CBA Industry Blog

The Phenomenon of Fireproof

Late yesterday afternoon Market Watch posted an article on the success to date of the film Fireproof. The article begins by rattling off a number of statistics that, in general, show Fireproof as a hit. Adding to its theatrical accomplishments, The Love Dare, the book featured in the film, has held steady for two weeks in the #1 spot on the New York Times best seller list (paperback – advice).

Having seen the film multiple times in a variety of states prior to its theatrical release, I have yet to actually purchase a ticket and view it in a real theater with a real audience, but through the grapevine, I’ve heard numerous stories of friends and co-workers being tremendously affected by the movie. So much so that some have told me they have gone straight from the theater to the bookstore to purchase multiple copies of The Love Dare. And while I was at Mardel this past weekend, a reporter from the Colorado Springs Gazette called to speak with the manager about the book’s strong sales and how to best position an article about it.

CBA November Best Sellers Are Up!

The November Best Sellers are up and for the first time in a while The Shack is not the #1 book. Eclipsed by If My People... a 40-Day Guide for Our Nation, The Shack is still holding steady at #2 though. BSL newcomer The Love Dare from the Kendrick brothers (Facing the Giants, Fireproof) makes its debut at #3 and Karen Kingsbury's Sunset, the last book in the Sunrise Series, clocks in at #4. So, what do you think will be the big seller this Christmas season?

A "Tail" That's True

Mike Hockett is CBA’s Training & Development manager. He has more than 28 years of experience in the CBA industry, and he manages the CBA Consulting Program. For more information about how you can apply the principles Mike mentions below, send him an email.

You know how sometimes you buy a business book, read it and find it to be so boring that you fall a sleep every time you see its cover. Well, that’s the way it was when I first read The Long Tail by Chris Anderson. Chris actually does a great job of explaining the Long Tail and illustrating some facts to back it up. For those of you who are Long Tail addicts and really understand everything that Chris says in his book you may find what I have to say elementary. However, I do think it follows much of Chris’s application in his more recent book, Long Tail, the Revised and Updated Edition: Why the Future of Business is Selling Less of More. For those of you who sell books and especially Christian books, I think you will find what I have to say interesting and beneficial.

Here is my short take away and application of Chris’s book. There are many more products available over the Internet than are available in a retail store setting. This availability of additional product is called the Long Tail. If a retailer can identify this product based on customer demand and have it in-stock when the customer wants it, you have a sale – a sale that you would not have unless you carried the product in-stock.  When you do not have this product in stock, guess where your customer goes to buy it? You’re right the Internet. It doesn’t take this old retailer long to figure out that Long Tail product is worth finding and selling. After all it is usually product that you can make full margin on and you don’t have to carry large quantities. I am selling less of more.

Looking ahead to the International Christian Retail Show 2009

As we look ahead to the 60^th anniversary celebration International Christian Retail Show 2009 in Denver, Colorado, we are also looking back at the 2008 Show in Orlando. After each Show, we solicit feedback from everyone who either attended or exhibited at the Show, as well as those who did not, and comb through the results to make sure as we plan for the coming year we are meeting the expressed needs and desires of the industry.

As we reviewed this year’s surveys it was apparent that the majority of participants in the Show in all capacities are looking for a few key things: reasonable cost, a schedule that is easy to navigate, dedicated and focused exhibit floor time, and ample opportunity for the level of relationship-building and business that can only be done in person and in large scale at ICRS. At CBA, we do take the feedback we receive very seriously and we’re working on some pretty exciting adjustments and new elements for the 2009 Show to help meet these goals.

In the coming weeks and months, stay tuned as we begin to unveil what is in store for the International Christian Retail Show 2009 in Denver – things may look a bit different than you’re used to. We’re looking forward to it and hope that you are too! We greatly appreciate your partnership in serving Christ and our industry. If you have additional comments or questions, feel free to post them here or contact us at (800) 252-1950.

Is Tosca Lee the next William P. Young?

While unexpectedly delayed for many, many hours in LAX this weekend as I watched plane after plane leave without me, all I had on hand to keep me entertained was one book. Having left every electronic gadget at home in exchange for an all too rapid beach weekend, the only form of entertainment that still remained was Tosca Lee’s Demon: A Memoir.

Two of my friends here in Colorado Springs have done nothing but beg me to read this book for the past few months. Not one to really enjoy supernatural fiction thrillers though, I started in slowly reading Demon while at the airport, but before long I could barely put it down long enough to check the status on my perpetually delayed flight. At my small group last night I recommended the book to everyone, adding in the detail that it has affected my concept of God perhaps more so than The Shack, or even Screwtape Letters.

My questions for you now are simple: 1) How is Tosca’s book selling in your stores, and 2) could Tosca be the next William Young?