“The American
Apparel Producers Network is celebrating its 25th year in 2006.
In 2001, we expanded offshore generating new memberships in three
directions – offshore producers, domestic suppliers and global brands/retailers.
In the midst of this growth, not only our membership but our value
proposition changed.
At our
Board of Directors meeting this year, we discussed why, despite
this sudden growth in membership, some of our members were not
renewing. We decided it was because we were not setting a clear
expectation of what they would get when they joined, and that therefore our
“value
proposition”
needed to be reworked.
We set
out to do this between ourselves on staff and our Board members.
But it was clear everyone was too busy to
give us the attention
this challenge
required. So, we decided to bring in the professionals… Bill
D’Arienzo and Kathie De Chirico. We met with them on December 4th
in Miami,
Florida. The result is what Executive Director Sue C. Strickland,
who has held this
position for 19 years, says “…is the best description of what
we do and why you should I’ve ever seen”.
The greatest
result for me personally from our meeting was them leaping to their
feet about
the 10th time I mentioned our “competition” and then
proving to me using graphs that we HAD no competition. This
is an example of “what you fear, you create”. We feared others could do
what we do. They
proved to us they can not.
When we
met with Kathie and Bill, it was clear from the first moment they’d
done their homework. While
they have a highly
structured technique and workbook which enforces the cumulation
of the discovery,
they’d take
the time to fill in some of the answers from their own research
and experience. This allowed us to cut to the quick and zero
in on real
issues, opportunities,
values and proven results.
Clearly,
in the face of losing members and sending a muddled message to
the industry, their value to
us is “priceless”.
So often, before,
when we met with prospects, frankly, we wondered what to
say about ourselves. Now, with a new mission statement,
a clear list of our values and
solid
goals, we don’t blink when we ask for the order and this
is
a happier, more confident place to work….making us a more
powerful, differentiated force in the industry, and who wouldn’t want that!
Mike
Todaro, Managing Director, AAPN, December 14, 2006
