 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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APRO's 2010 Legislative
Conference!
We would like to
thank our attendees for a great success! 
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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 the links below to download each article as a PDF
Complete issue of RTOHQ: The Magazine | January-February 2010
The Year of the Tiger According to Chinese astrology, the Year of the Tiger begins in February 2010. Tiger John Cleek is making the most of it as he winds down his two-year term as APRO’s president. He reflects on personal and industry-wide accomplishments and the love of family that sustains him.
In the 30-year history of the Association of Progressive Rental Organizations, 17 rental dealers have served as president. To mark APRO’s special anniversary, 15 of these leaders share their experiences in helping to shape the rent-to-own industry.
The Keep Rate Conundrum Calculating keep rate does not seem to improve the rent-to-own business in any discernible way—and yet this calculation, beyond all the others, has had enormous legal and political implications for rent-to-own almost since its inception.
Vendor Spotlight: What's in a Name? These three departed rent-to-own vendors--Joe Eason, Tom Kitchens and Norm Smith--live on, their names indelibly linked to key industry events and honors.
See the current issue of RTOHQ: The Magazine... [PDF format] [HTML format]
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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 |