See links to replays of live streaming video from RentDirect below.

photo RTO Online

Ed Kelly, President of Nationwide Marketing Group at the just wrapped PrimeTime! Buying Show in Dallas, Texas.

The semi-annual RentDirect Nationwide PrimeTime! Vendor Exhibition and Buying Show came to a close in Dallas, counting billions of dollars in orders, millions of dollars in Cash Back Now rebates, 180,000 square feet of merchandise, 260 rental dealers and 15 live streaming internet video interviews.

Dealers and vendors alike were heavy on praise for the show, which for the first time combined Member2Member rental-specific presentations into the existing two-day show agenda. In a unique 'rental huddle' break out session held Tuesday morning, dealers brainstormed ways to overcome the most pressing issues facing their companies. The issues discussed included:

-Growing Sales
-Increasing Other Revenues
-Management Compensation
-Retaining Employees
-What to do with a Problem Store
-Loss Prevention
-Customer Service
-Product Knowledge Training
-How to Hold Effective Store Meetings
-Proper Deliveries
-Depreciation of Inventory
-Improving Exterior Appearance of Store

The 'rental huddle' session was followed by a presentation from Pete Luckett, the entertaining and successful Canadian grocery store sensation. While at first glance Luckett's industry would seem to have little in common with the rental business, his presentation was eye-opening for dealers who share his desire to cultivate incredible 'customer experiences'.

According to Luckett, by micro-analyzing your customers and learning what they really want you are able to create memorable experiences that will turn local customers into advocates for your business who can even become evangelists for your rental store brand.

Luckett encouraged the dealers to create excitement everyday in their stores, and explained that in order to succeed “You've got to be first, better, or different.” He also urged the audience to embrace change, and admitted that it gets harder to see the need for change as we get older.

“You can judge your age by the amount of pain you feel when you come in contact with a new idea,” said Luckett.

Once Luckett's presentation ended, the RentDirect Nationwide Buying Show opened and rental dealers worked the floor for a second day. Vendors said this may have been the strongest rental industry show to date. According to Denis Rosen of Florida State Games, his company opened between 15 and 20 new rental accounts. Rosen held a drawing for a PS3 system and in the process gathered enough business cards to completely fill his briefcase before leaving the show. In just two days, Dan Jobrack of DATATrue closed deals for between 300 and 400 stores to use his company's customer verification system.

Dealers were pleased with the variety of vendors in attendance, and they also appreciated the extra time and booth space RentDirect used to explain the wide variety of program services available exclusively to rental members.

RTO Online streamed 15 live video interviews from the show floor, giving vendors, dealers and RentDirect Nationwide staff the opportunity to discuss the events of the past few days and also to provide viewers with some insight into their companies and/or their products.

William McCrae, President of Buzz's Lease-Purchase & Sales
McCrae tells how he came back to the rental industry, eventually growing into a seven-store chain in Texas after spending the late 80's operating a rental franchise and later owning a hearing-aid business

Hugh Connelly, President of RTOFunding.com
Connelly shares his impressions of the industry after attending his first-ever RentDirect Nationwide gathering and makes a strong case for his company's financial commitment to help rental dealers get the capital they need to grow

Kevin Wolfe, West Coast Sales Manager for Coaster Furniture Company
Wolfe explains the latest furniture trends as interpreted by Coaster's design team for rental dealers looking to stay current on the newest best-sellers such as casual dining and home entertainment wall units (yes, they're back, and flat panel TV's make them better than ever!)

Vicky Hale, Executive Director of TARA (Texas Association of Rental Agencies)
Hale talks about the Texas State Rental Association's decision to free up dealers' spring calendars by moving their group's annual meeting to later in the year

Tony Craig, President of Measuring Up!
Craig explains the logic behind the process of measuring your company's positive and negative word-of-mouth by tracking customer satisfaction through the use of a Net Promoter Score, a surprising simple but critical process popularized by the book “The Ultimate Question”

Albert Turick of Nationwide Design Center / Amcase
Turick discusses Nationwide Design Center's latest fixture development, a television kiosk, that allows dealers to merchandise flat panel TV's anywhere in the store

More RentDirect video coming soon!

The next RentDirect Nationwide show is scheduled for August 17 – 20 at the Mandalay Bay Resort in Las Vegas.