NAMM Announces 2007 NAMM Show Professional Development Sessions Schedule

NAMM, the trade association of the international music products industry, today announced its schedule of NAMM University professional development sessions offered free to Members attending The 2007 NAMM Show, held Jan. 18, 2006 to Jan. 22, 2006, in Anaheim, Calif.

Included in the educational events are more of NAMM University’s Breakfast Sessions held each morning of the show, where top insiders discuss the opportunities and challenges currently facing the industry. The sessions will take place at the Hilton Anaheim Hotel at 8 a.m. Thursday through Sunday.

The Breakfast Sessions kickoff Thursday with "Breakfast of Champions—My Favorite Mistake," where Joe Lamond, president and CEO of NAMM, will welcome Henry Steinway, Steinway & Sons; Paul Reed Smith, PRS Guitars; Bob Taylor, Taylor Guitars; Bob and Andy Zildjian, Sabian; and Bill Everitt, Brook Mays to discuss their favorite mistake and what they learned from it. On Friday, Bill Hinely of Hinely Training and Development will moderate a panel of retailers from the Alliance of Independent Music Merchants at "The Big Issues: Profitability," where the components that support and strengthen the bottom line will be discussed. Saturday’s session, "Pretty Good for a Girl," will be a panel discussion about marketing music products effectively to female customers. And the grand finale on Sunday will give show attendees a look at the show's "can’t miss" products at the popular "Best in Show" session.

At the conclusion of each Breakfast Session, a drawing will be held for a free iPod Nano. The drawing is open to everyone who turns in a completed session evaluation form. Members can be entered into a separate drawing to win an iPod Nano by filling out a Member update form. Winners will be notified after the show ends.

NAMM University will also be hosting professional development sessions, held every 30 minutes to maximize attendees’ time on the show floor. Located at the NAMM Idea Center, Booth #5501 in Hall B, the educational events focus on sales and marketing, technology, e-commerce, customer service, training and more.

Other educational opportunities include a free lunch event where show attendees can learn how their NAMM Membership can increase their bottom line, and several Roundtable Discussions with industry leaders on Sunday afternoon.

New this year at the NAMM Show are copies of the "Idea Book," containing highlights of each NAMM U session with a notes section to write down ideas, available free to all NAMM Members at the Idea Center by completing a Member profile update.

Note: You can download a PDF of the full 2007 NAMM University schedule at the NAMM Show.