Rent-to-own News - Product training, networking highlight RTO Expo

L TO R: Mark Griffith, Brooke Smith and Lee Fink with Countryside Rent-2-Own at a product demonstration by Bob Brandlin of SilkoRadio.

Over 150 rent-to-own dealers packed training rooms Wednesday to get up to speed on the latest product innovations in electronics, appliances, computers and furniture at the sixth annual Midwest RTO Expo at the Concourse Conference Center in Columbus, Ohio.

Ohio Rental Dealers Association President Scott Kinnear welcomed attendees to the association's event Wedesday morning alongside ORDA Secretary Tony Craig who unveiled a new division of his company Right Choice Today.

The new company -- called RCTI Business Resources -- will serve as part consultant, part matchmaker in helping companies initiate successful relationships with various service providers ranging from financial services to marketing to voice HR management.

"We are a service provider but we also offer client evaluations in order to help clients both make more money and save more money," Craig said. "What we will do right away is connect our clients to one of our affiliated service providers."

See exclusive APRO photo gallery of the event here.

Today the new company has 17 service providers and counting including Company Cake, Bluephone, Vontoo Voice Marketing and Gohrs Creative.

Though competing company meetings kept dealer attendance down from the record breaking numbers seen here last year, Kinnear was upbeat about the turnout. More vendors -- 56 -- actually turned out than last year and the Expo, he said, has established a proven niche in the annual RTO Tradeshow schedule.

"One of the key things about this show is, unlike the bigger shows where there is so much to do and something going on every minute, is our people get to spend time and actually get excited about the products without getting distracted," Kinnear said. "They carry that excitement into the stores and it lasts for weeks."

After lunch guest speaker Kordell Norton closed out the show with a a talk entitled: "Say less...sell more."

Greg Morgan, a regional manager for Bainbridge, Ohio-based Countryside Rent-2-Own agreed the face to face training with vendors on new products has a profound impact in the stores well after the close of the Expo.

"Our salespeople get more 'wow' out of the products and they bring that back into the stores," Morgan said. "They come back with all kinds of great merchandising ideas for the show floor. This show really has that advantage of giving our people a jumpstart for the busiest time of the year."

See full photo gallery of the 2009 Midwest RTO Expo here.