Industry News

Lousy “Ask Dave” t-shirt offer adds to central vac columnist’s fame

After an exhilarating few days February 21-24 in Las Vegas, it would seem that all the excitement of the VDTA show is over. But for Dave Schenk, OEM Product Manager for H-P Products and columnist for Central Vac Professional magazine, the excitement is just beginning: “We did something really different this year at VDTA. We introduced a t-shirt with my face on it, and the surprising thing is, it really went over well. I gave shirts to dealers from as far away as Australia and even got asked to autograph a few!”

The t-shirts were created to promote Schenk’s monthly “Ask Dave” column and encourage central vacuum dealers to submit questions for Dave and share photos. Schenk, who has been writing about central vacuum marketing, sales and installation for most of his 30+ year career in the industry, has been a good sport about having his image immortalized in cotton.

“We were looking for a way to reach out to the dealers, to encourage them to ask questions and chime in on the topics that we cover in ‘Ask Dave’ every month,” he said. “Someone suggested the ‘I asked Dave and all I got was this lousy t-shirt’ idea and it just stuck.”

The t-shirts, which feature the slogan and a whimsical illustration of Schenk, will be sent to every dealer who shares a question or display photo that gets used in the column. He is now calling for pictures of central vac showrooms, model home displays and home show displays for use in future articles. All dealers who submit questions, share photos or comments will receive one of the t-shirts, as well as recognition of his or her business in the column.

“For those who were able to come to the VDTA show, I hope you got a lot out of it, including a shirt!” said Schenk. “For those who didn’t make it, you missed an amazing show, but there’s still time to get a shirt!”

According to Schenk, it seemed as though everyone had a new product to introduce. One manufacturer brought a Drawer-Vac product. Another brought a bag sealing attachment for central vac. Yet another made a 50-foot vacuum hose disappear into a wall. Many OEM’s introduced power units that featured a new motor or state-of-the-art electronic information centers. Some also debuted new electric powerheads. A commercial OEM brought commercial blowers and separators. Several OEM’s and distributors even held cocktail receptions, complete with appetizers and refreshments, in their booths for current and potential dealers.

There also seemed to be plenty of educational opportunities at this year’s show, with offsite installation seminars, marketing seminars and service seminars going on regularly. Finally, Jack Sims, best-selling author and keynote speaker, shared his branding tactics and tips for success. Sims shared his knowledge and success in business and gave away 200 copies of his book on growing small businesses into big brands.

If you have questions, photos or tips for other dealers that you’d like to see addressed in a future column of “Ask Dave,” send them to Dave Schenk, H-P Products, Inc., 512 Gorgas St., Louisville, OH 44641; phone 1-330-875-5556; fax 1-330-875-7584; or e-mail dschenk@hpproducts.net.

For more information on H-P Products, Inc., visit www.centralvacheadquarters.com.

Reprinted from Central Vac Professional, April 2007