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MODY COMPANY
888-828-6639

56 West Main St.
Norwich, NY 13815
tom@modycompany.com


Quarterly Strike Newsletter Volume 2

Slow Down YOU'RE SPEEDING!!

Can you believe the speeds of some of these kids. I'm going to have to check ID's just to be sure of ages. Would you believe I have timed 13 year olds around speeds of 70 MPH. It's a bit intimidating but then again, I'm making more money than they are.
The fastest speed ever recorded on my gun is 88 MPH and I do get my share of 80's but 70's seem to be the peaks from ages 13 to 30. I do recall a rather vibrant man in his 50's clocking mid 70's and that drew a crowd as he competed against his son; his son did win, barely. There was the
65 yearold man who threw his age and a group of girls that threw underhand in the 60's... Wow!
The problem is that almost everyone thinks they can throw 95, yeah, right. Get real, I mean most of you are going over the speed limit anyway. And fine free I should add.


you mean... That's All I Win?


When I first started this I never had prizes. You got 3 pitches for a dollar, your name on the board and every one was happy... except me. I wanted more money so I charged 2 dollars and gave 5 pitches with some prizes, mainly sports cards. The better you did the more chances you got to reach in my grab bag and get a good card. But... what's good for one person is not so great for another. So, I bought cheap promo cards of just name players. For the younger kids it was great to get a Jordan or Nolan card every time but the older kids knew they were cheap. Sometimes you've just gotta say "are you here to pitch or get cards". Well, I digress, prizes are important but you need something that attracts the eye, big and catchy. Lately, I've been using these framed posters I get a great price on and they do seem to be popular. Glass enclosed shots of Shaq and Nolan among others is a great value. You do have to accomplish one small task... guess 3 pitching speeds out of 5 throws. No, it's not easy but are you here to pitch or win posters!!! Okay, I digress again but golly, most people just want know how fast they pitch and I service that curiosity.




EXPLORE THE FUTURE

New Days and New Ways To Reblaze A Profit Craze

To most people the booth is unique; especially in the applications of mall and card show set ups. No one has ever really paved these roads with a pitching booth until now. No one has ever had a portable quick set up system until now. So What's next? The great unknown my
friends; '94 will hopefully bring new ways to expand profits & bounds of your potential. Here area few concepts I'm exploring for the new year.

FUNDRAISING: This is divided into 2 areas. The hiring of organizations to operate the booth and the Pitch-A-Thon. The first concept I tried one last year with optimism. Instead of hiring others to run the booth I approached a little league about running it. At a six day fair the kids and parents ran the booth with the league getting half of the profits. Let me tell you that those kids are motivated. They ran around the fair grounds with fliers which was extremely effective
and the locals really went out of their way to pitch since it was for the community. Getting them initially organized is tough but they really enjoyed it. I just showed up to set up & tear down the booth plus collect my share. It's also an easy way to get into events that are strict with admissions.Pitch-A-Thon will be a real coup if I can pull it off. Just like a walk or read a thon, I feel this concept can't lose if managed properly. The idea is to approach an organization like Little League about sponsoring a day long event at preferably a mall where the kids compete to raise money and have fun. The Pitch-A-thon itself would require participants to solicit sponsors to donate
money based on the speed of ones pitches. Most of the solicitation should come from family & friends and would work out like this.


You can work your profits 2 ways. Either have a registration fee or collect a percentage. A registration fee of $5 would be worth $500 to you. If you work a percentage, say 25%, it would be worth $1000 to you. Either way, the Little League makes out great.

