Being a member of the ABMA has benefited my company greatly. With a focus on in-person networking and education the advantages go well beyond other trade organizations.

The ABMA is a valuable organization both personally and professionally for me and for Monterey Mills. The connections that I have made over the years have been strengthened through the Convention.

The ABMA and the annual convention has been the foundation for the many relationships I have made with both suppliers and manufacturers. Those relationships are immeasurable in their value.

As a brush manufacturer, I receive numerous sales leads from the convention and from referrals from other brush makers. If you make a point to attend all of the meetings, meet the members and promote your business, you will establish the long term relationships that will benefit your business well into the future.

The ABMA convention gives me an opportunity to further cement relationships that I have with existing customers and to inform other companies of our capabilities.

Managing a business requires good information. ABMA provides a wealth of information. Everything from industry statistics including wage and benefit surveys for benchmarking to learning what is coming down the road in the brush industry worldwide.

The relationships I have built over the years will help my company thrive well into the future.

Learning Leadership: I volunteered for ABMA service early on in my career and learned how to deal with and participate on the Board of Directors. I learned negotiation skills, the art of listening, getting your two cents in, how to get a room full of chiefs to do the work of Indians as well as develop a whole new kind of camaraderie and friendship.

Contacts I made at ABMA conventions have led to almost $1 million in sales annually for our company. Not a bad way to spend 4 days at a luxury resort.

Networking, Networking, Networking.

Almost 50% of our customer base was built on attending and meeting potential customers at ABMA conventions. Certainly visiting customers without attending ABMA is possible, but it's the camaraderie that helps develop not only customer/vendor relations, but also friendships.

Five years ago I found and qualified a new raw materials supplier. The cost savings was $31,000 per year.

I have been a member for over 30 years, with three different companies and there is no other forum where one can actually get face time with the Owners and Presidents of major customer companies, in a relaxed and convivial setting.

The main reason I am an ABMA member is for the opportunity to network with peers. A large percentage of our business is selling brushes to other brush companies. Networking with other brush companies in the ABMA has been valuable in numerous ways, such as increasing our sales.