dialing the number—and opened the door to a world of sponsorship opportunities. 1. Getting started. Corporate sponsorships ar

At 2015 Summer NAMM, Will Thompson of Habitual Social revealed why he believes Instagram is the music retailer’s best way to acquire new fans and customers—and at the lowest price. Thompson, a digital marketing and media CEO in the music industry, shared how he used Instagram to build “Pensado’s Place” into a leading pro audio engineering online show with more than 100,000 subscribers. Here are more highlights from the session video: Why Instagram? Thompson advised music retailers to be deliberate about bringing Facebook users to Instagram by inviting them to follow you. He stated

There’s nothing more important to you than family. However, your family owned business supports your family, so when it comes to protecting both of them, you need to consider your moves carefully. Running a business presents tons of challenges, but passing a family business on to your children or other relatives can be even tougher. According to the Small Business Administration, only 33 percent of family owned businesses survive the transition from first-generation ownership to the next generation. Why is it so hard to keep a family business intact? Sometimes, it’s because no one

Of all the digital marketing tools, email is the most powerful—so said marketing and sales guru Bob Negen of WhizBang! Training at 2015 Summer NAMM. During his NAMM U session, he pointed out that social media works, but email is still the best way for music retailers to market their businesses. “It gives you the biggest bang for your buck,” Negen said. He then offered tips and approaches to make the most of your email campaigns. (Watch the video to hear all of Negen’s insights into maximizing your email marketing.) MAKE EMAIL MARKETING A FOCUSYou own the relationship. With Faceboo

At 2015 Summer NAMM, Larry Bailin hosted the NAMM U Breakfast Session “No More Average Marketing—How to Cut Through the Noise.” During the session, Bailin, a sales and marketing expert, gave the show’s exhibitors some tough love about their approach to greeting attendees. Bailin explained that he’d walked the exhibit floor on the first day of Summer NAMM. He turned his badge around, so no one could see if he was a buyer or not. “And I walked up every single aisle,” he said. “I walked past every single exhibitor—every one—purposefully, and no one said anything to me. No one said, ‘

Online marketing is a jungle that can ravage budgets in the blink of an eye. It’s never been more critical for music businesses to know what connects with customers, and what doesn’t. In this NAMM U Breakfast Session at 2015 Summer NAMM, Larry Bailin showed what it takes to succeed online and get more customers for less money. Bailin—who Yahoo’s marketing team called “one of the top minds in the business”—is an Internet marketing pioneer, best-selling author and digital pacesetter. He showed what it takes to cut through the noise online, identify the difference between opportunity