 APRO: The Official Voice of the Rent to Own Industry
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APRO's Exclusive Rent-to-own Audio and Podcasts
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Rent to own Audio & Podcasts: Dan Cole, National Rent To Own
Dan Cole, National Rent To Own
Dan Cole is an MRDA Board Member and its political action committee chairman who opened his first National Rent To Own -- now a 33-store chain located mostly in metropolitan St. Louis -- in 1984. MRDA's decision to incorporate a training program into its annual Heartland of America Tradeshow is one that will serve both vendors and the store managers who attend the show. On Capitol Hill, Cole will again head to Washington, D.C. for the APRO Legislative Conference to educate a new Congress about the rent-to-own transaction and put a personal face on the industry. He said dealers have to frame the rent-to-own transaction very carefully. "Once we've had a chance to sit down and explain to them (Congress members) what our program is all about, we turn every single one of them," Cole said. "Absent that, if we don't frame what we do, we leave it open to the consumer groups to misrepresent us. So we've been very successful teaching people how we operate." A healthy PAC fund is critical Cole said, for state associations and for building political relationships. "The purpose of it really is it provides a conduit for us to meet with our legislators at the state level," Cole said. "They need money and it doesn't buy influence but it does buy access for us to be able to go in and talk to these people. It keeps our name in front of people and it's allowed us to make a lot of friends and keep them at the state level." In the midst of an economic downturn, Cole said it's important to stick to the basics and to keep the customer first. "One of the things we've got to keep in mind in the rent-to-own industry is our integrity and to make sure we are always doing the right thing by our customers," he said. "We try to keep our feet firmly on the ground and that's worked well for our company." | ||||
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2012 APRO Dave Egan
Legislative Conference
April 17-19, Washington, D.C.
Mark your calendars!
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RTOHQ: The Magazine
RTOHQ: The Magazine is the Association of Progressive Rental Organizations' award-winning rent-to-own industry magazine, and it's available here. | |||
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CLICK HERE FOR OUR DIGITAL RTOHQ: THE MAGAZINE
RTOHQ: The Magazine’s upgraded digital format APRO's new, mobile-ready magazine is now available in addition to our print edition. The digital format provides the same informative content as our printed magazine, but also offers tools to make the reading experience more enriching. Access the table of contents page with one click or tap. Get additional information from advertisers by clicking on the links in their ads. The interface is easy to navigate and requires no special app—read our magazine on your computer, digital table or smartphone. Click here to access the digital version of RTOHQ: The Magazine November-December 2011.
Marketing Matters This year marks the launch of a marketing campaign initiated by APRO to build the rent-to-own customer base. It will be a multi-year endeavor employing multiple strategies. In this and upcoming issues of our magazine, we will address the many facets of marketing that affect our industry.
Striving for an A with the BBB by William E. Freeland Consumers often refer to the Better Business Bureau's ratings to help them make rental and purchasing decisions. National Rent-to-Own's human resource manager outlines the steps every RTO company should pursue to help earn an A+ from the BBB.
Creating an Extraordinary Customer Experience by Bill Keese Apple does it. Southwest Airlines does it. Can the rent-to-own industry also garner a national reputation for exceptional service and, in the process, attract new customers?
BB and BBQ on Beale Street Memphis' reputation for tremendous food, groundbreaking music and Southern charm is well deserved. It's not too early to start planning your trip there next July for APRO's 2012 Rent-to-Own Convention and Trade Show.
Card Talk by Ed Winn III Credit and debit card payments are on the rise in rent-to-own. So are the risks in keeping such transactions secure.
Rent-to-Own Families, Part VI by Kristen Card No, you're not seeing double, or are you? Our latest profiles of kindred colleagues include two sets of twins-the Botkins and the Kimbles. And in Kansas, a son and daughter help their dad keep business running Strong.
Future issues of APRO's magazine will be available in this same new format. Click here to access past issues that are not yet archived in the new interface.
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Association of Progressive Rental Organizations 1504 Robin Hood Trail Austin, Texas 78703 800/204-2776, ext. 103 Fax 512/794-0097 |