NAMM News
By Luke Walton
Succeed in NAMM’s Top 100 Dealer Awards:
How to Create a Winning
Top 100 Entry
Note: Because COVID-19 has forced the cancellation of Summer
NAMM 2020, the Top 100 Dealer Awards will now be held at The
2021 NAMM Show. The submission deadline for the awards has been
extended to Oct. 2, 2020.
F
or 10 years, the Top 100 Dealer Awards has been recog-
nizing extraordinary business efforts in categories that
move music retailers forward. These awards celebrate the
broad activities our retail membership engages in each
and every day, creating musical experiences for their
communities and growing our shared industry.
As you know, marketing, community engagement, and custom-
er service all play a vital role in business. Through creativity and
innovation, leaders create unique value propositions, contributing to
business success. These efforts should be awarded and recognized; we
should lift up our innovators and celebrate what makes them tick.
And in the process, we can all grow a little bit ourselves. That is the
meaning behind the Top 100 Dealer Awards.
Mark Hebert, President and CEO of 2019 Dealer of the Year
Cosmo Music, put the concept well: “Something that I’ve learned
over the years is that it’s not really about me or my store; it’s about the
industry – to increase the amount of music makers, to be inspired,
and to grow our market.”
The entries for the Top 100 Dealer Awards are as unique as the
companies that submit them, but the nominees and winning dealers
tend to have some things in common: they know how to market
themselves and create a clear and compelling entry.
Here are five quick tips to help you do the same:
1. Decide What You Do Best
What’s different about your store? What are you most passionate
about? How do you engage your community? Browse the award cat-
egories for inspiration and craft your entry with these main questions
in mind.
2. Enter More Than One Category
Increase your odds by entering several Top 100 categories, but be sure
to look over their criteria. Last year, several terrific entries didn’t make
the cut because they either didn’t fit into the category they entered or
didn’t provide the correct information.
3. Be Clear & Concise
Make your entry stand out. Distill your submission down to the
essential points. Numbers, facts, and objective proof grab the judges’
attention and lend weight to your entry.
16 CANADIAN MUSIC TRADE
(L-R) Past NAMM Chairperson Robin Walenta, Cosmo Music’s Mark & April
Hebert & NAMM’s Joe Lamond at the Top 100 Dealer Awards at Summer
NAMM 2019, where Cosmo Music was named Dealer of the Year
4. Give Them the Bigger Picture
To help the judges get a better understanding of who you are and
what you’ve done, start by providing them with a little info about
your company and its background. Be specific. How have you
achieved your success?
5. Get Your Staff Involved
Brainstorm with your staff about which categories to enter and which
best practices to share. By involving your employees, they become
more invested in your store’s success. If you’re not a natural writer or
photographer, consider your team’s skill set. Do you have a creative
marketer who can write your entry or someone who’s good with
photography who can capture the images you need?
Bottom line, you’ll never win if you don’t enter! Be sure to enter
your store now.
Visit namm.org/top100 for more information and best practices.
Luke Walton is the marketing manager for the National Association of
Music Merchants (NAMM), the global not-for-profit trade association
representing 9,000 manufacturers and retailers of musical instruments
and sound products. NAMM’s mission is to strengthen the music products
industry and promote the pleasures and benefits of making music.