The event planning itself can really elevate your standing in the business community. For instance, if held in a mall you could arrange discounts for movies and food with mall management assuring them of large numbers of parents and kids roaming the mall. Get community and business sponsorship by asking them for prize items in return for name promotion. You should award prizes not only to the fastest pitchers but to the most consistent and combined speed total. This ensures that all kids have a chance to win. Recruit a photographer to be there and you could arrange to receive a percentage of his take for all the business you generate. Be sure to have trophies and at least a certificate for all participants. The bottom line is to ensure a fun & eventful day for all.
But hey, why only work with kids. I'll bet that if you used the same concept with men,s softball leagues you could rake it in. Or how about just offering your services to time games or practices. You wouldn't even need to set up the booth, Just charge the battery and go. Leagues, highschools, colleges and corporate parties are all possibilities for profit.

Remember that there is so much to pioneer. I even considered asking a local farm league to sponsor the booth. The deal would be that they would pay for the booth fees for their name on the booth. It would read "The Syracuse Chiefs Fast Pitch". We could use game tickets and paraphernalia as prizes and promote the team where ever I went. As with any business you'll get some no's and lame excuses but keep trying. These are my ideas that I have yet to utilize and I have the same reservations about approaching businesses as most people. Realize that in time, success breeds the need for more and you'll find the motivation as your confidence in the booth's potential grows. As always, I'll let you know how it's going and I hope you'll do the same.


Fastest Dames In The West!


Is speed ball a mans game? No way, it's a game for all; men, women, old, young. Then why not do more to peak the curiosity of potential female participants. Those who own a Mody Co. Pitching Booth know that my promotional area consists of prizes and my speed board. The speed board lists age groups from 5 to 50 years old and I record the name and speed of the fastest pitchers.

If you remember from my promo video (not that again) I mentioned that one of my plans to increase profits was to have a section of the board to post girls speeds. Well, I made that addition this past April and sure enough, women do have the same competitive curiosity as men to get their name on that board. More than that, it lets them know that other women have pitched which is the main purpose for having the board, not to just post speeds. Parents are especially fickle until they see other parents letting their children pitch. Having that board full of names lets the parent know that their not the only ones shelling out a little money for a lot of fun. I don't know how many times I've heard parents tell their young girls it's only for your brother or they're too young. Listing ages from 5 to 50 in both boys and girls assures you that parents will have to find an alternate lame excuse for not letting little Jimmy or Sarah pitch.

Making a speed board is Easy. Go to an office or art supply store and purchase a large dry erase marker board. Then buy some thin line tape and some peel off number and letter sheets to section and label the board. I section a board with boys & girls sides then age bracket them 5 to 19 year olds then ages 20, 30, 40 & 50. Fill in the names and speeds with a dry erase marker . The total cost, under $50 with increased profits well exceeding time and money.



Hock The Jock

Step right up... Don't be a whimp! Impress the lady... Win the big prize!
Don't Be A Loser!!!

I'll be the first to admit that hocking works. You know, that intimidating badgering from every carny on game row. I will also admit that hocking does not work for me and may not work for you. Why disregard a technique that is the corner stone of the carnival game industry?


Well, to me there is a difference between hocking and sales. Maybe the truth is that I am the wimp but a non aggressive, friendly approach may be the equivalent to catching more flies with honey. There's no fine line between being personable or being obnoxious; being enticingor being misleading. People are always looking for the catch or the con artist and maybe on a cut throat games row you need every trick, every line to reel in the bait but maybe being yourself is just fine. Far be it from me to hinder you from getting every dollar possible but first take into consideration the environment or feel or the event. How many mall kiosks do you see hounding the sale. Also, consider what the show promoter may think of badgering. You won't make too much money just being a lump but being alert, cheerful(no matter how the show is going) and enticing will make a huge profit difference. Hey, I'm the first to admit that I'm no great example some days. I've become so familiar with some shows that I tend to just show up and know what I'm going to make. The great thing is that the booth can sell itself on the curiosity of a player. In other words, making money is easy. Making that little extra means defining the value of your business by your attitude. The value of the booth is fun and camaraderie between friends & family. Most people do not realize that. For every parent that pays there's a child that feels valuable just like a good pat on the back. So how about Step on up... Give it your best shot, take an extra pitch... Thanks!